“You know we’re short on cars tonight, right?”
That’s how one seasoned 19th district dispatcher suggested to an officer that they had a full shift ahead of them on Friday night. (Wait. Short on cars on a Friday? In an “entertainment district?” Will things EVER change?)
We haven’t yet received the line-up from Friday to see just how shorthanded the district was. But we HAVE seen the line up for last Saturday night, the 21st.
On that night, fully one-third of our district’s police beats had no cars assigned to them. And there was no “traffic car” operating to handle accidents and hunt for drunk drivers.
Mayor Emanuel, Uptown Alderman James Cappleman, and Lincoln Park Alderman Michele Smith are all running for re-election right now. None of them seems to think that manpower is a problem.
Sunday, 10:00AM. An officer is asked to respond to a burglar alarm.
Police officer: “Are you aware that this [burglar] alarm call came in at 9:11?”Dispatcher: “Yes I am.”
You’d better get used to it.
