So much to unpack here
Wednesday, Apr 19, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The stories from last weekend’s downtown youth violence are completely disturbing, if not particularly new. Plenty of news media outlets are giving it extensive coverage (particularly Fox). But what’s being pushed down in many of these stories is that the taxpayer-funded adults who are supposedly in charge also have something to answer for. Here’s CBS 2…
A couple attacked by a group of teens during the unrest downtown over the weekend said Tuesday that they had to fight for their lives.
The video of the vicious attack near a T-Mobile store on Wabash Avenue has been shared millions of times online.
CBS 2’s Marissa Perlman spoke with the couple – and a woman who jumped in to save them. The couple remains noticeably shaken up – trying to find moments to smile after what they went through.
They were in town from South Carolina, walking in the Loop just trying to find a place to eat.
In seconds, they were cornered and attacked with no way out.
Video shows the group of teens assaulting 20-year-old Ashley Knutson in front of 129 N. Wabash Ave. – across from the Macy’s building – Saturday night. She screams as the group corners her against a set of doors.
Knutson falls to the ground.
“It just doesn’t feel real,” she said. “I can’t believe that happened to us.”
The disturbing video is all over social media.
* You have to wait until the last third of this NBC 5 story to get to the revelation from a very brave Chicagoan…
The video’s audio reveals Knutson yelling for help as the attack took place, and that’s when an unlikely hero emerged.
“I felt like at that moment I needed to take action,” Lenora Dennis said.
Dennis jumped in to help and was able to deescalate the attack. […]
Dennis says what frustrates her the most was that she didn’t receive any help from Chicago police.
“I literally went in front of a police car that I saw coming, like literally stood in front of their car, and I was like ‘stop! There’s people over here getting assaulted,’ and he looked, there were four police officers in the car. The driver looked, and he just cut a path and drove around me,” she said.
“They didn’t stop. Who knows what would have happened if it wasn’t for her,” Garrisson-Johnson added.
Those officers may have been on an important and urgent call and simply couldn’t stop. It happens. We just don’t know yet, but that probably ought to be at least looked into.
Also, this does show that deescalation and violence interruption can work. We need more of that from trained workers. Lots more. Where were all those groups over the weekend? …Adding… Question answered…
* WGN TV…
Dennis said she ushered the couple into the flagship Macy’s store where they hid until they could safely leave. Eventually, Dennis drove them to the 1st District police station where she said a desk sergeant told her words to the effect of: “This is happening because Brandon Johnson got elected.”
“I’ve lived in Chicago my entire life and would’ve never expected that,” Dennis said. “If that’s a precursor to what’s about to happen that’s a total and complete problem.”
It’s an allegation about a single curmudgeon sergeant. But I can see where people would find that very believable and also quite alarming. The FOP’s president did, after all, predict “blood in the streets” if Paul Vallas lost the election. And most of the outraged reaction to the violence appears to be coming from people who wanted to see Vallas elected mayor. It’s bad enough as it is, but it’s now being used as a political cudgel against a guy who hasn’t even been sworn in yet.
* Back to CBS 2…
Since the attack, Knutson said detectives have come to the Maywood Airbnb where they are staying – and have apologized and made sure they are okay.
The couple has filed a police report, but so far, no arrests have been made.
Nice to see an apology. It was certainly owed to them. And with all the video out there (public and private), there had better be some arrests.
- Homebody - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 9:47 am:
The problem is CPD has decades of reputation to get over. They will never get the benefit of the doubt from me so long as they have oathkeeper members, guys with let’s politely call “unapproved patches” on their uniforms, Catanzara running around getting re-elected and continuing to be himself, slow walks the consent decree, etc.
Both Rahm and Lori condoned this and made it worse in both the McDonald and Young cases. In either case the mayor’s office could have said this is unacceptable behavior and stepped in. Instead, they continued to make things worse by dragging their heels and showing zero interest in holding CPD accountable.
I don’t think every cop is a villain. I do think that CPD’s culture tolerates a huge number of bad apples of varying degrees and shows leadership doesn’t care.
