Over Open Mic, Chicago Mayor Calls Police Union Official a 'Clown'It's no secret that Chicago's Mayor Lori Lightfoot loathes the police. She's been at war with cops ever since she served on the Chicago Police Board and the Police Accountability Task Force in 2015, using the post as a springboard to win the mayoral election last spring.
One of her major nemeses since she took office last spring has been the Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing police officers. Lightfoot's "reform" efforts have been bitterly criticized by the FOP for hamstringing the police force at a time when violence in the city has spun out of control. In short, officers and the union feel betrayed by city leaders.
The dispute became very public yesterday when, over an open mic at a city hall meeting, Lightfoot could be heard to say, “Back again. This is this FOP clown" as Fraternal Order of Police Vice President Patrick Murray approached the microphone.
With a Mayor that antagonistic toward police, I doubt Chicago's murder rate will be decreasing any time soon. Police officers who are "too effective" will do so at the risk of their careers and ways of life. Citizens will be afraid to cooperate with police investigations, and murderers will go on to maim and murder more. Citizens will hold police in contempt, resulting in more police officers being injured or killed.
