An emotional Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson addressed the overwhelming violence that continues to plague the city and left 52 people shot over the weekend, including the 26th child under the age of 13 this year.
"I can tell you I've seen far too many families affected by gun violence ... Too many a statistic," Johnson said. "I'm just sick of it.”
Johnson also lamented systemic problems that he said allows repeat gun offenders to continue committing crimes, calling the pretrial time for those charged with gun crimes “ridiculous,” saying it’s longer for retail theft charges. He also said gun arrests are up and the failure lies with the inability to keep offenders in jail. He said violent offenders are only emboldened when they can just get back on the street.
"I'm asking for community members and parents to do their part, this isn't just CPD," Johnson said.
The response comes after the son of a Chicago Police officer was fatally shot in what Johnson called a case of mistaken identity, and the shooting of several children in the city.
"Little kids getting shot out there is just stupid,” he said. "It's simply because these gun offenders don't care."
Johnson said police are arresting the offenders but CPD needs help from its “judicial partners” to hold them accountable.
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"(The) police department is doing its job, not holding them accountable, it's just silly," he said.
