Chicago, that toddlin' town...
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Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago police
Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago police chief
Derek Hawkins, The Washington Post
First posted: Friday, October 07, 2016 02:49 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, October 07, 2016 02:53 PM EDT
A Chicago police officer who was savagely beaten at a car accident scene this week did not draw her gun on her attacker -- even though she feared for her life -- because she was afraid of the media attention that would come if she shot him, the city's police chief said this week.
Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson said the officer, a 17-year veteran of the force, knew she should shoot the attacker but hesitated because "she didn't want her family or the department to go through the scrutiny the next day on the national news," the Chicago Tribune reported.
Johnson's remarks, which came at an awards ceremony for police and firefighters, underscore a point law enforcement officers and some political leaders have pressed repeatedly as crime has risen in Chicago and other major cities: that police are reluctant to use force or act aggressively because they worry about negative media attention that will follow.
The issue has become known as the Ferguson effect, named after the St. Louis suburb where a police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in August 2014. The shooting set off protests and riots that summer, and eventually gave way to a fevered national debate over race and policing. Many law enforcement officers have said that the intense focus on policing in the time since has put them on the defensive and hindered their work.
Criminologists are generally skeptical of the Ferguson effect, many arguing that there simply isn't enough evidence to definitively link spikes in crime to police acting with increased restraint. President Barack Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch have also said not enough data exists to draw a clear connection.
In Chicago, which has experienced record numbers of homicides this year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has blamed the surge in violent crime on officers balking during confrontations, saying they have become "fetal" because they don't want to be prosecuted or fired for their actions.
Superintendent Johnson stopped short of saying the attack on the officer was an example of the Ferguson effect in action, but said being under a magnifying glass has caused his police to "second-guess" themselves.
According to Johnson, the 43-year-old officer, who has not been identified, was responding to a car crash Wednesday when a 28-year-old man who was involved in the accident struck her in the face, then repeatedly smashed her head against the pavement until she passed out. He said the attack went on for several minutes and that two other officers were injured as they tried to pull the suspect away, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The suspect was on PCP, he said, and was finally subdued after officers Tasered and pepper sprayed him.
Johnson said he visited the officer in the hospital, where she told him why she did not draw her service weapon during the attack.
"She looked at me and said she thought she was going to die," he told the audience at the awards ceremony. "And she knew that she should shoot this guy. But she chose not to because she didn't want her family or the department to have to go through the scrutiny the next day on national news."
"This officer could [have] lost her life last night," Johnson continued. "We have to change the narrative of law enforcement across this country."
The head of Chicago's police union, the largest in the country, said the incident showed just how concerned officers are about becoming the center of a public spectacle if they use force. Police "don't want to become the next YouTube video," he told the Tribune.
But a Chicago civil rights lawyer said that police bore some responsibility for the tension between police and the communities they serve. Decades of abuse by the police department had eroded the public's trust, attorney Jon Loevy told the Tribune.
"Any fair-minded person acknowledges that police have a very difficult and dangerous job, and this sounds like a very unfortunate situation," he said. "The hope is that the department and the community can work to repair some of the lost trust so that officers won't always feel so second-guessed."
Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago po
Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago police chief
Derek Hawkins, The Washington Post
First posted: Friday, October 07, 2016 02:49 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, October 07, 2016 02:53 PM EDT
A Chicago police officer who was savagely beaten at a car accident scene this week did not draw her gun on her attacker -- even though she feared for her life -- because she was afraid of the media attention that would come if she shot him, the city's police chief said this week.
Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson said the officer, a 17-year veteran of the force, knew she should shoot the attacker but hesitated because "she didn't want her family or the department to go through the scrutiny the next day on the national news," the Chicago Tribune reported.
Johnson's remarks, which came at an awards ceremony for police and firefighters, underscore a point law enforcement officers and some political leaders have pressed repeatedly as crime has risen in Chicago and other major cities: that police are reluctant to use force or act aggressively because they worry about negative media attention that will follow.
The issue has become known as the Ferguson effect, named after the St. Louis suburb where a police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in August 2014. The shooting set off protests and riots that summer, and eventually gave way to a fevered national debate over race and policing. Many law enforcement officers have said that the intense focus on policing in the time since has put them on the defensive and hindered their work.
Criminologists are generally skeptical of the Ferguson effect, many arguing that there simply isn't enough evidence to definitively link spikes in crime to police acting with increased restraint. President Barack Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch have also said not enough data exists to draw a clear connection.
In Chicago, which has experienced record numbers of homicides this year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has blamed the surge in violent crime on officers balking during confrontations, saying they have become "fetal" because they don't want to be prosecuted or fired for their actions.
