Days off have been canceled for Chicago police officers effective immediately and cops will once again be working 12-hour shifts in the city, according to multiple CPD sources. The move is in response to developments in Atlanta where an officer fatally shot Rayshard Brooks on Friday night.
In Chicago on Saturday, police arrested a man for throwing a brick through a police station window in Lakeview and a woman for defacing the Christopher Columbus statue on Museum Campus.
Prosecutors charged Benjamin Lott of Piedmont, Mo., with two felony counts of criminal damage to government property after he allegedly threw a brick through a window at the 19th (Town Hall) Police District station, 850 West Addison.
Police said no injuries were reported and Lott was arrested at the scene around 4:45 p.m. Saturday. He’s due in bond court Sunday.
Also Saturday, prosecutors charged Kaitlyn O’Keefe with one count of misdemeanor criminal defacement of property for allegedly spraypainting the Columbus statute at Roosevelt Road and Columbus Drive. Photos show the statue has been tagged with BLM and other slogans. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office declined felony charges against O’Keefe, according to a source.
O’Keefe was allegedly carrying red spray paint at the time of her arrest. A man who reportedly carried black spray paint ran from the scene and was not caught. O’Keefe’s mugshot is not available because CPD policy prohibits the release of mugshots for people who are only charged with misdemeanors.
Police department leaders late Saturday canceled all days off for Chicago’s sworn police officers after a Wendy’s restaurant near the scene of Brooks’ death was set on fire. Atlanta’s police chief resigned earlier in the day.
Chicago cops will work 12-hour shifts until further notice. Most had only recently returned to normal working hours after pulling 12-hour shifts for up to two weeks straight as the city managed fallout from the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer on May 26.
Officers who are normally assigned to most South and West Side police districts as well as those assigned to the downtown area will work in their usual districts on days they would normally be off, according to plan details provided to CWBChicago by a source. Officers who normally work in North Side districts will receive assignments upon reporting to Guaranteed Rate Field on their days off, according to the plan.
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