Police department suspends cops who lounged in congressman's office

The Chicago Police Department has doled out suspensions of up to 20 days against 17 Chicago police officers and supervisors accused of sleeping on a couch, popping popcorn and drinking coffee in the burglarized office of U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush at the same strip mall where looters had a field day last year.

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara disclosed the punishment and said the union has filed grievances challenging all of those suspensions, which range from one day to 20 days. One suspended officer was punished "for simply walking in and using the bathroom," he said.

"What do you want people to do when there was nothing going on? They had already secured the whole property. They had originally walked through the parking lot around the back side of all of the buildings to make sure all the doors were secure when they arrived there," Catanzara told the Sun-Times.

The Chicago Police Department had no immediate comment on the suspensions.

For the full report, visit chicago.suntimes.com.