Superintendent Johnson stopped short of saying the attack on the officer was an example of the Ferguson effect in action, but said being under a magnifying glass has caused his police to "second-guess" themselves.
According to Johnson, the 43-year-old officer, who has not been identified, was responding to a car crash Wednesday when a 28-year-old man who was involved in the accident struck her in the face, then repeatedly smashed her head against the pavement until she passed out. He said the attack went on for several minutes and that two other officers were injured as they tried to pull the suspect away, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The suspect was on PCP, he said, and was finally subdued after officers Tasered and pepper sprayed him.
Johnson said he visited the officer in the hospital, where she told him why she did not draw her service weapon during the attack.
"She looked at me and said she thought she was going to die," he told the audience at the awards ceremony. "And she knew that she should shoot this guy. But she chose not to because she didn't want her family or the department to have to go through the scrutiny the next day on national news."
"This officer could [have] lost her life last night," Johnson continued. "We have to change the narrative of law enforcement across this country."
The head of Chicago's police union, the largest in the country, said the incident showed just how concerned officers are about becoming the center of a public spectacle if they use force. Police "don't want to become the next YouTube video," he told the Tribune.
But a Chicago civil rights lawyer said that police bore some responsibility for the tension between police and the communities they serve. Decades of abuse by the police department had eroded the public's trust, attorney Jon Loevy told the Tribune.
"Any fair-minded person acknowledges that police have a very difficult and dangerous job, and this sounds like a very unfortunate situation," he said. "The hope is that the department and the community can work to repair some of the lost trust so that officers won't always feel so second-guessed."
Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago po
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
It is tragic and dangerous when public opinion can interfere with important issues like law enforcement. The officer under attack was faced with a life/death situation and well within her rights to shoot and kill. In cases like that, there shouldn't even be room for questioning.
This problem exists too in areas populated by violent ethnic groups where police do not go at all. The media says the police are afraid to go there. Sure, the police are afraid; afraid of the backlash, accusations of 'racism' if the dare to go and enforce the law.
I wish there was a way to make those who denigrate the police to walk in their shoes for a few days and see how well they would perform to protect society and enforce the law.
It is tragic and dangerous when public opinion can interfere with important issues like law enforcement. The officer under attack was faced with a life/death situation and well within her rights to shoot and kill. In cases like that, there shouldn't even be room for questioning.
This problem exists too in areas populated by violent ethnic groups where police do not go at all. The media says the police are afraid to go there. Sure, the police are afraid; afraid of the backlash, accusations of 'racism' if the dare to go and enforce the law.
I wish there was a way to make those who denigrate the police to walk in their shoes for a few days and see how well they would perform to protect society and enforce the law.
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
Yeah.... I know of a couple of ethnic hotspots peopled by drunken rednecks whose asses are as white as yours
Yeah.... I know of a couple of ethnic hotspots peopled by drunken rednecks whose asses are as white as yours
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
Were per tell are they ? Inquiring minds want to know .
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
Can you name one of these places?
Have you ever been to Hudson Hope BC
Can you name one of these places?
Have you ever been to Hudson Hope BC
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
Sure have , stopped in the local hotel for a glass with a couple of my native brothers . Funny the rednecks could care less .
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
What are you talking about ?
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
England, Sweden, Belgium. For starters.
England, Sweden, Belgium. For starters.
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
This says more about the quality of the mass media than anything about the quality of policing.
This says more about the quality of the mass media than anything about the quality of policing.
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
Too funny.
Too funny.
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
Don't you love the view of Tumbler Ridge these days ?
Why have you never heard of these places ? When were you last in Hudson Hope by the way ?
Don't you love the view of Tumbler Ridge these days ?
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
Not the same any more . Why is that ?
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
lol fake story, pig propaganda.
lol fake story, pig propaganda.
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
Weaverville, Hell St.... Places you'd never have balls enough to venture either ... but what would be the point in telling you anything? Next time your near Sudz, drop on by.... I'll be glad to introduce your sorry butt to one or two of 'em. The ethnic jab was aimed at the mouthpiece ahead. Interesting that you climbed aboard....
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
Having never been to French Canada I cannot say the same .
Throw all the names you want , been there done that .
Whatever , I have not ever been anywhere in English Canada that I could not fit in ,including Apache Pass .
Having never been to French Canada I cannot say the same .
Throw all the names you want , been there done that .
Re: Cop beaten in attack didn't draw gun for fear of media backlash, says Chicago pol
Uh...huh...
Uh...huh...
