Make wishtv.com your home page

Chicago investigating officers ‘lounging’ during unrest

CHICAGO
(AP) — More than a dozen Chicago police officers and supervisors were
captured on video “lounging” inside a burglarized congressional campaign
office and even appeared to be making popcorn and brewing coffee as
people vandalized and stole from nearby businesses as protests and
unrest spread across the city, a visibly angry Mayor Lori Lightfoot said
Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, a Democrat whose district
includes much of the city’s South Side and southern suburbs, said his
staff first viewed the video and he brought it to Lightfoot on
Wednesday.

The footage was taken on May 31 and early June 1, as
police received widespread reports of vandalism, theft and arson in
neighborhoods on the city’s South and West sides, officials said.
Chicago, like other U.S. cities, saw large protests overshadowed by
criminal activity in the days following George Floyd’s death in custody
after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into the black
man’s neck for several minutes.

Lightfoot, who described herself
as “angry” and “disgusted” by the actions shown on video, said the
department’s Internal Affairs division and the Civilian Office of Police
Accountability are investigating.

Lightfoot, who showed the
media screen grabs from video footage that has not yet been made public,
said the officers shown have not yet been identified. Police from
around the city were dispatched to the South and West sides in response
to unrest during the first weekend in May, making that task more
challenging.

Images shown to reporters during a press conference
included one officer lying on his back on a couch in Rush’s office.
Others are shown resting their heads on desktops or seated with
protective helmets beside them as they look at cellphones.

Rush
said the officers appeared to be relaxing inside the office that was
broken into earlier in the day, still sounding like he could not believe
what unfolded on the video.

“They even had the unmitigated gall
to make coffee for themselves and to pop popcorn, my popcorn, in my
microwave while looters were tearing apart businesses,” he said. “Within
their sight and within their reach.”

Lightfoot said investigators
will use department records and location data from department vehicles
to identify the officers involved. She noted that at least three of the
employees on the video wore white shirts, denoting leadership roles.

“While
thousands of officers served honorably on that very difficult weekend
and every day since, these individuals did indeed abandon their
responsibilities and their obligation and their oath to serve and
protect,” she said. “We should all be disgusted. We should all feel hurt
and betrayed in this moment of all moments.”

Fraternal Order of
Police union President John Catanzara says the looting at the shopping
center was over by the time officers arrived. He accused Lightfoot of
staging a “Hollywood production” to push a political agenda that
includes licensing of all police officers in Illinois.

“It’s
disgusting that they would challenge the honor of those (officers) that
were in the office that night, as if they would stand there and let
people die,” he said.

Top leaders of the city’s police department
called the officers’ actions indefensible, and Superintendent David
Brown pledged that they will be disciplined because the department’s
integrity is at stake.

“Sleep during a riot?” he asked, incredulously. “What do you do on a regular shift when there’s no riots? “

First
Deputy Superintendent Anthony Riccio said he was stunned by what he
saw, particularly when he realized what was going on outside as rioters
were attacking officers, looting stores and setting squad cars on fire.

“Thirteen
officers making popcorn, taking a nap and relaxing as I was standing
shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other officers on State Street
while we got pelted with rocks,” he said, reminding reporters that more
than 100 officers were injured during the rioting. “That’s occurring at
the same time these guys are making popcorn and having a pot of coffee.”

Lightfoot
did not say what actions should be taken against the officers. A few
days ago, she said she wanted an officer who made an obscene gesture to
protesters fired.

“Not one of these officers will be allowed to
hide behind the badge and go on and act like nothing ever happened,” she
said, adding later in the news conference, “I believe we should take
the strongest possible action that we can take, particularly with the
supervisors.”

She also suggested that the scene that unfolded in that office suggest the officers believe they can do whatever they want.

“These
officers clearly felt like they were untouchable,” she said. “And why
not when the officers, the white shirts (supervisors wear white shirts
to distinguish them from other officers) are in the room with them?”

She said the question of whether the officers should face criminal charges is being “scrutinized” by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s and U.S. Attorney’s offices.

Video courtesy CNN