- Stephanie Kollmann - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 9:50 am:
=Also, this does show that deescalation and violence interruption can work. We need more of that from trained workers. Lots more. Where were all those groups over the weekend?=
A great question for the person in charge of implementing the City’s comprehensive, detailed violence prevention plan.
(A nonexistent person; a nonexistent plan)
- NIU Grad - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 9:52 am:
Many Chicagoans have these CPD stories, which is probably one of the reasons why the “more cops on the streets” message didn’t resonate. The cops are there, but there’s a perception that they’re not responding to issues or are treating residents rudely. The massive unsolved murder rate isn’t helping that perception either.
If they’re blaming it all on Brandon Johnson now, I can’t imagine the “hands off” approach they’ll start taking when he actually takes office.
- Roadrager - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 9:55 am:
The crime blog CWBChicago pointed out that last year, before a fatal shooting in Millennium Park, police had a group of people in ski masks on camera in the park and did nothing to approach or question them.
This isn’t a Brandon Johnson issue, or a Lightfoot issue, or an Emanuel issue, at least not directly. It is a police department that feels it is unaccountable to the public, simultaneously praising itself for its dangerous work, threatening the citizenry with promises of chaos if it is challenged at any level, and simply refraining from doing its job in the thick of any actual chaos.
At bare minimum, the new administration should come in strong for actual enforcement of and cooperation with the federal consent decree. Not doing anything to hold CPD accountable for its ongoing failings while also paying out nine figures a year for those failings… Well, that is an Emanuel, a Lightfoot, and potentially a Brandon Johnson issue.
- supplied_demand - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 9:55 am:
==(A nonexistent person; a nonexistent plan)==
There is a plan and has been for some time: https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/sites/public-safety-and-violenc-reduction/pdfs/OurCityOurSafety.pdf
- Hannibal Lecter - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 9:58 am:
I think there is a real concern out there that the police will essentially sit on their hands and let crime run rampant just to make the mayor elect look bad.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 9:58 am:
===There is a plan===
lol
Is there any real evidence that the city has done much to actually carry out that plan?
- Lucky - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 9:59 am:
There better be some arrests but there is zero chance any 17 year old offender will be tried as an adult
- Stephanie Kollmann - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:00 am:
Sorry to quote myself, but
“There have been four deputy mayors for public safety in the past four years and a lot of the turnover in the offices that ought to be developing a comprehensive strategy. As part of the Building a Safe Chicago coalition in 2016, we put out a report noting that there has never been a gun violence plan by the City of Chicago. So it is great that Our City, Our Safety exists. But it does not have detail. And it doesn’t have an ongoing mechanism for oversight and accountability.”
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dne9mH6LOTE6H_l_T3g1z_7FpEHfCK-Ot7htqjrZf9o/edit?usp=drivesdk
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:01 am:
===will be tried as an adult ===
So?
Seriously, try to stick to the topic at hand.
- Stephanie Kollmann - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:02 am:
I notice, though, that you did not say that there is a person responsible for carrying out this alleged plan.
About that:
https://twitter.com/SLKollmann/status/1648326578193965059?t=zAh1dI-9AXaLhCWlNL0olg&s=19
- supplied_demand - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:09 am:
==Is there any real evidence that the city has done much to actually carry out that plan? ==
Not much, which is something for which reporters (wink! wink!) should hold them accountable. We shouldn’t just pretend the plan doesn’t exist. Someone should print this plan and ask the mayor how they are performing on the different “indicators” included (there are specific “Outcome Measures” and “Progress Measures”). Just throwing up our hands and saying “there is no plan” gives elected officials an out. We need to put their feet to the fire on what they have promised.
- Candy Dogood - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:13 am:
CPD us operating like a criminal syndicate but without the decency to make it clear what we’d need to pay or do in order for them to do the job they’re getting paid to do.
In an Era of quiet quitting, they’ve pioneered quiet extortion.
- Jerry - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:14 am:
Why wasn’t the Republican Mayoral Candidate downtown breaking up the fights?
