Chicago’s interim police chief is set to retire after only a month on the job – he steps down after a string of headline-grabbing crimes, the same day the new, progressive mayor takes office, but insists his decision was made months in advance.
Interim superintendent Eric Carter will retire May 15 after 30 years on the force.
He took over when David Brown resigned after the February 28 mayoral election. Brown turns 63 in September, which is the mandatory CPD retirement age.
Brown resigned on March 16 to take a private sector job in Texas.
Carter’s final day will be the day ultra-progressive Brandon Johnson takes over from Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Chicago Police interim superintendent Eric Carter announced Friday that he will be retiring after 30 years on the force, but less than a month after becoming chief. He made his decision in late 2022, he said, but it comes with a very progressive becoming mayor of a crime-ravaged city.
But in his message announcing his retirement, Carter said the decision took several months.
“Trust me when I say this decision was not easy,” he said.
For nearly four decades I have lived a life of service and sacrifice for our country and this great city; And I would not trade these years for anything.
However, after much deliberation and prayer, I announced my intentions to former Superintendent Brown in late 2022, and most recently to Mayor Lightfoot and Mayor Ellicott Johnson.
Chicago authorities will now begin searching for Carter’s replacement.
Under the new rules, a relatively new civic body, the Community Committee on Public Safety and Accountability, will come up with a short list of honorable mention nominees.
Johnson must then choose from that list.
Chicago Police Supt. David Brown who resigned on March 16 to take a private sector job in Texas
Whoever becomes the new chief of police takes on a tough job.
Total crime was up 47 percent year-over-year, with burglaries, sexual assault, and robbery all rising.
Theft rose by a remarkable 25 percent.
However, homicides and shootings decreased.
The wild events of this past weekend brought to light a complex law and order situation, when a mob of more than a hundred rowdy teens turned violent in downtown Chicago on Saturday night.
Dozens burned and smashed cars while blasting music in a “shout of teenagers” that left two gunshot wounds.
Shocking footage showed some teenagers jumping onto a bus while others started a massive brawl after they descended into Millennium Park and tried to break through barriers.
Gunshots were heard as some of the rounds hit two boys, aged 16 and 17.
The two youths were taken to a nearby hospital in fair condition. A total of 15 people, nine adults and six children, were arrested.
Police said most of the charges related to reckless conduct, but a 16-year-old boy was also charged with illegal use of a weapon, and a firearm was found. An adult and juvenile was also charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.
Cars were also vandalized near East Washington Street, including a Tesla.
More than a hundred boisterous teenagers gathered in Millennium Park on April 15th
Two boys, ages 16 and 17, were reported to have been shot during a fight. They were taken to hospital in stable condition
The rowdy group set cars on fire and scuffled before the shooting ended for the night
After the shooting, a nearby Tesla is seen on fire. Pictured: the burning car
Chicago politicians, many of whom have been criticized for being nice to crime, wrote off Criminal Iniquities Night, saying it was just a few bad eggs in a sea of revelers, or even a political demonstration.
Outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot zeroed in on the event, telling a local reporter that she thinks calling the weekend’s scene “chaotic” is incorrect.
“The vast majority of young people who came downtown came downtown because the weather was great and it was an opportunity to enjoy the city. It’s just right, just right,” Lightfoot said, advocating for the teens.
She added, “There are a few who came with different intentions. They have and will be dealt with. But I will not use your language, which I think is wrong, to say that there is ‘anarchy’.
Brandon Johnson, 47, said Sunday that he does not “condone destructive activity” and that it is “unacceptable and has no place” in Chicago, but that it should not be used as a way to discredit the group.
“However, it is not constructive to demonize young people who would otherwise be denied opportunities in their communities,” said Johnson, a progressive Democrat.
Brandon Johnson, 47, said Sunday that he does not “condone destructive activity” and that it is “unacceptable and has no place” in Chicago, but that it should not be used as a way to discredit the group.
State Sen. Robert Peters, who counts parts of Chicago within his constituency, brushed off the ugly scenes in a widely criticized social media post.
‘Since I am a glutton to punishment,’ said he, ‘and I am sure I shall get the most irritable answer to an eccentric of crime, but I shall look upon the conduct of young men as action and as a political statement.
“It is a mass protest against poverty and segregation.”
Johnson’s election promised an exacerbation of the situation.
The head of the powerful police union, the Fraternity of the Police Union, said before the vote that a Johnson victory would lead to violence and chaos.
‘If this guy gets in, we’ll see an exodus like we’ve never seen before,’ John Catanzara told the New York Times, predicting that 800 to a thousand police officers would leave their job if Johnson was elected.
Then he promised that there would be “blood on the streets”.
Johnson promised to train two hundred new detectives and hold senior positions in the police force, but he also pledged to rein in some police measures.
He campaigned to end no-knock warrants, cancel the city’s contract with ShotSpotter, wipe the police department’s database of “racist” gangs, and erect a memorial to survivors of torture committed by former police chief John Berg and his subordinates.
