Saturday, August 15, 2020

BLACK LIVES LOOT! - THE REALITY OF BLACK VIOLENCE IN AMERICA - WHITES PROTEST BLM AS BLACKS LOOT AND MURDER - " Chicago Prosecutor Kim Foxx: 42 Charged with Felonies Related to Looting Spree"

 Chicago Prosecutor Kim Foxx: 42 Charged with Felonies Related to Looting Spree

CHICAGO, IL - FEBRUARY 23: Cook County State's attorney Kim Foxx speaks with reporters and details the charges against R. Kelly's first court appearance at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on February 23, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images
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Forty-two suspects were charged following the looting and unrest in Chicago on Sunday, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced Thursday.

“As of today, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) has sought felony charges in 43 cases related to the events Sunday night. Forty-two of those cases have been approved,” the press release said.

“In the case where the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) declined to file felony charges, the CPD detectives concurred with not charging a felony,” the release continued.

The charges listed were 28 for burglary and looting, six for gun possession, five for aggravated battery or resisting a police officer, one each for theft and criminal damage to property, and one for attempted murder.

Foxx commented:

The State’s Attorney Office is ready and available to review cases brought to us by law enforcement and to charge those cases when appropriate. I am committed to keeping our communities safe and continuing to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to demand accountability and seek justice for the people of Cook County.

However, a recent analysis by the Chicago Tribune found the attorney had “dropped over 25,000 felony cases, including charges of murder and the alleged hate crime hoax from former Empire star Jussie Smollett.”

“During Foxx’s first three years as the county’s top prosecutor, her office dropped all charges against 29.9% of felony defendants, a dramatic increase over her predecessor, the Tribune found. For the last three years of Anita Alvarez’s tenure, the rate was 19.4%,” the paper said.

In a tweet Friday, the attorney wrote that her office was “fighting to make sure the system is fair, just, and equitable for everyone”:

However, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPD Superintendent David Brown appeared to blame Foxx for Sunday’s looting spree, according to Fox News.

“Brown suggested that because so few were hit with serious charges during the previous looting in late May and early June, it caused more to do the same,” the outlet said.

Foxx reportedly denied those claims.

“The notion that people believe they are somehow empowered because people weren’t prosecuted for looting back in the wake of the unrest beginning is simply not true. Those cases are coming to court now,” she said.

43 felony charges, new task forces: Here's what Chicago is doing to combat potential looting

Grace Hauck, USA TODAY
USA TODAY
 
 
 
 
Parts of Chicago looted after police confrontation

Prosecutors approved 43 felony charges in connection with looting across Chicago earlier this week, and city officials laid out a series of plans Friday that they say would prevent future incidents.

"What happened Sunday night into Monday morning should never have happened," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a press conference Friday afternoon. "There can never be any place in Chicago where businesses are afraid to open, where residents and visitors are afraid to travel and shop, or where employees are afraid to go to work."

Lightfoot said the city's police department would be creating a "specialized, 20-person unit" to monitor open-sourced social media posts for any signs of "suspicious activity." A separate task force in partnership with the FBI would be focused on looting activity, she said.

"In 55 years, I’ve never seen it like this in Chicago," said Emmerson Buie Jr., special agent in charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI. "It’s enough, and we need to take a stand."

The city is also developing a plan for faster geographic lockdowns, building more ballasts and concrete barriers, and will continue to free up resources from the city's sanitation and transportation departments for use by police officers. Lightfoot encouraged businesses downtown and across the city to report criminal activity through a hotline.

An increased police presence and restricted access to downtown overnight is expected to continue throughout the weekend, city officials said. The Illinois State Police would be deployed to restrict access to affected areas of the city, and officers with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office would be deployed into neighborhoods, Lightfoot said. Police officers would be working 12-hour shifts, and days off would be canceled, Brown said.

Parts of Lake Shore Drive, expressway ramps and CTA stops downtown would be closed, and all downtown bridges would be up, the Office of Emergency Management and Communications said.

A pedestrian walks across Michigan Ave., Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, past a Chicago police department vehicle, a few blocks north of the raised Michigan Ave. bridge over the Chicago river after overnight vandalism in Chicago.
A pedestrian walks across Michigan Ave., Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, past a Chicago police department vehicle, a few blocks north of the raised Michigan Ave. bridge over the Chicago river after overnight vandalism in Chicago.

"Chicago does not, I repeat, does not belong to looters and thieves," Police Superintendent David Brown said. "If you are participating in a car caravan that is looting, we will do everything that we can to stop you, and we will arrest you."

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said of the 43 felony charges in connection with the looting early Monday morning, 28 are for burglary and looting, several for aggravated battery and gun possession, and at least one for attempted murder, theft and criminal damage to property.

Her office has approved nearly 350 felony charges since the end of May, she said, when Chicago saw its first round of looting in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody. Of those cases, 22 have been adopted by the U.S. attorney for federal charges; Foxx did not provide any additional information about the federal charges.

