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Ald. Maldonado's Argument With Police At Crime Scene Caught On Tape: VIDEO

By Mina Bloom | July 20, 2017 1:53pm
 In the CBS2-obtained video, 26th Ward Ald. Roberto Maldonado gets angry when police won't let him drive through a crime scene.
In the CBS2-obtained video, 26th Ward Ald. Roberto Maldonado gets angry when police won't let him drive through a crime scene.
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HUMBOLDT PARK — Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26th) recently got into a confrontation with police after officers wouldn't let him drive through a crime scene — and the whole incident was recorded on video.

At one point, the Humboldt Park alderman got so angry that he called the entire Chicago Police Department into question, saying, "This is why the Police Department is in such bad shape with the citizens."

The dispute happened June 18 near Maldonado's home, according to CBS2, which obtained the police body camera footage.

At the beginning of the video, which is a little more than seven minutes long, Maldonado asks the officers which route he should take to drive home, saying the officer he had just spoken to was "very smart ass."

One officer then gives him a route before Maldonado asks, "Can anybody drive me to my house?"

The officer replies: "Is that a special favor you're asking for, alderman?"

As he films the confrontation on his phone, Maldonado says: "No, I'm asking as a citizen. You tell me: What should I do with my little three kids? Stay out here?"

The officers give the alderman possible routes and also encourage him to park farther down the block, but Maldonado immediately rejects those ideas.

"I don't want to do that. I don't need to do that. It would be a safety matter for my kids to do what you're asking me to do. Give me another alternative that would be safe for my kids. I'm a citizen like anyone else is," the alderman says.

He later insists: "I just want to drive to my house. Would that be possible?"

At one point, one of the officers offers to escort the alderman and his kids to their home on foot. But Maldonado isn't satisfied.

The dispute eventually fizzles out with the alderman blaming the officers for not giving him explicit enough directions. One of the officers, clearly frustrated by the argument, says, "We're actually here trying to investigate a crime in your neighborhood."

At the very end, as Maldonado is walking away, he can be heard saying faintly: "I hope that that wasn't taped."

Maldonado couldn't be immediately reached for comment Thursday afternoon. He also did not offer an explanation to CBS2.