Thursday, August 9, 2018

6th Ward Alderman: Bait Truck Sting In Englewood ‘Unacceptable,’

Ald. Roderick Sawyer is chairman of the city council Black Caucus and seem to be very busy. First last weekend's violence, now police using bait trucks to catch offenders:
The chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus denounced a sting operation that used “bait trucks” to try to catch thieves in Englewood, saying it was an “inappropriate use of police resources” and a hearing should be held to get answers.

Ald. Roderick T. Sawyer (6th) called Chicago Police and the Norfolk Southern Railroad on the carpet for the joint operation, which was revealed when video shot by activists went viral this week.

“This bait truck operation is an unacceptable and inappropriate use of police resources,” Sawyer said in a statement. “In a moment where police capacity is clearly under extreme strain, these sort of tactics are the last thing we should be spending manpower and energy on.

“This initiative serves only to undermine already fragile efforts to build trust between law enforcement and the community, and to reinforce counterproductive policies that have contributed to the mass incarceration of Black youth in our city.
More about the viral videos:
One of the two viral videos was shot by activist Charles Mckenzie, who posted it on Facebook. Sawyer personally thanked the 29-year-old Englewood activist for filming the sting “so that it could be laid bare for the public and news media to examine.”
Here are one of those videos which I found in this Block Club Chi article where the police defended their tactics.

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