Photo of two Chicago police officers sleeping in a squad car has gotten a lot of attention on social media, prompting officials to take disciplinary action. The photo has also raised questions about officer safety and whether increased overtime is taking a toll on officers.
The photo was first posted Saturday morning on Facebook. It’s been shared more than 20,000 times since, including by mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green who blames the situation on mandatory overtime.
“Both of them, not one was out, both of them were asleep, they probably had a rough day, they may have done a lot of overtime and these are the effects of it,” Green said.
Green, who has been a vocal critic of the Chicago Police Department during his days as a community activist, said this one is on Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the decision to deploy 600 more officers to combat the recent surge in gun violence.
The Chicago Police Department released the following statement about the photo:
Officer welfare, health and safety are among our highest priorities. The officers involved in this incident were not on an overtime initiative and worked minimal amounts of overtime since July 1st and didnt work overtime this week or weekend.
Read more on the story, and statements from Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Paul Vallas from WGN-TV.
