42 felony charges approved in Chicago looting incident, prosecutors say
Grace Hauck, USA TODAY 1 hr ago
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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. Chicago’s police commissioner says more than 100 people were arrested following a night of looting and unrest that left several officers injured and caused damage in the city’s upscale Magnificent Mile shopping district and other parts of the city. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The Chicago Police Department sought felony charges in 43 cases, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved 42 of them, according to the office.
The charges included 1 attempted murder charge, 28 burglary/looting charges, 5 aggravated battery/resisting an officer charges, 1 theft charge, 1 criminal damage to property charge and 6 gun possession charges.
Chicagos police commissioner says more than 100 people were arrested following a night of looting and unrest that left several officers injured and caused damage in the city upscale Magnificent Mile shopping district and other parts of the city.
In the one case where the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office declined to file felony charges, CPD detectives concurred with not charging a felony, the office said.
"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," Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said in a statement. "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."
Foxx came under fire earlier this week when Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Department Superintendent David Brown appeared to suggest her office had "emboldened" looters by failing to charge more people involved in looting downtown in 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."
More cases were being reviewed and investigated by law enforcement, and more charges would be filed if appropriate, the Office of the Cook County State’s Attorney said.
The office said it was not aware of any misdemeanor charges. Police can arrest and directly file misdemeanor charges against someone, often releasing them on bond at the police station, according to the office, which usually becomes aware of the charges later.
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.
The Chicago's police union, meanwhile, is calling for federal prosecution of those who looted. In a letter Wednesday, the union called on the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois to investigate and prosecute the people involved in the "massive civil unrest" Monday.
An increased police presence and restricted access to downtown overnight was expected to continue throughout the weekend, city officials 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 Wednesday.
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.