- Stephanie Kollmann - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:14 am:
Also, I would caution people not to extrapolate from the way downtown issues are discussed that the issue with CPD is that it is too “hands off.” It is unaccountable. And it just killed someone on Saturday, in what seems like a very bad set of circumstances.
- JoanP - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:16 am:
= The driver looked, and he just cut a path and drove around me =
Even if they were on an urgent call, one of those four officers could have called in another squad.
- supplied_demand - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:17 am:
==I notice, though, that you did not say that there is a person responsible for carrying out this alleged plan.==
I didn’t because that person doesn’t exist. The plan, which was the other half of your comment, does exist.
- Midwesterner - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:19 am:
It is all an unholy mess that has been created by a variety of factors. I believe there is potentially merit in attacking underlying causes, but I must also note “underlying causes” have been under attack since the 1960s Great Society and with billions-upon-billions spent, but there has not been a lot of progress to show for it. Police must be held to account for misbehavior and excessive force. At the same time, officers are expected to run into situations where they are drastically outnumbered. They are not only at risk for dangers inherent in the situations Rich has cited, but also the dangers to their reputations and jobs as well as media and official approbation if, in the heat of very stressful moments, they use Billy Clubs or Tasers maybe more than turned out to have been actually warranted. Improving psychiatric care, mental health resources and education are all worthwhile. But, if the mechanisms for stopping violence at the point it is happening are eroded, the short-term impact of greater and greater violence will not only undermine the community, but will render the alternative progrems Dead on Arrival.
- Frumpy White Guy - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:19 am:
The problem rest on the fact that most of these young people live n neighborhoods that are dangerous. The city should setup a schedule of fun filled summer activities and events for black and brown young people.
- Product of the '60's - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:23 am:
Former CPD Superintendent Eddie Johbson was on Bob Sirott’s morning show on WGN radio this morning and said a number of things. One, the simple presence of a policeman no longer is a deterrent, he doesn’t know of any 13/14 yr olds who live by themselves ( parents should know where kids are ), it takes basically a 2 to 1 ratio to curb/arrest large crowds, police don’t want to be the next viral video, and if the allegation that only a LT was in charge and had been told that shouldn’t have occurred as a higher up needed to be in charge. Also said when he was super he was accessible always to the media. Sirott replied that he frequently invited Superintendent Brown to come on the air but he never or rarely came on ( I coudn’t completely understand Skrott’s comment regarding which it was).
- Stephanie Kollmann - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:25 am:
Supplied demand, it’s pretty clear that we disagree on whether OS,OS is comprehensive and detailed enough to be considered an actual plan. I don’t think we need to belabor the point. I’m glad to know we do agree that there is not a person accountable for implementing it, something some people also consider a controversial claim.
- Back to the Future - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:26 am:
It is really remarkable what Lenora Dennis did to help these young victims.
The city owes her a huge Thank You for showing the leadership and bravery she exhibited to jump into a clearly dangerous situation.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:26 am:
===Also said when he was super he was accessible always to the media===
Sure, Jan https://news.wttw.com/2020/07/16/former-top-cop-was-drunk-when-officers-allowed-him-drive-home-watchdog
- Jerry - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:38 am:
“Sure Jan” - well done Brady Bunch reference.
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:38 am:
==Many Chicagoans have these CPD stories, which is probably one of the reasons why the “more cops on the streets” message didn’t resonate.===
Came in here to say just this, so kudos, NIU Grad.
==This isn’t a Brandon Johnson issue, or a Lightfoot issue, or an Emanuel issue, at least not directly. ==
Well, it’s a Lightfoot issue, it was a Rahm issue, and it’s about to be a Johnson issue. They all are, were, or will be ultimately responsible for CPD. Here’s hoping Johnson does a better job than the other two at teaching the CPD that it is not a sovereign to itself.
The good news is a lot of the stuff you need to do to fix CPD is non-ideological. It’s not “soft on crime” or whatever to say you need a clear chain of command at CPD and clear accountability, including firings, when things go wrong. That’s just basic management, and Vallas was gonna have to do it, too.
- Roadrager - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:39 am:
I was going to say, I guess it counts as “accessible” when Ceres is a hop, skip, and a jump across the Loop from the newspaper offices.
