Chicago Police Chief: "We want to stop the right people, for the right reason, at the right time."
Superintendent talks gun violence, the DOJ report and morale within the CPD on AM560 "The Morning Answer" for Upstream Ideas
CHICAGO, Jan. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told Dan Proft of Upstream Ideas that while it was difficult for officers to read the recent U.S. Department of Justice report claiming systematic racism existed within the department, police will keep doing their job by arresting "the bad guys" and taking them off the street.
"Do we have our challenges? Sure we do," Johnson said. "The majority of the officers out there are trying to do their job professionally and respectfully and fairly. There is no place in the CPD for racism or treating people unfairly. We want to stop the right people for the right reason at the right time, and arrest bad guys with guns. If we stay on that path, we will be fine."
Johnson said the national narrative that the city is out of control is wrong, adding that the murders and gun violence are largely confined to just two districts, and the vast majority of killings occur in five of the city's districts.
But, ultimately, the city's gun violence isn't going to go away without the help of lawmakers, Johnson said.
"The truth of the matter is this: the police are out there working hard every day arresting bad guys with guns, but until we get our policymakers to help us hold these repeat gun offenders responsible for their actions, we're going to continue to see this gun violence," Johnson said. "At the end of the day, we still need our legislators to do the right thing and help us with this gun bill."
While Johnson praised Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for supporting the CPD, and said the state attorney and U.S. attorney understand what the real issue is, it's going to take a group effort to stop the violence.
"It's going to take everybody," he said. "Police, community members, clergy, business owners, elected officials -- everybody has a stake in this game. It's going to take everybody to reduce this gun violence."
About Upstream Ideas
Upstream Ideas, under the leadership of Dan Proft – one of Illinois' sharpest political minds, provides expository content with new information and fresh perspectives meant to inform policy discussions, debunk faulty premises and challenge accepted orthodoxies. Proft is one of Chicago's most-respected talk radio personalities and a senior fellow at the Illinois Policy Institute, a free-market think tank. He is also a frequent editorial contributor to the Chicago Tribune.
SOURCE Upstream Ideas
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