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Today, Chicago surpassed 1,000 gunshot victims so far in 2021.
CPD is cancelling days off for several teams. Hundreds of officers will work weeks on end, spending time away from family/friends. But a lot of officers are hesitant to even conduct traffic stops. You have a Mayor touting the need for a foot pursuit policy. No vehicle pursuits.
So, you have a bunch of officers working but afraid to work. And when I mean afraid, I don't mean afraid to do the job. Running towards gunfire and the like. Afraid of the backlash from politicians and the liability. It's getting pretty ridiculous.
If an officer gets shot, the Mayor doesn't even bother showing up to the hospital. But she'll give endless press conferences condemning the police for making split second decisions based on the behavior of others. So many good officers I know are looking for jobs out of state.
This officer got shot running after a gunman who just shot a security guard. His fellow officers got shot AT while engaging him. After police finally shot him, officers rushed in and tried to save his life. The Mayor has barely said shit about it. https://www.chicagocopa.org/case/2021-1076/
Officers sign up for this job knowing the risks to their health and safety. But the new big risk in law enforcement is doing your job correctly and still being demonized by politicians and celebrities alike. Who wants their name plastered everywhere? Who wants to be doxxed?
None of this is to say that every officer is perfect. But there are literally over ten thousand interactions between Chicago Police and citizens every day. And as police become too exhausted or otherwise unmotivated to be protective, crime thrives in the enforcement vacuum.
Policing is unique in many ways, but it's it's like any other job in many aspects, too. If morale is low and people are consistently overworked due to mandatory overtime or short staffing, productivity drops. That's a fact. So, brace yourselves. This summer is going to be a doozy