- Jocko - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:41 am:
==In an era of quiet quitting, they’ve pioneered quiet extortion.==
100% this. The implied threat is “If I can’t bust heads without repercussion…How can I do my job?”
- Amalia - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:43 am:
ditto on huge thank you needed for Lenora Dennis. I can’t imagine getting my wallet lifted let alone just about everything they could take off one’s body. there’s a fair amount of griping right now in the CPD ranks because the acting head is advocating for the firing of the officer who shot Adam Toledo. Even the departed Supt. did not advocate for that. Add that sense of who cares to the overwhelming with a big crowd and the tendency to back off because use of force allegations flow like water and the staff is well, sat night. The CPD should set the agenda on the ground for how to prevent such wide incidents. it’s very much like a military operation though no one wants to call it that. a prevention strategy for the soft side of the issue is a wide ask for every aspect of the government. Having a person at the Hall who is over both aspects of that is not how I see it succeeding. The police are the police. Oversight by the Chief of Staff, the law dept and of course the mayor but not by someone who is really more focused on the soft prevention side.
- Product of the '60's - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:44 am:
What is needed is groups of blue helmeted, baton armed police stationed blocks away awaiting to see if needed. s/……..that’s what I remember seeing after attending a peaceful weekend rally for the Chicago 7 during their trial. Luckily the blue helmets stayed by the Grant Park garage.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 10:49 am:
===it’s very much like a military operation===
Yeah, well, they’re not very good at anticipating invasions /s
- Super dawg - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:06 am:
Your painting an entire city and department with the same brush using the account of one person. Irresponsible.there are too many what ifs going around to take a position based on what’s known. Additionally, when its anyone going to address why they cops where even called???
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:06 am:
Mayor-elect Johnson was voted in because many want a different approach to the old failure of “lock ‘em up” and more police and jails. The question is not the nobility of the goal of more community investment but whether Johnson executes a plan well and has success.
The outrage stoking on the right (while supporting or excusing a violent insurrection) is the oldest thing and doesn’t work politically in Illinois. Next year it will probably be slathered on thick with the Democratic Convention in Chicago.
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:09 am:
==Additionally, when its anyone going to address why they cops where even called?==
That’s been pretty thoroughly discussed so far. It’s because Brandon Johnson commanded his army of hostile teens to make war upon the Loop, duh.
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:10 am:
==Your painting an entire city and department with the same brush using the account of one person.==
Is that “one person” the head of Chicago police union who promised hundreds of resignations and “blood on the streets” if his preferred candidate did not win?
- Jocko - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:10 am:
==the tendency to back off because use of force allegations flow like water==
Last I checked, a police officer can ask questions and issue commands. They can also handcuff you if they feel unsafe or think you’ll run. Taking a video doesn’t change that.
- ChicagoVinny - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:12 am:
The more citizens see people in the CPD refuse to do their jobs, the less they trust them, and it’s no wonder CPD’s chosen candidate lost in a city where a police endorsement used to carry weight. They are destroying their own political standing.
If they want to get on the right side of this they should focus on being public servants and the not extremist rhetoric coming out of the FOP.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:12 am:
===Your painting an entire city and department with the same brush using the account of one person===
Three people.
And there was no broad brush used except maybe in your thick head.
Also, it’s you’re, not your.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:15 am:
==Yeah, well, they’re not very good at anticipating invasions /s=
ditto
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:18 am:
===Additionally, when its anyone going to address why they cops where even called??? ===
Who said that hasn’t been addressed?
The police work for the public. Their response (or lack thereof) is a legit policy issue and it’s something the government is directly responsible for and can do something about. Screaming “but what about…?” won’t change that.
- Anon324 - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:18 am:
==Your painting an entire city and department with the same brush using the account of one person.==
Incorrect, as indicated by NIU Grad in the 3rd comment. It is a disturbingly regular experience for residents to receive the shoulder shrug of indifference from CPD.
