- Chicago police officers were caught on surveillance video lounging, making popcorn, and drinking in a congressman’s campaign office as looting took place in the neighborhood on the night of June 1.
- In a press conference with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Rep. Bobby Rush said he had surveillance video of the officers relaxing in his office, located on the South Side, after it had been broken into and looted.
- Lightfoot apologized to Rush on behalf of the city for the “profound disrespect” the officers’ conduct showed and promised the incident would be investigated.
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Multiple Chicago police officers were caught on security camera lounging, making popcorn in the office microwave, and drinking coffee in a US congressman’s looted office on June 1 during a night of looting and unrest in the city.
In a Thursday afternoon press conference, Rep. Bobby Rush and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that Rush uncovered footage of eight to nine Chicago police officers, including three “white shirt” supervisors, making themselves at home in Rush’s campaign office on the South Side of Chicago.
Rush said that his campaign office, located in a shopping plaza, was one of the many local establishments broken into and looted during the protests taking place over the death of George Floyd, who died May 25 in an encounter with police.
“Two weeks ago on a Sunday evening, early Monday morning, I got a call that my campaign offices at 66th and South Wentworth had been burglarized,” Rush said.
Surveillance footage showed “eight or more police officers lounging in my offices while I assume, looters were breaking into stores in the shopping center where my office is located,” according to Rush.
“They had their feet on my desk, one was asleep on my couch, one had his head down on the desk,” he said. “They even had the unmitigated gall to go and make coffee for themselves and to pop popcorn, my popcorn, in my microwave while looters were tearing apart businesses within their sight and within their reach.”
—Brandon Wall (@Walldo) June 11, 2020
“They were in a mode of relaxation and they did not care about what was happening to businesses, to people, to this city…they absolutely did not care,” said Rush, a fixture of Chicago politics who has represented parts of the city in the US House of Representatives since 1993 and previously served as a Chicago alderman.
Lightfoot, elected in 2018, apologized to Rush on behalf of the city for the “profound disrespect” the officers’ conduct showed.
“It’s a personal embarrassment to me, and I’m sorry you and your staff even had to deal with this incredible indignity,” Lightfoot said.
“It really is the height of injustice when police are deployed, given a mission, and fail to act,” she added, saying, “Public safety cannot be a commodity that is only available to the wealthy and well-connected.”
Lightfoot, who released several photos of the event, described the incident as “enraging” and promised Rush it would be fully investigated.
“These individuals were lounging a congressman’s office, having a little hangout for themselves while small businesses on the South Side were getting looted and burned,” Lightfoot said. “We should all feel disgusted, and we should all be hurt and betrayed.”
