Chicago alderman tries to stop looters in Beverly neighborhood
CHICAGO - A Chicago alderman tried to stop looters in the Beverly neighborhood on Sunday.
Ald. Matt O'Shea was at the Adriana Furs on 95th Street, which had been vandalized and burglarized, when he saw looters at a store across the street. The looting was just part of the mayhem that followed in the hours after Chicago protests over the death of George Floyd.
"They all fled in the vehicle, three vehicles total here, Carl [Robinson] here helped me break it up but the damage was done and we have another victim in our community," said Ald. Matt O'Shea.
Carl Robinson tried to stop the thieves.
"I was just upset because my mother has a store over here -- across the street -- I heard looting," Robinson. "I sped off and came over here and saw people running. I saw somebody with a handful of goods and I started beating on the window and said, 'Stop it.'"
Robinson said that the looters were not connected to any protest over the death of George Floyd.
"I want to be very clear, respectfully, making sure that -- white folks looting too, black folks looting too. Everybody looting. It's transitioned into something else," Robinson said.
The alderman said there is so much damage and so much looting, it is unrealistic to expect Chicago police to be able to stop all the criminals. However, aroung 5:30 p.m., Fox 32 News did witness the arrival of a couple dozen officers along 95th Street.
Tia Ewing talks about looting and racism
Fox 32 News anchor and reporter Tia Ewing was covering the looting on Sunday. She says that looting does not solve anything,and that anyone who was a racist before is not going to stop being racist when they see an African American male running out of a store with items.
"This is citywide. The police are everywhere. Just utter lawlessness and criminal behavior and it has nothing to do with the tragic death of Mr. Floyd," said O'Shea. "The amount of calls into 911 is at historic levels. Police can't be everywhere."