- Cool Papa Bell - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:22 am:
I’ll wait for dashcam and body cam footage from the squad car rolling past on Michigan Avenue before passing too much judgement. Body cam audio might be interesting to listen to. I don’t know if it records while cops are in their cars or not.
But the witness’s account sure doesn’t seem good.
Everyone here has to improve. The people causing the crime, the police to react to it. Anyone who can help prevent it to begin with.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:24 am:
=== I don’t know if it records while cops are in their cars or not.===
If their rollers were on, there could be dash cam video.
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:29 am:
==It is a disturbingly regular experience for residents to receive the shoulder shrug of indifference from CPD.==
And- no, I won’t shut up about this- it is exactly what the police threatened to do if the “wrong” candidate got elected.
- T.S. - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:30 am:
I got robbed by gunpoint last year while on a trip with some friends in Chicago. I didn’t report it. I asked my friends as well if I should and they said no (some of them are from and live in and around Chicago). I figured, what’s the point?
So none of this story is very surprising. Just another day in the city of Chicago.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:31 am:
Mayor-elect Johnson has an opportunity with the appointment of a new police superintendent. The riot situation exposed problems the new superintendent will have to deal with.
Hot weather’s not even here yet. I hope last weekend’s problems make choosing a new superintendent Johnson’s priority #1.
- Someone You Should Know - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:34 am:
Rich Rollers? Pretty Soon, you will want to make sure the Info is on SCMODS
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:34 am:
===entire city and department with the same brush===
This comment just bugs me to no end. I specifically pointed out that there could be a very good explanation why those four officers didn’t stop. I noted that the sergeant was just one guy.
The hard truth is that some folks want zero focus on the hard fact that the government, for the umpteenth time, was caught off guard by a regular occurrence because doing so might possibly cast a shadow on their favored tribe.
I mean, even the CPD detectives apologized. What more do you want?
Seriously, if you’re that overly sensitive, maybe just go take a nap.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:35 am:
===make sure the Info is on SCMODS===
We should bring back SCMODS.
- Someone You Should Know - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:37 am:
I think one of the bigger problems is who Lightfoot put in as interim Sup. Eric Carter is universally reviled. He ticked off the rank and file a few years ago, when he was a real piece of work after an officers passing. He was at the Coroners office and told the pipers they couldn’t play as the body was presented as we needed to move this along.
Also, according to Ald. Hopkins, the chief of patrol and Carter got into a shouting match at HQ.
This guy is truly a lot of words I can’t say here.
- Roadrager - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 11:47 am:
==I think one of the bigger problems is who Lightfoot put in as interim Sup. Eric Carter is universally reviled.==
This sentiment would carry more weight were it not for every subsequent superintendent in my adult recollection being given a shorter leash by the rank-and-file and FOP than the one previous. I expect Catanzara to be calling for the ouster of Johnson’s pick for top cop within hours of the appointment.
CPD seems to have a real problem with authority.
- Big Dipper - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:01 pm:
If we are talking about today the cops are more mad that Carter recommended the firing of the cop who shot and killed the 13-year-old suspect rather than the lack of bagpipes a few years ago.
- ArchPundit - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:04 pm:
It’s become common to accept the notion that knocking heads is the only way to deal with these situations when reality is we need police who can deescalate situations. Some police can and do do this, but the focus on force has resulted in beating people or ignoring people as if they are the only choices.
- P. - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:08 pm:
It’s not a single curmudgeon sgt it’s a cultural problem in CPD. We have CPD members who are aspiring GOP and right wing politicians, others accusing public libraries of ‘grooming’ and starting CPAC chapters, Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, participants in online social media groups where they make racist and homophobic statements, others using flair on their uniform to boost the Three Percenters, the Gasden flag and Trump and who knows what else they are up to. They talk about going fetal, which came well before quiet quitting became part of the conversation happened. Enforcement, traffic in particular, and arrest rates and case resolution numbers are in the gutter.
- Dotnonymous - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:12 pm:
Effect…”CPD seems to have a real problem with authority.”
Cause…Catanzara and his ilk.
- Dearborn - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:13 pm:
Honestly, this stuff began under Rahm and has only gotten worse.
