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'Outflanked, underequipped and unprepared': Report blisters Chicago police response to riots

Posted February 18, 2021 12:00 am

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago officers and demonstrators clash during a protest over the death of George Floyd a few days earlier in Minneapolis. Floyd, a Black man, died from asphyxiation, according to an autopsy, because a Minneapolis police officer had knelt on his neck. Associated Press/May 30, 2020

After the first wave of protests and vandalism that paralyzed downtown Chicago in late May, a top mayoral aide and the police superintendent congratulated each other for how the city's officers did their jobs.

"Thank you for all your incredible work last night - you made Chicago proud," the aide told police Supt. David Brown, who responded, "officers made the city of Chicago and the police profession proud!!!"

Their email exchange came on May 30, the day after the unrest began on a Friday.

Over the rest of that weekend, though, Brown and his staff were caught off guard by growing civil disturbances downtown and in the city's neighborhoods, according to a 124-page report released Thursday by the city's inspector general, Joe Ferguson.

Officers were "outflanked, underequipped and unprepared," and the Chicago Police Department "critically disserved both its own front-line members and members of the public," the report says.

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

Cleanup crews at a Chase Bank branch in Chicago remove shattered glass on May 31, 2020, after a night of unrest. Associated Press

Merchandise litters the floor of a 7-Eleven store early May 31, 2020, in the aftermath of riots in Chicago. Associated Press

Chicago raised bridges in an attempt to quell downtown protests. Associated Press/May 31, 2020

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