Chicago Police Union President Defends Those Who Stormed The U.S. Capitol | WBEZ Chicago
Category: News & Politics
Via: john-russell • 3 years ago • 32 commentsBy: Chip Mitchell (WBEZ Chicago)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Chicago Police Union President Defends Those Who Stormed The U.S. Capitol
By Chip Mitchell Thursday, Jan. 7, 11:43 a.m. CTUpdated 4:14 p.m. CT
The people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday are getting support from the president of Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police lodge.
John Catanzara, elected last May to represent the city's 12,000 rank-and-file police officers, said he understands the frustration behind the riot, which led to four deaths, injuries to several police officers and damage to the iconic building.
"There was no arson, there was no burning of anything, there was no looting, there was very little destruction of property," Catanzara told WBEZ in a Wednesday evening phone interview. "It was a bunch of pissed-off people that feel an election was stolen, somehow, some way."
Catanzara echoed President Donald Trump's oft-repeated false claims that Joe Biden stole the election. But the FOP leader admitted there is no proof.
"I don't have any doubt that something shady happened in this election," Catanzara said. "You're not going to convince me that that many people voted for Joe Biden. Never for the rest of my life will you ever convince me of that. But, again, it still comes down to proof."
"Evidence matters," Catanzara said. "Until that appears, shame on them for what they did, but it was out of frustration. There's no fights. There's no, obviously, violence in this crowd. They pushed past security and made their way to the Senate chamber. Did they destroy anything when they were there? No."
Video and photographs of the incident show that the rioters smashed windows of the Capitol and ransacked offices inside.
An armed stand-off took place at the door of the House chamber as the rioters derailed the election's certification in an attempt to keep Trump in power. Police near the building confiscated guns, pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails, NPR reported.
Catanzara said Wednesday's mayhem was "very different than what happened all across this country all summer long in Democratic-ran cities and nobody had a problem with that."
The focus last summer, he said, was "blaming the police and the police's response to the violence, looting and criminal behavior."
"If the worst crime here is trespassing, so be it. But to call these people treasonous is beyond ridiculous and ignorant."
Catanzara said he himself "wouldn't have partaken in" the Capitol assault but he kept defending those who did.
"They're individuals," he said. "They get to do what they want. Again, they were voicing frustration. They're entitled to voice their frustration. They clearly have been ignored and they're still being ignored as if they're lunatics and treasonous now, which is beyond stupid.
"It's a whole side of the argument and, primarily, your profession is at the root of it," Catanzara said, referring to news media, "basically championing Joe Biden the whole time."
Catanzara was disciplined by the Chicago Police Department for posing in uniform in 2017 with a sign saying he supports his president. The union's national level endorsed Trump's election bids in both 2016 and 2020.
Catanzara has publicly feuded with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot over a host of issues. This morning Lightfoot tweeted a response to his comments.
"This wasn't 'frustration.' It was a violent insurrection. The comments by John Catanzara, Chicago FOP President, either demonstrate clear delusion or reckless disrespect for the rule of law—or both," she wrote.
Catanzara also criticized the outgoing president for Wednesday's mayhem: "I'll be the first to say Trump deserves some responsibility for this. He could have handled this whole situation quite differently, but that's for him to answer, not me."
"Obviously it has to fall on his doorstep for what kinda happened … no doubt about it," he said.
But Catanzara said the riot was getting blown out of proportion.
"It's an inconvenience at this point, is all it is," he said. "This is not some mass insurrection, coup attempt. They're not destroying or burning down the fricking Capitol building. This hyperbole and this emotion that the media is spewing now, like this is some kind of end-of-times scenario, is ridiculous."
Chip Mitchellreports out of WBEZ's West Side studio about policing. Follow him at@ChipMitchell1. Contact him atcmitchell@wbez.org.
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To call this guy a disgrace would be putting it mildly. But the truth is he no doubt well represents his union members. Like all big city police forces, Chicago's is noticeably filled with racists , extreme conservatives, and type A personalities that are aggressive both on the job and in their personal lives. These are the type of people mainly attracted to police work. In their defense it probably takes that type of personality to want to do that dangerous job.
Old saying...... Cops and clan, go hand in hand....!
Some, not all.
