CHICAGO – A group of alderman, led by the aldemanic Black Caucus are asking police superintendent Garry McCarthy to step down.
The group is calling on McCarthy to step down or the mayor to outright fire the superintendent after five years on the job. They say a lack of respect for them combined with the continued gun violence in their communities are the reasons.
The council’s Black Caucus is made up of 15 members. They were joined by others, including Alderman Scott Waguespack and three Latino aldermen.
Some of the aldermen, like Pat Dowell from the 3rd Ward are longtime supporters of the mayor and have come to defense of Supt Garry McCarthy in the past.
“We’re not happy with the results we’re seeing,” Dowell said.
Just last week on Thursday, the Black Caucus met with Supt. McCarthy at City Hall. The meeting was closed and none of the aldermen would publicly say what was discussed.
A spokesman for the mayor’s office released an email statement to WGN that read:
“The Mayor supports the work and commitment of Superintendent McCarthy and the 12,500 sworn men and women of the Chicago Police Department. While the mayor shares the concerns about rising gun violence, our focus must remain on the public safety challenge we face – reducing access to the illegal guns that drive violence in our communities. Together, we must demand better state and federal laws to support the efforts of our police and residents in the fight against gun violence.”
Supt. McCarthy has not yet commented.
http://wgntv.com/2015/10/05/group-of-alderman-call-for-firing-of-cpds-mccarthy/