CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Interim Chicago Police Supt. Fred Waller made his first public comments Tuesday about allegations that members of the department may have had improper sexual contact with migrants being sheltered at a West Side district police station.
City workers moved dozens of migrants out of the Ogden District, which serves the Little Village and Lawndale neighborhoods, after the allegations first surfaced last week — including reports that a CPD officer impregnated a migrant woman.
At an unrelated event at CPD headquarters, Waller told reporters that he could not discuss specifics of the investigations or the allegations. He noted, though, that numerous Chicago police districts have sheltered migrants who were bused to Chicago from Texas and elsewhere without incident.
"Has it sometimes been a little disruptive with so many people in the stations? More probably disruptive to some of the citizens coming in to make reports," Waller said. "But we've been very accommodating to make this transition a little bit better. I know there have been times when officers brought food, water, and clothing.”
About 11,000 migrants have been brought to Chicago since August 2022. Waller said police officers have worked to make migrants feel safe, but he acknowledged that sheltering them at district offices is a short-term solution.
"Something more permanent needs to be had," Waller said. "But again, when the Chicago Police Department's given the ball, we don't drop it."
John Catanzara, the head of Chicago's police officers union, has blasted the investigation and said there's no validity to the complaints.
The City's police oversight agency, as well as internal affairs investigators, are looking into the allegations.
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