What is ridiculous is this guy and his totally screwed up attitude. He is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Catanzara has shown his hand that some in US law enforcement has indeed been infiltrated by those that have fallen into the grasp of foreign propaganda whose only purpose is to sow mistrust, division and fear in America.
I can understand when Joe Sixpack holds opinions despite knowing nothing. But this guy is a cop. He should know better than to guess. We're only beginning to learn what information was stolen during the invasion, but I saw today that computers were stolen. Including defense secrets.
We've seen this phenomenon before: a TrumpTrueBeliever wose fervor for the Glorious Leader prevents doing one's own job rationally.
Catanzara said Wednesday's mayhem was "very different than what happened all across this country all summer long in Democratic-ran cities and nobody had a problem with that."
"If the worst crime here is trespassing, so be it. But to call these people treasonous is beyond ridiculous and ignorant."
"It's an inconvenience at this point, is all it is," he said. "This is not some mass insurrection, coup attempt. They're not destroying or burning down the fricking Capitol building. This hyperbole and this emotion that the media is spewing now, like this is some kind of end-of-times scenario, is ridiculous."
He's absolutely right. Selective outrage at work here
Wednesday was the Capitol, for pity's sake.
Don't deflect. We're talking about the invasion of the Congress of the United States.
This isn't simple property damage. This is an attack on one of our nation's central institutions.. Nothing last summer was comparable.
Dems will likely lose both the House and Senate in '22
Dems will likely lose both the House and Senate in '22
[removed, (but funny)][.] You’re setting yourself up for disappointment, again.
History tells us that most likely the Democrats will lose at least one in the midterms
Agree. I don’t remember them caring about a dead cop and all the cops injured during months of BLM riots. All of sudden they have empathy for cops.
I don’t remember their outrage for five cops assasinated in Dallas by a BLM sympathizer. Or the cops shot in NY. But of course this was during the Obama days.
Their selective outrage is obvious to those who pay attention.
Your sweeping generalizations are obvious to those who pay attention.
Tsk tsk.. you should pay more attention.
So should you.
Yes I know this. What is your point?
You obviously haven’t been paying attention for years. The cop hating rhetoric from the liberal media has been strong for years. Stoking the flames. Too bad some are so blinded.
You were very critical of the premature reports of his death and now he is dead, I thought you would appreciate "official" news.
You are correct, I have not been paying attention to you since 2009 or 2010?
Haven't noticed that, must be your secret decoder?
They say self reflection is the first step, good luck.
I suggest you pay more attention.
Wow, he might want to ask the cops in the hospital. Oh, they found Molotov cocktails, guns, and pipe bombs. Geez, Catanaza, that's not quite as bad a pickpocketing but I'm sure that you probably know that. Nothing here, move along.
and the Capitol Police just lost an officer to brain injury suffered when he was beaten with a fire extinguisher.
Do they have the death penalty in D.C.?
No? Too bad.
The Capitol Police are FEDERAL officers and yup the fed's do have a death penalty. In fact the feds have used it quite often this past year.
Very good !!!
First of all, that's not true, but even if it were, it wouldn't make it ok.
All the demonstrations, violence, and property destruction that went on during the summer and fall helped to make the assault on the Capitol happen. These QAnon people - and whoever else was with them - looked on for months as vandalism and arson were excused or ignored in the name of legitimately expressing grievances.
So these people said "fuck it! If they (the Left, Antifa, BLM, etc) can do it, then we will, too." And so we got what we had yesterday. Doesn't make it right, but it seems to be a factor and it's present in Catanzara's argument.
Just like the mask-deniers. Fuck the consequences.
It’s getting boring here, watching reasonable members try to reason with hopelessly unreasonable members who know what they’re saying is wrong but are willing to lie to Trumpian extremes for their desperate and despicable causes. It’s always been bad, but now they aren’t even making much of a defensive effort. Apparently thats their idea of a Great America.
What I find insane is that no one is asking for apologies. They can get off the Trump Train any time.
Jeez... even Lindsey Graham has bailed.
Why would anyone persist?
Nothing matters to them but what they are told to want by unscrupulous ideologues. This is quite evident by the numerous reports of people dying in hospitals across the country, and getting pissed at the doctors and nurses who inform them that they are dying of a virus that they insist is a hoax.
It's crazy.
Then again... they have engaged so deeply into the Trump cult that denying it now would be tantamount to denying themselves.
They'd rather die. Literally.