Illinois State Representative Monique Davis is blaming the Chicago Police Department for the high number of killings in the Windy City. She is not just blaming the CPD for bad policing, though. She wonders if the police are doing some of the killing.
Davis, a House member from Chicago’s South Side district, uttered the accusation on Detroit’s WCHB-AM radio on July 16.
“I’m going to tell you what some suspicions have been, and people have whispered to me: they’re not sure that black people are shooting all of these children,” Davis told the Detroit radio audience.
She continued saying, “There’s some suspicion — and I don’t want to spread this, but I’m just going to tell you what I’ve been hearing — they suspect maybe the police are killing some of these kids.”
One reason “there’s some suspicion,” Davis said, is because there have been few arrests for the dozens of murders perpetrated on the streets of the city. Lack of arrests leads Davis to believe police are the actual killers because there are no perpetrators being fingered.
Once word got back to Chicago that Davis was making these accusations, Chicago’s WBBM-AM radio tracked her down to ask if she stood by those claims.
“I’m going to tell you what some suspicions have been, and people have whispered to me: they’re not sure that black people are shooting all of these children,” Davis told the Chicago radio station.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy was incensed by Davis’s comments.
“I think it’s absurd, I think it’s inflammatory. I think it’s also insulting,” McCarthy said.
In a July 19 press release, Davis attempted to smooth over hard feelings by praising the Chicago police for their efforts, but she stood by her statements on the Detroit radio program.
“I’m not a detective, I’m not an investigator,” Davis said. “I said my community, many people in my community, based upon their experiences and their knowledge, believe it is possible that some of these murders are committed by our finest. Now, we can’t say that doesn’t happen.”