CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A steep increase in murders last month coincided with a steep decrease in police activity and the superintendent and the union are pointing to different factors.
Murders were up about 80 percent in June, compared to last year, and the number of arrests were down 55 percent, street stops fell by 74 percent and traffic stops dropped by 86 percent.
Police Superintendent David Brown said Monday that police activity slowed because fewer people have been on the streets “because of COVID.”
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But John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, told the Sun-Times on Tuesday it’s not so simple, and also has to do with rock-bottom police morale and distrust of Mayor Lightfoot.
Catanzara pointed to Lightfoot’s comments at a news conference condemning officers accused of sleeping on a couch, popping popcorn and drinking coffee in U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s campaign office while, she said, looters plundered the same strip mall.
“Same thing she said to Trump: ‘Begins with an F and ends with a U.’ That’s what she said to the police with that whole press conference,” said Catanzara, who doesn’t think those officers did anything wrong.
“It’s going to cause officers to pause and say: ‘I want to go home today safe. I want to make sure I keep my job. And I want to make sure I don’t go to jail.’ It’s not going to be ‘react first’ unless it’s a life-and-death situation. They’re going to stop and think first before they act.”
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Catanzara said the anti-police sentiment is worse than it was when the Laquan McDonald shooting video came to light. Protesters were chanting "16 shots and a cover up" and then Mayor Emanuel accused officers of "going fetal."