Chicago alderman reacts to off-duty cop being shot, killed: 'Most dangerous profession'
Chicago Alderman Anthony Napolitano joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the fatal shooting of off-duty officer Luis Huesca and why he believes law enforcement officials are in incredible danger in the Windy City.
A Chicago alderman tore into Mayor Brandon Johnson, Monday, accusing him and city officials of "demonizing" law enforcement in recent years.
The criticism came after an off-duty police officer was fatally shot and killed over the weekend.
Alderman and former police officer Anthony Napolitano said on "Fox & Friends" that they've "lost" the city under Johnson's leadership after 30-year-old Luis Huesca was gunned down early Sunday morning while he was headed home.
"They don't care about police officers, they don't care about citizens anymore," Napolitano told Lawrence Jones on Monday.
"We've lost our city and no one's doing anything about it anymore, so I don't believe any of that talk anymore. They're taking away ShotSpotter, they're taking police out of our schools. They're demonizing the police, and they're celebrating the lawsuits against these police officers every week in the city council. They're not fighting any of them."
"Where there's a good case, they're not fighting them, they're settling them because it demonizes the police department even more," he continued. "It makes them look like the enemy."
Police superintendent Larry Snelling said Huesca was driving home at around 3 a.m. Sunday when he was shot multiple times in the city's southwest side.
Huesca was still in uniform, but it was covered by other clothing, which Snelling said is normal for off-duty officers. The wounded officer was transported to a Chicago hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
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Johnson's office released a statement in response to the shooting reading, "My Office of Community Safety and the Chicago Police Department is committed to putting every resource available to apprehending anyone involved in this morning's shooting and bringing them to justice. As the investigation continues, we will provide immediate updates as they become available."
Napolitano wasn't thrilled with the statement, arguing that the city has worked against law enforcement and has tried to dismantle their resources as they struggle to combat crime.
"Where that statement comes up very short is they're not putting every resource towards fighting… these offenders," Napolitano said. "In city council we're actually taking as many resources as we can away from our police officers. We're defunding them as much as possible. Our floor leaders now are defunding them as much as possible."
"That's a statement that you make… after every shooting when you lose a police officer," he continued. "it's written down. It's somewhere in a drawer. They just pull it out and hand it to them, and that's what they read, it's not the truth."
An investigation into the homicide is underway. Huesca was a six-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, FOX 32 Chicago reported. He died two days before his 31st birthday.
Napolitano warned that "nobody's safe" after the tragic shooting over the weekend, arguing that the city has been lost to surging violence following Huesca's death.
"It's probably the most dangerous profession going right now in the city of Chicago besides being just a citizen," Napolitano said. "Nobody's safe here right now. We have leadership in city council that's more worried about funding money towards illegal immigrants and getting more votes for their next election than they are protecting our city and our citizens."
"My father had a saying, 'When your police officers aren't safe anymore, you've lost your city.' That's what's going on here," he continued.
Fox News' Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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