CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown is blasting the Cook County State’s Attorney’s treatment of arrests of people for possession of illegal guns.
At a recent webinar by the State’s Attorney's Office, Matthew Saniie, the SAO’s chief data officer, said the office views illegal gun possession as a non-violent crime.
“We have no idea if the person who possesses the gun has any intention of using that gun in an illegal way beyond possessing it or if they’re going to create violence with it,” he said.
At a news conference Tuesday on the mass shooting that left four people dead and four others wounded in the Englewood neighborhood, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown called that, “ridiculous.”
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“Illegal gun possession makes us less safe, not more safe. And I would argue the idea of decriminalizing illegal gun possession is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in my nearly 40 years in law enforcement,” the superintendent said.
Supt. Brown said illegal gun possession drives violence in the city and around the country.
The city’s top cop said Chicago police have confiscated 5,200 guns this year so far, which is more than New York and Los Angeles combined.
Of those who would think that illegal gun possession is a non-violent crime, Supt. Brown asked, “How can you sleep at night? I would ask those that argue that point to come to Englewood, come to this address on Morgan Street and look these victims and their families in the eye and make the argument that illegal gun possession makes you safer.”
The State’s Attorney’s Office said it prosecutes 95 percent of suspects who are arrested for what prosecutors call “violent” gun cases. Saniie said most of the gun arrests Chicago police make are for illegal gun possession.
Still, Supt. Brown said, “The consequences on the back end of illegal gun possession is where we need the largest amount of help from our court systems and our prosecutions.”
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