EDISON PARK — With National Police Week set to start Sunday, Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st) urged Chicagoans to show their support for the Chicago Police Department.
Residents can pick up a blue balloon, ribbon or porch light from the 41st Ward office, 7442 N. Harlem Ave.
The week is designed to honor police officers who died in the line of duty as well as those putting their lives at risk everyday, organizers said.
The Chicago Police Department has faced white-hot criticism after the release of a dashcam video that showed a police officer fatally shoot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times.
Last December, current police union President Dean Angelo Sr. told the City Council that morale among officers is the lowest it has been in 35 years because of the uproar surrounding the McDonald shooting.
Napolitano — a former firefighter and police officer who hails from a family of law enforcement officers — said in a speech at the height of the controversy that the focus on one police officer's actions has been used to unfairly tar thousands of hardworking officers.
While Napolitano acknowledged that the video of Officer Jason Van Dyke apparently shooting McDonald without cause is horrifying, he said the actions of one officer should not be allowed to define the Police Department.
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