[ad_1]
They turned away and turned their backs on him.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot received the cold shoulder by the CPD base around midnight Saturday at the University of Chicago Medical Center when she approached them on the 7the ground as they grappled with gunfire from two fellow officers.
Chicago Police Officer Ella French was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Saturday night in West Englewood, while her partner continues to fight for his life in the hospital. Three people are in police custody.
Moments before about 30 officers turned their backs on the mayor, Lightfoot attempted to speak to the officer’s father, who is himself a retired Chicago police officer. He clearly didn’t want anything to do with Lightfoot, according to two sources present.
The father lambasted the mayor and blamed her for what had happened. A source said Lightfoot behaved well as the father yelled at him. She listened to him and treated him with respect.
It was then suggested that Lightfoot say a few words to the mourning officers nearby, but as she approached, “they did an about-face – it looked like it had been choreographed,” said one of the sources present, describing it as “astonishing”.
Lightfoot then descended to speak to reporters at a press conference about the shooting.
“The policemen’s decision to turn their backs on the mayor while waiting with the family on the 7th floor was significant,” FOP President John Catanzara told me in an interview.
“Turning your back on the mayor was a prime example of how the hundreds of police officers who waited outside the hospital felt,” Catanzara said.
Officers no longer support Lightfoot’s leadership, Catanzara said.
“They have had enough and will not be silent anymore. “
The mayor’s office did not have an immediate response to a request for comment.
[ad_2]
Source link