CPD diverting hundreds of cops from neighborhoods to downtown — but mayor’s district is exempt

Hundreds of cops who are assigned to patrol Chicago’s neighborhoods are being diverted to protect downtown from looters under an order issued this week by CPD Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott. But, the police district where Mayor Lori Lightfoot lives is specifically exempt from the order.

McDermott’s memo to top brass, with the subject line “Downtown Deployment of Tactical Teams and Incident Teams,” was provided to CWBChicago by a source.

From Rogers Park to Mount Greenwood and from O’Hare to Hegewisch, cops are being pulled downtown to generate a visible presence following a round of violence and looting that swept the area on August 10.

Red-shaded districts are sending police resources to the green-shaded area under the CPD order.

As of Monday morning, some units that would ordinarily handle district-level anti-crime missions and would respond to unfolding incidents such as robberies and shootings in neighborhoods, are now standing on street corners downtown.

Officers ordered to go downtown “will be highly visible. Vehicles will have their [blue] lights activated for the duration of their tour,” McDermott wrote. Officers “will also ensure that they have their helmets, batons, masks (if issued) with them.”

The 19th District, which covers Lakeview and parts of Lincoln Park and Uptown, is sending at least 30 of its officers downtown every day, according to a source. Other districts are providing a similar number of cops. Some districts are also sending prisoner transport vans to support the downtown deployment, according to the order.

McDermott’s order exempts the city’s most violent districts, referred to within the department as “Tier 1,” and the two districts that already patrol downtown. Other than those, every district has been ordered to comply. Well, except for the 14th District, where Lightfoot lives.

The re-deployment of district assets is “continuing until further notice,” McDermott wrote.

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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com