Alderman Hopes Cops Can End 'Blood Sport' In His Ward
(CBS) – Chicago police brass are trumpeting a drop in crime in 2017, over last year.
But keep in mind, 2017 is being compared to an exceptionally bad year – 2016.
2 investigator Brad Edwards went to Back of the Yards, where a statistical down-tick fails to tell the whole story.
"It's a blood sport, it's a neighborhood war where you have one faction trying to kill and maim as many as the opposition as possible, using high-powered rifles," Ald. Ray Lopez, 15th Ward, says.
Earlier this year, two officers were shot when gunmen with high-powered weapons began shooting indiscriminately at them. Lopez says battling a festering gang war has been tough because of what's happening at the top levels of CPD.
"Just when the commanders get their groove, they're gone."
He says in the local police district they've had four different commanders in the past two years.
Supt. Eddie Johnson says good commanders should be promoted.
"I think that moving forward, the person that is there now will probably be there for some time," he says.
Lopez hopes stability leads to street-level success in 2018.
He says he is particularly excited about the new commander in the 9th District, in part because he saw success in the city's Englewood district.
