From the Hill:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning to send 150 federal agents to Chicago this week, The Chicago Tribune reported Monday.
The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents are set to assist other federal law enforcement and Chicago police in crime-fighting efforts, the Tribune reported citing unnamed sources.
A specific plan on what the agents will be doing has not been made public, according to the Tribune. One city official told the newspaper that the city was aware of the plan but not any specifics.
The move would come as Democratic leaders have condemned the Trump administration for sending federal officials to Portland, Ore., where there have been reports of people being picked up by agents in unmarked vans.
JUST IN: DHS sending 150 federal agents to Chicago this week: report https://t.co/JQDi9DqHJE pic.twitter.com/mlEPI5EQPp
— The Hill (@thehill) July 20, 2020
U.S. Department of Homeland Security is crafting plans to deploy about 150 federal agents to Chicago this week, the Chicago Tribune has learned, a move that would come amid growing controversy nationally about federal force being used in American cities. https://t.co/PpUgLTtD6E
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) July 20, 2020
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Read the full report at The Hill.
CHICAGO SPIRALS: At Least 70 People Shot, 10 Dead Including 4 Children Over Father’s Day Weekend
Gun violence in the nation’s third largest city continued to spiral out of control over the weekend, with at least 70 people shot and 10 dead -including four children- in less than 72 hours.
“Ten people were killed, including four children, and at least 60 others wounded in shootings across Chicago over the weekend, police said.
The youngest of those killed this weekend was 3-year-old Mekhi James. The little boy had just gotten haircut with his stepdad in the 600-block of North Central Avenue at about 6:25 p.m. Saturday when police said a vehicle pulled up next to them in traffic on the West Side and someone started shooting from inside,” reports ABC Chicago.
“These kids are not criminals,” said Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan. “They are not gang members. They have nothing to do with the ongoing disputes out there and they just get gunned down for no reason at all.”
“These individuals that are discharging these weapons don’t have a clue what they are sending these families through,” said community activist Andrew Holmes.
Read the full report at ABC Chicago.
CHICAGO SPIRALS: City Asks Cops to Work 12 Hour Shifts, NO DAYS OFF, As Leaders Vow to ‘Defund Police’
Leaders in Chicago are now asking law enforcement officials to work 12-hour shifts with no days off while pledging to “Defund the Police Department” in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd.
“Police officers are being demanded to go above and beyond their typical call of duty to handle ongoing protests and unrest, even as political figures are calling for their departments to be defunded or abolished entirely. In Chicago, officers were reportedly ordered to work 12-hour shifts with no days off until further notice. All the while, critics — including elected officials — want to strip them of funding,” reports Fox News.
“This police system in Chicago and in the country is beyond repair, and so it’s absolutely within reason for people to say that we should tear this system down and start over,” Democratic state Rep. LaShawn Ford of Chicago told reporters
“The Chicago order took effect as tension is still high in the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis after a white cop kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes, and two days after Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a police officer in Atlanta on Friday — in what was ruled a homicide,” adds Fox.
Read the full report here.
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