Chicago police union boss slams defund-the-police cuts as city faces 'historic levels' of homicide



The president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police spoke out against the mayor's decision to cut more than 600 police jobs after several people were killed over Christmas weekend as violent crime continues to ravage the city.

At least eight people were killed and 30 more were wounded in citywide shootings over the extended holiday weekend, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday. Three people were shot and killed on Christmas Day.

"We're over 700 homicides by gun in Chicago this year and close to 800 total homicides for the year," Chicago FOP President John Catanzara told Fox News Tuesday. "It's reaching historic levels, and this when the city council and the mayor's budget just cut over 600 jobs from the police department's budget when crime is soaring. It's ridiculous."

"Literally, just two days ago, we had a kid who just turned 13-years-old go into the store to get batteries for a Christmas toy at 9 am in one of the peacefullest parts of the city, who was gunned down," he continued.

In October, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced cuts to the police department's budget in response to demands from Black Lives Matter activists to defund the police and reduce the department's $1.6 billion budget.

Lightfoot announced that the city would eliminate 618 police jobs, even as disgruntled police officers are leaving the job or retiring, creating staffing issues for the department. In her remarks on the budget cuts, Lightfoot said that police departments have played a "complicit role" in "brutally enforcing racist, Jim Crow laws, depriving Black and Brown people" of their "full rights as citizens."

"These are not just ancient times, but recent history, right here in Chicago. And so, in breaking down these barriers, we must also continue to closely scrutinize all policing practices and policies to eliminate any and all bias," she added.

Catanzara accused the mayor and other city officials of giving in to violent Antifa rioters who have "hijacked" efforts by peaceful protesters to call for police reform.

"We had many examples this summer in Chicago where peaceful protests were hijacked by anarchists," Catanzara said. "Specifically, everybody's seen the video footage from the Columbus statue assault where 52 of our officers were injured in that assault by violent anarchists. They have absolutely hijacked the movement and the narrative."

"If the goal is to have a lawless, non-police society, mission accomplished," he added. "Because the politicians in this city and state are actually falling for it."

Armed man tries to rob Chicago cell phone store — gun owner with concealed carry ends him



An armed robber expected to walk into a cell phone store in Chicago and saunter off with wads of cold hard cash and merchandise, but little did he know there was also a gun owner ready to carry out vigilante justice.

An armed man reportedly attempted to rob a Metro by T-Mobile cell phone store in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood around 7 p.m. on Saturday. During the intense robbery, a 29-year-old gun owner with a concealed carry permit allegedly opened fire on the thief. The would-be robber was struck with at least two gunshots in the chest and abdomen, according to a news report by WFLD-TV.

The suspect was transported to the local Stroger Hospital in critical condition, but was later pronounced dead.

It was not immediately known if the legal gun owner was the business owner, an employee, or a concerned customer. The shooter did possess a valid Concealed Carry License and Firearm Owner's Identification Card. Police confiscated both firearms from the parties involved in the attempted robbery, according to the news report.

The incident remains under investigation by detectives.

This is just the latest example of a bad guy with a gun receiving their comeuppance from a good guy with a gun.

Murder suspect escapes police custody by jumping out of car window at McDonald’s drive-thru in Indiana



A murder suspect with a violent criminal record escaped police custody by jumping out of a transport vehicle window while they waited at a drive-thru of a McDonald's restaurant in Gary, Indiana.

The incident unfolded about 3 p.m. Monday when Leon Taylor, 22, asked a transport agent for the vehicle's window to be lowered so he could spit outside.

Instead, he escaped through the window.

Police say that Taylor was bound by a belly chain restraint, handcuffs and a leg brace, but he was able to vanish after leaving the transport vehicle. He was being extradited to Indiana from Texas at the time to face murder charges.

Taylor is accused of the shooting death of 52-year-old Daniel Nitzsche on Nov. 19 in East Chicago. Police say that Nitzsche told an officer that two men in ski masks robbed him before shooting him twice. He later died at a hospital.

Police have been trying to track down Taylor since the escape Monday.

Taylor has a history of violent crime, according to court records obtained by WBBM-TV, including numerous charges of armed robbery since 2018. Prosecutors also accused him of trying to escape when he cut his ankle monitor.

Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez said that he's a black man about 6 feet tall, weighing 162 pounds. He has hazel eyes and brown hair, and was wearing black jeans, a gray hoodie, and black Puma tennis shoes when he escaped.

Police said he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Here's a local news report about the escape:

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