The Lightfoot, Foxx, Evans combo has vastly exacerbated it.
I think Brandon Johnson could potentially make massive steps forward to fix things. He is the only mayor in my lifetime to actually call a tough neighborhood home. I really respect that.
We talk about how intractable the problem is but I think it is actually quite simple.
1. Get a superintendent that the Dept. respects. Get out of his or her way.
2. Stop treating whole swaths of Chicago as forgotten. Build the park district to a robust entity. Show people we care about them.
- Stephanie Kollmann - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:18 pm:
==Enforcement, traffic in particular, and arrest rates and case resolution numbers are in the gutter.==
Pretextual, heavy-handed, intrusive traffic enforcement is through the roof in Black neighborhoods (unrelated to plummeting traffic safety), which is why the issue to speak of is CPD accountability, not a CPD slowdown.
- Not a tech - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:21 pm:
The officers receive a paycheck, a pension and take an oath to serve and protect because your mad at your boss is a poor excuse for inaction. I have lived in this city all my life and never had an officer respond to a criminal complaint, house broken in well you got insurance, or father beaten and wallet stolen, next time give them the wallet, or your car stolen you got insurance… all true responses I truly don’t believe they’ve been working for a long time. We need accountability because simply driving away when something is happening is unacceptable.
- Dearborn - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:24 pm:
The other side of this coin is that a couple of nights ago, in my neighborhood, a swift and strong police presence stopped something pretty terrible from happening in front of a large number of people.
CPD can be very effective.
- Stormsw7706 - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:25 pm:
Go Johnson. Clean house. Make the police do their jobs and quit slow walking their responses. The CPD mad a clear choice in their last internal election. They chose a man who thrives on conflict and grievances over another man who suggested a level of measured cooperation.
- Dearborn - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:34 pm:
I personally disaggregate the FOP and CPD officers the same way I disaggregate the CTU and teachers. I see them as two separate beings. I don’t think it is fair to pin the sins of their leadership on them individually.
- Big Dipper - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:49 pm:
== I don’t think it is fair to pin the sins of their leadership on them individually.==
They just reelected Catanzara, meaning they endorse his statements and policies. They have to own it.
- Squirrel - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:57 pm:
Many years ago I interned at an LGBTQ+ youth program that was near a CPD station. On multiple occasions they attempted to enter our secured youth facility to try and find some of our clients for such crimes as leaning against buildings and existing when unemployed. They assaulted one of our clients (homeless, like a sadly large number of LGBTQ+ youth) when “searching him for drugs” and managed to break some of his teeth when they shoved a flashlight into his mouth.
I try really hard to believe that most police officers are in the career for the right reasons, but CPD is pretty rotten and has been for a long time.
==I think Brandon Johnson could potentially make massive steps forward to fix things. He is the only mayor in my lifetime to actually call a tough neighborhood home. I really respect that.==
Agreed! I think his viewpoint is going to be critical in the response. Whether the rank-and-file go along with his plans is another matter entirely.
- Anon324 - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 12:58 pm:
==Carter recommended the firing of the cop who shot and killed the 13-year-old suspect==
Didn’t Foreman’s decision in October tie Carter’s hands?
- Anon324 - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:04 pm:
==They just reelected Catanzara, meaning they endorse his statements and policies. They have to own it.==
Agreed. Add in that Vallas was adamant that the FOP endorsement was a reflection of the rank and file and not Catanzara (despite, as you point out, the same people voted on these topics). The guy resigned from the police department because he was going to be terminated, and they still re-elected him. He is a symptom, not the cause.
- Big Dipper - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:11 pm:
==Didn’t Foreman’s decision in October tie Carter’s hands?==
Brown recommended a suspension but it’s the Police Board that makes the ultimate decision.
- Blue Dog - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:13 pm:
This scenario is exactly why I ama one issue voter.
- Joe Bidenopolous - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:20 pm:
=but without the decency to make it clear what we’d need to pay or do in order for them to do the job they’re getting paid to do=
As a Chicago resident, I have to vehemently disagree. They were very clear - “Elect Vallas, or else.”
