Chicago police union officials are voicing their opposition to the planned use of lllinois State troopers coming to the city to help apprehend fugitives.
At the request of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, 40 state troopers are heading into Chicago this week to assist local police in serving arrest warrants in the city's most crime-ridden areas. The state troopers are scheduled to assist Chicago police for the next month.
But leaders with the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 and the Fraternal Order of Police Illinois Trooper Lodge No. 41 say the state troopers should only be used for traffic control and Chicago police officers should be reassigned to the hunt for fugitives.
“You’re taking troopers from rural areas out of their element and thrusting them into the big city. There should always be concern about that. That’s just a matter of geography,” Mike Powell, president of the trooper lodge, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “The Chicago Police Department knows the city. They know some of the folks they’re looking for. They recognize them. They’ve dealt with them. [Using them to chase fugitives] would be a smarter, better use of resources.”
Read more about the opposition here.
Comments
Login or register to post comments