Scary situation. I can't imagine being a police officer in Chicago - you guys have my respect and thanks for being willing to do this job.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/...-20190321-story.html

On the West Side, the street shows no fear of Chicago police

By John Kass
Chicago Tribune

I'd hate it when some old-time police sergeant, usually an old white guy but sometimes black, would stand, hand on hip and sigh.

And in the laconic and bitterly ironic tone of Chicago police, he’d make the big speech of five words:

“Gonna be a bad summer.”

I’d cringe, because, well, who the hell doesn’t know this?

People are outside in summer. Rich people go places. But poor people go outside. And in Chicago, guns go outside with them.

Calling it “gun violence” lets local politicians off the hook, because they want to shift the blame away from the lousy schools they’ve provided and taxes that cripple or drive away businesses so there are no jobs.

The proper name is “gang violence,” and the gangs kill people over drugs, money, over revenge, over nothing, over they just felt like it.

It was always going to be a bad summer. But something happened the other day on the West Side that makes me think that old archetype of a sergeant may be right this time.


Authorities confirmed that two police officers — TAC cops, not rookies — were making a drug arrest shortly after 2 p.m. on Sunday.

A mob appeared, threatening the officers, surrounding them, threatening to reach for their own weapons to shoot them dead, and the cops let the suspect go.

What is learned here? The street is officially no longer afraid of the Chicago police.

If the cops had fired their weapons, news media would have been all over them, metaphorically skinning them alive. Politicians would have demanded their heads. Democratic presidential candidates, and the two campaigning for mayor, would have held repeated news conferences.

But this? Nothing.

I don’t see politicians convening blue ribbon panels of experts. I don’t see media bringing all the light they can bring to this. Tribune reporter William Lee crafted a compelling story, but one story isn’t enough.

The cops know they’re alone. That’s not a good prescription for what may come.

I’ve never heard of that before, of cops so intimidated during an arrest that they’d back off. And I wonder what message that sends, to cops, to the street, and what will come of it.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, the department’s chief communications officer, sent me this statement:

“Multiple times each day, Chicago police officers encounter dangerous and potentially unstable situations in the name of creating a safer neighborhood for all Chicagoans. The department supports the officer’s measured response to a situation that could have deteriorated and put lives at risk. Our message to the offender — we know who you are, and you will be held accountable for your actions.”

It was a measured response. It could have deteriorated and put lives at risk. People could have died, including the cops, and innocents down the block, and even some of the mob that began shouting.

And then where would we be?

According to authorities, the two tactical officers were making the drug arrest on Sunday afternoon in the West 4700 block of Gladys Avenue in West Garfield Park.

Police who had viewed the body camera footage told me one officer dealt with the suspect and another stood a few feet away, watching a bystander who was making threats.

Then, someone reached into the squad car and took seized drugs. The officer standing a few feet away ran to chase the drug thief, and the mob began pressing and threatening the other officer with the suspect. A shot was fired a block away.

A police radio recording of the incident shared with me lays it out.

“Ten people surrounded me indicating they had firearms, then one person away from me … holding his waist … indicating he’d use the firearm against me.”

That’s difficult to put your mind around, that people on the street have lost their fear of the cops. And what comes next? Who can say? But others will push the envelope, and others will push back, and it ends badly.

I asked rank-and-file police to weigh in, on Facebook and Twitter; unfortunately, regulations prevent them from talking. That’s something the next mayor should address. Preventing people from discussing terrors on the job simply builds resentments.

“I don’t know what was going through that officer’s head, but I guess part of it was he didn’t want to shoot anyone, and wind up charged and in jail like (Jason) Van Dyke,” wrote an officer via email. “Like I said I wasn’t there so I can’t second guess him or read his mind.

“The criminals are emboldened to challenge the police because the politicians and media will not stand up for the police and are only too happy for any excuse to jump on the police to gain political support... Now there is no fear of going to jail.”

Did the officer do the right thing by letting the suspect go? Schools of thought vary. It’s easy to say this or that when you’re calm at a typewriter and there’s no sweat trickling down your back.

But what will happen is that the guys who hang on the corners of 4700 W. Gladys will see more cops, and soon.

Two of them talked to me, as others drove past, slow, to watch.

“Yeah, yeah, I know you,” said a pleasant man who called himself “John” on the corner on Thursday. The other guy looked at my ID, and said his name was “Kass.”

“It wasn’t no ‘mob.’ But this is the hood, man,” said John.

“This (stuff) happens in the hood.”

Not this (stuff), I said.

“It do now,” he said.

quote:

“It do now,” he said.

And that’s it.

One of the hoodlums put his hand in his waist, and verbally threatened the cop. If they had it on video, would that be sufficient for the LEO to draw and fire? Question is for Chicago vs "normal" cities.

quote:

Calling it “gun violence” lets local politicians off the hook, because they want to shift the blame away from the lousy schools they’ve provided and taxes that cripple or drive away businesses so there are no jobs.

