Just when I thought Chicago couldn’t get any more messed up, they do something that’s even more messed up than what they were already doing.
Chicago’s mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a new policy that will require officers to get the approval of a supervisor before pursuing a suspect on foot.
It’s nearly impossible for me to believe that anyone could possibly be that stupid. What makes it even worse is when someone who has the power to make stupid policies is actually stupid enough to do so.
Chicago already has a policy that requires a supervisor’s permission to chase a vehicle. That policy resulted in an increase in the number of vehicles that flee from officers. Surprise, surprise.
They should have learned a lesson from that experiment. But, they didn’t. And now they want to do it again. Incredible.
It doesn’t take a lot of intelligence to see that this is a bad idea. But, it does take at least some intelligence. Which is apparently lacking in Chicago’s elected officials.
Even when they have the results of a similar policy to look at, the people running Chicago don’t seem to be able to see the inevitable consequence of this stupidity. So, I’m going to spell it out for them.
If the police can’t chase people who run from them, then more people will run from the police. I’m going to go so far as to predict that everyone will run from the police. Because there is no downside to doing so.
Sure, the crook could get hit with an additional charge of resisting arrest. But that’s only if they’re caught and arrested. But that’s not likely to happen because, if they run, nobody will chase them. No chase, no arrest, no additional charge.
The mayor was quoted as saying, “No one should die as a result of a foot chase.”
OK. If that’s the concern, then there’s a solution that would be 100% effective. If the criminal (or suspected criminal) doesn’t want to risk getting killed while fleeing the police, then they shouldn’t flee from police. It truly is that simple.
But noooo. The “wise and learned” leaders of Chicago have decided that protecting criminals is more important than protecting its law-abiding citizens. Instead of making it less attractive to run from the police, they made fleeing the most attractive option. Their solution is guaranteed to increase crime in an already crime-riddled city.
Anyone with half a brain can see this is going to result in more crime in Chicago. It’s as if Mayor Lightfoot is sending every criminal within walking distance a personal invitation to come break the law in inside the city limits of Chicago.
Let me ask you a question. If you were a criminal, and you had a choice of robbing someone in your town, where the police will likely catch you, or across the street in Chicago, where you’re nearly guaranteed of getting away with your crime, where would you go? Me? There is no doubt I would take a stroll to the Chicago side of the street to commit my crimes. Because my chances of getting away with something on my side of the street is very low. But on the Chicago side? Practically 100%.
So, Chicago, don’t be surprised when the crime rate in your city gets even worse at the same time the rate in neighboring places is declining. Because the only good thing that can come from this stupid policy is that the towns adjacent to Chicago will suddenly become much safer places to be.
But there’s a silver lining. If you, or someone you love, gets seriously hurt by a criminal in Chicago, you can rest easier at night knowing that while you’re in the hospital nursing your wounds, the person who put you there is nestled safely in their bed. Well, they would be nestled in their bed if they weren’t out committing more crimes…and not getting caught.
