Chicago 911 Dispatcher Expresses Concern About CPD Staff Shortage in the 16th District

CHICAGO (WLS) — Officer Ella French, praised for the way she handled the fatal shooting, is raising concerns about staffing shortages at the Chicago Police Department.

Keith Thornton is a 911 dispatcher with the City of Chicago. Back in August, it was His restraint was shot down on the night’s officers Ella French and Carlos Yanez. Which first brought him fame.

Now, Thornton is in the limelight again after a nearly 30-minute Facebook Live video in which she sings of the city’s 16th police district. He said that on the night of 23 December, 9 out of 14 police units stationed there had gone down.

“It’s humiliating and I’m not happy,” Thornton said. “Those who are white, they have beat the cars. Those who are scratched, they are down. So you don’t have any cops coming.”

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Thornton pointed to the long line of squad cars parked outside the district on Sunday afternoon, what he said was a severe lack of resources.

“When I’m getting text messages from officers telling me they’re afraid for their safety because they’re working themselves and then the beat next to them, to support them, isn’t there because the cars are down. “It’s a problem. It’s a security concern,” he said.

So what is going on here? Area-wise, the 16th Police District is the city’s largest, encompassing everything north of Belmont and west of Cicero. Like the rest of the police department, the district has lost a significant number of officers over the years as retirements are outpacing new employees.

But while this is far from what supporters of the staffing department would like to see, the current situation has been described by some as a short-lived, pandemic-related anomaly.

“I know there’s a COVID outbreak out there,” 38th Ward Eld. Nicolas Spocetto said. “I know they’re down about 70 amid COVID, duty layoffs, non-duty layoffs and no-pay situation. So it’s above and beyond the officers we’ve lost in the past, I’m going to say two months We’ve lost eight officers, I think… We want more bodies here. We want more officers… I don’t want to see a guy in there car. I know that sometimes- Sometimes things happen, but it happens very often and it’s too routine of a premise.”

Sposato said he, along with seven other aldermen representing the 16th district, will have a meeting on the subject with Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown this Tuesday, where he hopes he will be able to secure a commitment to additional support. Will be