Chicago officers, including supervisors, were called out by the city’s mayor over footage of them lounging and snacking in a South Side office while the city faced volatile protests.
“They were in a mode of relaxation, and they did not care about what was happening to businesspeople, to this city,” Democrat Congressman Bobby Rush said at a Thursday press conference about the cops. “They didn’t care. They absolutely didn’t care.”
Rush revealed his office was broken into and burglarized on June 1 while protests over the death of George Floyd took place throughout the city. Video from around one in the morning that night showed 10 officers and three supervisors kicking their feet up in his office, making popcorn and coffee. One was even reportedly napping, according to Rush. Rush claims they were there upwards of four hours.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the footage was shown to her this week and “enraged” her. She apologized to Rush for the “profound disrespect” and said the incident caused “personal embarrassment” for her.
“I’m sorry that you and your staff even had to deal with this incredible indignity,” she said, adding that whole the officers relaxed, nearby South Side businesses were being “looted and burned.”
The mayor revealed stills from the footage showing one cop lying on a couch and another on his phone.
“I can tell you one thing for certain — not one of these officers will be able to hide behind the badge and go on and act like nothing ever happened; not anymore, not in my city, not in your city,” Lightfoot promised.
While she may be chastising these officers, the mayor herself attracted controversy during the protests, with audio from a call between her and Chicago aldermen revealing the mayor downplaying the reality of the violent protests.
Also on rt.com See no evil? Mayor of Chicago told councillors describing ‘WARZONE’ riot scenes that they’re ‘FULL OF S**T’Despite being told the severity of the situation on the ground, Lightfoot waved away concerns, saying violent riots were an “unsubstantiated rumor.” Hearing that protesters were arming themselves with rifles and creating a “virtual war zone” in one ward, the mayor replied, "I think you’re 100 percent full of s**t.”
Meanwhile, police officials promised the officers would be identified and punished for their conduct, though no commitments were made to terminating the cops.
“This kind of conduct means that if you sleep during a riot, what do you do on a regular shift when there’s no riot?” Chicago Police Department Superintendent David Brown said.
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