Or, if you prefer the ol’ Roti line, that works too: “Elect Vallas and no one gets hurt”
- Roadrager - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:21 pm:
==This scenario is exactly why I ama one issue voter==
The more pertinent question is whether you are a one-solution voter.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:26 pm:
===whether you are a one-solution voter===
One guess lol
- Dearborn - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:31 pm:
== They just reelected Catanzara, meaning they endorse his statements and policies. They have to own it.==
It’s this type of thinking that unnecessarily injects politics into an already challenging situation. I have no idea what the vote turnout is for the FOP. They also don’t represent the “white shirts” who are also a big part of this.
We need to be supporting police officers and teachers and staying positive. The city needs it.
- Politix - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:34 pm:
Most street intervention programs are run by local non-profits and operate in historically underserved communities. They intervene to curb gang violence. They aren’t meant to break up large groups of teens causing trouble on the mag mile.
- Anon324 - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:35 pm:
==Brown recommended a suspension but it’s the Police Board that makes the ultimate decision.==
COPA recommended that he be dismissed. Brown disagreed and said a suspension was appropriate. After Brown disagreed with COPA, it went to the one-member Police Board review. That member, Ghian Foreman, said in October that it should go to the full board for a hearing on dismissal because Brown did not meet his burden. So it seems like there were only 2 options at that point: 1. file the charges with the board; or 2. do nothing and kick the can to the next guy like Brown did.
If the reaction of the rank-and-file to the superintendent doing his job as required is to get indignant and claim they aren’t being supported, then that’s a pretty significant problem to overcome, and Carter should be commended for taking the heat so the next person doesn’t have that to deal with early on in his tenure.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:38 pm:
===They aren’t meant to break up===
Most aren’t, but some are. Leo Smith has talked about doing as much in the past.
- Anon at heart - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 1:56 pm:
I understand the frustration with CPD. As has been mentioned many times before, this is a leadership problem. Leadership’s failure to plan, allocate resources and direct those resources is evident. However, we have to remember that attitudes by the public have changed over the years. I see a lot of comments on here lamenting the lack of respect for teachers by students and parents. The same is true for the police. If anybody thinks a few officers can wade into a crowd and easily arrest an individual (or several), they need a reality check. The crowd will absolutely turn on the officers and impede those efforts. I know this from my 25 plus years as a police officer. (Not CPD) Some people still think that when the police show up to an incident, everybody stops what they are doing and defer to the police presence. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case these days. CPD has certainly earned the bad rep it has, but the many good officers on the department pay the price for the department’s past sins.
- Hannibal Lecter - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 2:27 pm:
=== there’s a fair amount of griping right now in the CPD ranks because the acting head is advocating for the firing of the officer who shot Adam Toledo. ===
Seriously? I watched that video and did not think that the officer did anything to warrant discipline. Terminating this officer would definitely create an incentive for officers not to respond to crimes.
- Big Dipper - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 2:39 pm:
There will be a hearing so the facts will come out at that.
- 4th Generation Chicagoan - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 3:24 pm:
There seems to be plenty of blame to go around. In general, I think people tend to pick sides and blame it all on one group - bad police, bad parents, bad mayors, bad teens - whatever. Maybe that’s human nature, but I don’t think it does much to solve the problem. Violence seems to be out of control in Chicago. We need both long- and short-term solutions. Demonizing any one group doesn’t solve the problem. I’m not overly optimistic that is going to happen any time soon.
- Stormsw7706 - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 3:28 pm:
I worked in education 30 plus years. There were multiple times I disagreed with policies but I never decided to quit teaching or to just put on a movie. I never took it out on the kids or their parents who paid my salary. Grownups don’t lay down on the job because they don’t get their way. Leaders, and I use that loosely, certainly shouldn’t encourage it and that’s the FOP. They can start fresh with a new mayor. Grow up and don’t diminish your profession.
- Dearborn - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 4:39 pm:
This situation is so fraught because it is replete with nuance that does not lend itself to true debate in a world that craves black and white.
Are the people wrong that say police need to be able to do their jobs? Not entirely.
