Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) declared that Chicago is under lockdown for the “predicted days” after widespread looting broke out in the city on Monday morning.
The mayor of Chicago announced at a news conference Monday that she had instituted a community protection program that included a lockdown and increased police presence “for the predicted days until we know our neighborhoods are safe. “
“These individuals engaged in what could only be described as brutal and widespread criminal looting and destruction,” Lightfoot said. “To be clear, this had nothing to do with legitimate, protected expression of the First Amendment.”
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said the “heavy police presence” in downtown Chicago continues “until further notice.” He said several agencies were developing a “multilayered plan” to respond to looting “based on lessons we learned earlier this summer” during George Floyd’s protests.
“This is a beautiful city and Chicago police will not allow this selfish criminal act to destroy what generations of hard work have built,” he told the news conference.
He said all officers will work 12-hour shifts and are free every day canceled “until further notice.”
As a result of recent events, we are using all available city resources to monitor the situation and help keep our neighborhoods safe. pic.twitter.com/stVSWRlMCh
– Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) August 10, 2020
De looting and vandalism broke out shortly after midnight on Monday, leading to nearly five hours of vandalism, the Chicago Tribune reported. At least 100 people were arrested all night, including Monday morning.
Brown said 13 officers were injured during the looting, including a sergeant who was hit with a bottle and another whose nose was broken during a fight with looters. In all, 400 officers were deployed during the night.
Officials said the looting and vandalism were sparked by false reports from a police officer who shot at an unarmed teenager in the Englewood area. The police superintendent said during the briefing that the shooting involved a 20-year-old man who had shot at police while fleeing. He is expected to survive.
“Tempers flared up due to incorrect information when it was noon in the evening,” Brown said.
But the mayor said the perceived “justification” does not matter.
“Whatever happened, in our downtown and surrounding communities, simple, criminal behavior was pure and simple,” Lightfoot said. ‘And there can be no excuse for that. Period. “
As in many U.S. cities, protests erupted in May and early June in Chicago over police brutality after Floyd died as a Minneapolis police officer. Some of the protests turned violent and led to looting, including in Minneapolis, Atlanta and Chicago, which were starting points, but most remained peaceful.
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