Chicagoans are living through "extraordinary times," Foxx said, as they face economic hardship, coronavirus grief, destruction of property and the loss of young children to gun violence.

Foxx said her office has charged more than 400 felony gun cases since the start of "Operation Legend" on July 22, when President Donald Trump said he would "surge" about 300 federal law enforcement officials into Chicago to help battle gun violence. In the first seven months of the year, 1,872 people were arrested and charged with felony gun charges, Foxx said.

Chicago looting: Ronald McDonald House near children's hospital damaged

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx speaks during a news conference after looting broke out overnight in the Loop and surrounding neighborhoods in Chicago, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx speaks during a news conference after looting broke out overnight in the Loop and surrounding neighborhoods in Chicago, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020.

Foxx came under fire earlier this week when Lightfoot and Brown appeared to suggest her office had "emboldened" looters by failing to charge more people in the wake of the first round of looting at the end of May.

"Criminals took to the street with the confidence that there would be no consequences for their actions," Brown said in a press conference Monday

Lightfoot called on county judges and prosecutors to hold people accountable to the "abject criminal behavior."

"This is not legitimate First Amendment protected speech. These were not poor people engaged in petty theft to feed themselves and their family," she said. "This was straight-up felony criminal conduct."

Widespread looting rocked Chicago's Magnificent Mile shopping district and other parts of downtown early Monday as police say hundreds of windows were smashed and stores were robbed. More than 100 people were arrested, and 13 officers were injured, Brown said. At least one security guard and a civilian were hospitalized in critical condition after being shot, Brown said.

About 400 officers were sent to the downtown area after seeing posts on social media that Brown said encouraged a "caravan" of cars to engage in looting. The social media posts appeared to have been prompted by an incident Sunday in which police officers wounded a 20-year-old man.

Shooting that police say sparked looting: Chicago man charged with attempted murder

Chicago police arrested and charged Latrell Allen of Englewood with attempted murder after they say he shot at officers. Officers returned fire and hit Allen, who was in stable condition, police said. The officers were not wearing body cameras, and Chicago's civilian police oversight agency was investigating the shooting.

After the encounter, a Facebook video circulated falsely claiming police had shot and killed a 15-year-old boy, and the misinformation fueled what later turned into looting, Brown said.

But activists with Black Lives Matter Chicago have cast doubt on the police narrative of the incident, saying in a statement Monday that Allen "ran away, rightfully fearing for his safety in this dangerous interaction with racist armed police."

Chicago police "claims the victim shot first and that they found a gun on the scene. These details are uncorroborated, partially because CPD also claims there is no body camera footage available for this interaction," the group said.

Lightfoot said Friday that the city was acquiring an additional 500 body cameras "to ensure that every CPD officer is equipped at all times."

Meanwhile, more than 2,200 people had expressed interest in a Saturday protest against police brutality on the South Side. Organizers said the group planned to shut down a major freeway, echoing a similar protest in 2018.

"I have great concerns about allowing anyone, ever, to get on expressways, particularly in this time," Lightfoot said Friday. "These are very complicated, delicate situations."

Nearly 1,000 complaints have been filed against Chicago police officers since the death of George Floyd, according to Civilian Office of Police Accountability spokesperson Ephraim Eaddy. The agency is pursuing investigations into 170 of them.

Yogi Dalal hugs his daughter Jigisha as his other daughter Kajal, left, bows her head at the family food and liquor store Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, after the family business was vandalized in Chicago.
Yogi Dalal hugs his daughter Jigisha as his other daughter Kajal, left, bows her head at the family food and liquor store Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, after the family business was vandalized in Chicago.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago looting: 43 felony charges approved by Cook County prosecutor


‘Wish I had my baby back.’ Suspect who shot Indiana toddler in mom’s car wanted by FBI

Mike Stunson
‘Wish I had my baby back.’ Suspect who shot Indiana toddler in mom’s car wanted by FBI

The FBI is seeking answers on the “senseless” fatal shooting of a 2-year-old Indiana girl late last month.

A $10,000 reward is now being offered by the FBI for information related to the arrest of the person who shot Joette “JoJo” Malone on July 29 in Hammond, Indiana.

JoJo was in the backseat of her mom’s car outside an apartment complex when she was caught in the crossfires of a shooting between two people, according to the Northwest Times of Indiana.

The toddler was flown to a children’s hospital in Chicago, where she later died, according to the FBI.

Her mother, Ronnica Taylor, said she believes the shooter fired a whole clip, according to WLS.

“I do not sleep at night. I barely eat,” Taylor said. “I really wish I had my baby back, but I cannot have her back, so I really wish that someone can help me bring her justice.”

Hammond Police Chief John Doughty said their “hearts are heavy” mourning JoJo’s death.

“Now more than ever, we ask the public for help,” Doughty said, according to the Chicago Sun Times. “This little girl’s life was stripped from her in an act of senseless violence that will forever impact those who knew her.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office at 317-595-4000 or submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.

“Me and my children’s lives are not going back to normal,” Taylor said Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reported “It’s really hard every day knowing she’s gone.”

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