Cops seen lounging in burglarized congressman’s office are suspended, Chicago union says
The Chicago Police Department has suspended 17 officers seen lounging in the office of an Illinois congressman during citywide protests in June, a union official says.
The officers face suspensions of up to 20 days after video showed them resting, brewing coffee and making popcorn in the offices of U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, said Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The union plans to challenge the punishments, the newspaper reported.
Catanzara defended the officers’ actions, saying they had done their jobs in response to Rush’s campaign office in a strip mall being burglarized.
“What do you want people to do when there was nothing going on?” Catanzara told the Chicago Sun-Times. “They had already secured the whole property. They had originally walked through the parking lot around the back side of all of the buildings to make sure all the doors were secure when they arrived there.”
Protests erupted in Chicago and across the country following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after being pinned by a Minneapolis police officer.
In Chicago, some people broke into businesses, set fires and vandalized buildings.
The video became a national news story and upset city leaders.
“Sleep during a riot?” Police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference, according to The Associated Press. “What do you do on a regular shift when there’s no riots?”
A Chicago police spokesman told WBBM an internal affairs bureau investigation was complete but declined to provide information on the suspensions.
“Each member may elect to challenge the decisions based on their collective bargaining agreements, which initiates the grievance process,” the spokesman told the news outlet. “We are unable to release further information regarding the results of the investigation at this time due to the ongoing grievance process.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2021 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Cops seen lounging in burglarized congressman’s office are suspended, Chicago union says."