CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara goes before the Chicago Police Board on Monday in an effort to try to keep his job as a police officer.
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara has racked up dozens of complaints since he became a Chicago police officer in 1995. In fact, two previous police superintendents have tried to have him fired; and last year, he became the first president of the FOP to be elected while stripped of his police powers.
Now, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown wants him gone, and charges include filing false police reports and a slew of Facebook posts before he was union president, in which Catanzara is alleged to have gone over-the-line as a member of the Chicago Police Department.
In one post, according to records from the Police Board, Catanzara wrote: “Wtf its [sic] seriously time to kill these motherf———,” though it was not clear who Catanzara was referring to. Catanzara previously said the comment was made in reference to people who have killed police officers.
Another post included a picture of him in uniform standing next to a marked squad holding an American flag and had the caption: "Rahm Free City 2019. Make Chicago Great Again. Drain the City Hall Swamp. #MAGA."
In several other posts, Catanzara suggested someone perform a sex act on him, referred to Muslims as “savages” and called a superior officer in the CPD “spineless,” records show.
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The Civilian Office of Police Accountability had previously recommended that Catanzara be fired for his comments. In all, he’s accused of violating 11 CPD rules in connection with 18 allegations that include making false reports and being insubordinate or disrespectful to supervisors.
Additionally, Catanzara has remained at odds with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, often criticizing her for her response to crime. Most recently, the two have butt heads over the city’s vaccine mandate.
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In a video published to the FOP’s YouTube channel Friday, Catanzara accused the mayor of wanting to make a “circus” out of his case.
"The mayor has decided that she wanted a circus. She’s made it very clear I’m not going to win this case, that I will never be in a police uniform again. I guess we shall see if the members of the Police Board are going to do the right thing or do what they’re told," Catanzara said. "Time will tell.”
The hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m.
(WBBM Newsradio and the Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this copy.)