Are the people wrong that say the CPD has a history of violence? Not entirely.
Chicago has been violent literally since the day it was founded. Who knows what’s in the water here but we’ve been struggling with this since Ft. Dearborn, Al Capone, the Gangster Disciples, Yummy Sandifer, Derion Alberts and everything in between.
It’s a huge city. We need to make improvements but it’s more entrenched than people want to believe. No easy solutions.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 4:49 pm:
=== Chicago has been violent literally since the day it was founded. Who knows what’s in the water here but we’ve been struggling with this since Ft. Dearborn, Al Capone, the Gangster Disciples, Yummy Sandifer, Derion Alberts and everything in between.===
Reminds me when - Wordslinger - would talk about overseas that Chicago meant “Al Capone” until Michael Jordan…
It’s trivializing any idea to an honest discussion of Chicago by being lazy to buying the stereotypes
=== We need to make improvements but it’s more entrenched than people want to believe. No easy solutions.===
If you’re going back to “Ft. Dearborn” and “Al Capone” you’ve already surrendered to dismissing any thought to what could be done or what needs to be done…
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 4:53 pm:
To sharpen my point?
The voters already rejected going back to the “Daley Days”
Looking back further to dismay isn’t an honest look at what is needed going forward
Chicagoans aren’t looking back. They said so this past election.
- Dearborn - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 4:58 pm:
@OW
Thank you for engaging in a topic that you know nothing about. Your little opinions about voters in Chicago are typically wrong and do not carry over to what’s actually happening in this City.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 5:05 pm:
===Thank you for engaging in a topic that you know nothing about. Your little opinions about voters in Chicago are typically wrong===
You know nothing about me
I’m comfortable talking about Chicago.
You seem to be so knowledgeable you go back to Ft. Dearborn and Al Capone?
Where’s a favorite aunt when I need one.
- Betty Draper’s cigarette - Wednesday, Apr 19, 23 @ 7:25 pm:
“No easy solutions.” Something in the water” “Al Capone.”
Why attack OW? You just strung a bunch of cliches together. At least OW tries to be original.
- False Framing - Thursday, Apr 20, 23 @ 5:28 am:
It is an insult to the thousands of teens who don’t engage in mob violence and rampant criminality to suggest that it is a lack of bowling outings or theater tickets or free festivals on the South or West sides that triggers this kind of behavior.
Not ever teenager is equally rebellious, but some are in every socio-economic status.
But not every teenager has as easy access to Glocks, AK-47s and extended magazines.
Not every teenager has a community and peer support network that encourages and glorifies armed robbery, auto theft, vandalism, mob action, unlawful use of a weapon — all of this is separate from the issues of narcotics and parenting, which sometimes probably also play a factor.
Johnson’s statement that adult supervised spaces can solve this is so comical I doubt he believes it.
I hope y’all looking forward to another summer of joy.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 20, 23 @ 5:49 am:
===Not every teenager has a community and peer support network that encourages and glorifies armed robbery, auto theft, vandalism, mob action, unlawful use of a weapon — all of this is separate from the issues of narcotics and parenting, which sometimes probably also play a factor.===
So your indictment is that the the South and West Sides are communities and peer groups encouraging criminality and “parenting” … “sometimes probably” play a factor?
Is that you Jeanne Ives?
===Johnson’s statement that adult supervised spaces can solve this is so comical I doubt he believes it.===
If he puts monies to programs to do just that, that’ll be believing it. Since Johnson isn’t mayor yet, we’ll have to see.
- Mayo Sandwich - Thursday, Apr 20, 23 @ 9:43 am:
=== Johnson’s statement that adult supervised spaces can solve this is so comical I doubt he believes it.===
Why? I believe it. No doubt the people who did the destruction wanted an audience, otherwise what is the fun? If you had to punch a time clock and destroy cars for eight hours a day you would be hoping Burger King had an opening soon.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 20, 23 @ 9:47 am:
===adult supervised spaces can solve this is so comical===
Critics: “What about the parents??!!!”
Also: “The parents and other adults won’t help!!!”
Pick a lane.