Chicago Activist Suggests Kids Wear Bullet-Proof Vests, Helmets

Nevermind being outraged at the lack of criminal justice reform, community outreach programs or legislators unwillingness to work with law enforcement to draft legislation that would effectively reduce crime, Chicago activist and longtime resident Tio Hardiman is mad at someone else: other black activists.

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“I see them coming out always downtown protesting against the police. But never do I see them inside the black community,” Hardiman said.

Hardiman, who is with the Violence Interrupters, visited Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood after seven people were killed in three separate shootings less than 12 hours apart on Thursday.

Hardiman said he wasn’t joking when he suggested that “young people in the South and West Sides of Chicago be equipped with helmets and bullet-proof vests.”

Doc. Matt Harrington, CEO of Ammo Coding Systems, was with Hardiman. He’s behind legislation that would require ammunition manufacturers to make bullets traceable.

“Bullets just don’t come from a bullet fairy.”

Meanwhile, 783 people have been shot resulting in the loss of 145 lives so far in 2016 while the clearance rate in Chicago sits at a dismal 10.3%. Apparently, there’s a criminal justice fairy divebombing the Windy City granting criminals a 90% chance of getting away with shooting someone.

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Maybe, just maybe, community activists and Chicago residents should band together to demand police and legislators have allowed the city to become a place that anyone would even have to suggest kids should wear bullet-proof vests for their safety.

Just a thought.

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