Chicago police have responded to President Donald Trump’s tweet about deploying federal forces if they do not “fix the horrible ‘carnage’” in their city, reports ABC 7 Chicago.
If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible “carnage” going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017
2016 was the bloodiest year Chicago has seen in 20 years with 762 homicides and 3,550 shootings. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson proposed a plan in early January to curb this violence. However, 2017 doesn’t look to be faring any better; there have already been 38 homicides and 182 shootings.
While many officers criticized the president for his tweet (via ABC 7)…
“We don’t need tanks rolling down Ashland or Archer, what we need are programs that prevent violence, street level intervention,” said Alderman Raymond Lopez (15th Ward).
“You have a responsibility to measure your words because they carry meaning. The inability for him to understand that issuing threats via tweet is juvenile,” said Alderman Ameya Pawar (47th Ward).
“I don’t know if he knows what the right approach is and what we really need, so there’s concern about that,” said Alderman Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward).”
…Chicago’s mayor and Chicago Police Superintendent Johnson are willing to admit the city needs help.
“I would welcome…federal participation in working with law enforcement to deal with guns and gangs,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Chicago Police Superintendent Johnson also released a statement on Tuesday saying, “As the mayor just said a few hours ago, the Chicago Police Department is more than willing to work with the federal government to build on our partnerships with the DOJ, FBI, DEA and ATF to boost federal prosecution rates for gun crimes in Chicago.”
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