The proper name is “gang violence,” and the gangs kill people over drugs, money, over revenge, over nothing, over they just felt like it.

A kernel of truth in media.

Equip CPD cars thusly:

Go to coffee. Stay on coffee. Bring coffee to the crime scene after the crime is done and drink coffee while the scene is cleaned up. Then go to coffee.

I'd like to see an announcement telling the good folks of the Chicago "hoods" that the police will no longer be servicing or answering calls there. Anyone who isn't gang affiliated is encouraged to move far away.

This is good because enough of this kind of thing and eventually even many of the idiots who support the likes of Alexandria Occasional-Cortex-Full-Stop will realize we've taken a wrong turn.

Chicago is the democrats "Show Place" and "Pride and Joy" for Americans. Chicago is what the democrats aspire what all of America should look like. God help us all......

quote:

"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system ... but too early to shoot the bastards."
-- Claire Wolfe

Still too early?

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system ... but too early to shoot the bastards."
-- Claire Wolfe

Still too early?

Yeah, but it inches ever-so-slowly closer every day.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
What is learned here? The street is officially no longer afraid of the Chicago police.

And vigilante justice is warranted. Cue Death Wish...

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
And then where would we be?

Anarchy?

As satisfying in the short term as it might be, surrendering to the thugs and warlords isn’t the answer. The Third World is full of examples of why that’s true.

Is any other possibility practicably likely at this stage? I don’t know, and hope isn’t a tactic, but at this point about all most of us can do is hope that the people who live in such places and suffer for it will someday wake up, say, “Enough!” and demand and accept effective law enforcement. Heather Mac Donald discusses that in her book The War on Cops, so it might still happen. Otherwise those places are doomed, and like other diseases, it might easily spread to the rest of us.

quote:

“The criminals are emboldened to challenge the police because the politicians and media will not stand up for the police and are only too happy for any excuse to jump on the police to gain political support... Now there is no fear of going to jail.”

If the police are unable or unwilling to respond with force... why have police?
If there will be no prosecution or significant jail time for the offenders, why have police?
Chicago should just close the police department if that's the case.
The City of Chicago is headed towards bankruptcy anyway.

Chicago is the poster child for all that is good in America

just look at how in love Hollywood is with Chicago

I think it was last night on TV....

Chicago Med, followed by Chicago PD, followed by Chicago Fire

really, its that great that its the only thing they can come up with?

next year the brain trust will come out with two new shows Chicago Sanitation and Chicago Mail Delivery

Time for the Purge.

Brief Overview and Quantification of the Financial Problem for Illinois and Chicago

For Illinois, the state has $31.5 billion in general obligation (GO) bonds, $15 billion of unpaid bills that are due, and, most importantly, an unfunded pension liability which grew to $251 billion on June 30, 2016. The Illinois House and Senate passed tax increase over the Governor’s veto in July 2017, but it wasn’t enough to keep Moody’s from putting the state on negative outlook with a threat to downgrade Illinois bonds to a junk rating.

A junk rating means that an issuer’s bonds are too risky and not credit-worthy enough to be considered investment grade; for now, there are no states with a junk credit rating.

Unlike Illinois, Chicago’s bonds are already junk rated (Ba1) by Moody’s and are also under review for another possible downgrade. Relatedly, the deep junk bonds of the Chicago Board of Education, already rated B3, are under review for a further downgrade due to state budgetary pressures. The pension systems of Chicago and the Chicago Public School system are also deeply underfunded, by $35 billion and $9.5 billion, respectively.

Here is how the vicious cycle is currently working:

1. Debts are rising exponentially.
2. Pension underfunding levels are increasing exponentially.
3. Because of #1 and #2, interest payments and pension obligations are consuming state and city budgets.
4. Because of #3, taxes and fees keep rising, while service levels keep declining.
5. Because of #4, taxpayers are leaving the city and state, making the financial problems even worse.

http://www.appleseedcapital.co...-end-game-look-like/

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
What is learned here? The street is officially no longer afraid of the Chicago police.

It’s been like that for a long time now. When I lived there I recall an incident where two officers responded to a call and were incinerated in their car. I don’t recall if it was a mob or not, but nonetheless, a very dangerous place to be a LEO. I don’t have a link to that particular incident. Hopefully one of our CPD members can help to provide more info. Thanks for all you do CPD. From the outside, it seems like an impossible job to perform day in and day out.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
This is good because enough of this kind of thing and eventually even many of the idiots who support the likes of Alexandria Occasional-Cortex-Full-Stop will realize we've taken a wrong turn.

They 'may' wake up to the reality of said wrong turn, but I'm highly doubtful they'll ever reach a rational conclusion as to 'why' this has happened.

The rest of Illinois should consider building a wall.