Chicago Fraternal Order of Police union President John Catanzara faces termination hearing Monday
CHICAGO - The Chicago Police Board's hearing on whether the fiery first-term president of the Fraternal Order of Police President should lose his job as an officer will begin on Monday.
Four years ago, officials launched an investigation over obscene and inflammatory statements that John Catanzara made on social media.
In all, he is accused of violating 11 Chicago Police Department rules connected to 18 allegations that include making false reports and being insubordinate or disrespectful to supervisors.
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One of the social media posts included on the list is of a photo Catanzara posted of himself in his CPD uniform in support of Former President Donald Trump and the American flag.
In another post, according to records from the Police Board, Catanzara wrote: "Wtf its [sic] seriously time to kill these motherf———," though it was not clear who Catanzara was referring to. Catanzara previously said the comment was made in reference to people who have killed police officers.
In several other posts, Catanzara suggested someone perform a sex act on him, referred to Muslims as "savages" and called a superior officer in the CPD "spineless," records show.
Chicago Police Supt. David Brown filed the charges against Catanzara, with the recommendation of termination, in January. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability had previously recommended that Catanzara be fired for his comments.
Catanzara joined the CPD in 1995 and was elected the union's president, becoming the first president of the FOP to be elected while stripped of his police powers. Since he joined the department, Catanzara has been one of its most frequently disciplined members.
Catanzara has remained at odds with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, often criticizing her for her response to crime. Most recently, the two have butt heads over the city’s vaccine mandate.
In a video posted to the FOP's YouTube channel on Friday, Catanzara accused the mayor of wanting to make a "circus" out of his case.
"She has made it very clear that I am not going to win this case, that I will never be in a police uniform again," Catanzara said. "I guess we shall see if the members of the Police Board are going to do the right thing or do what they’re told. Time will tell."
Catanzara says that he could still run the police union even if he is fired.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Monday, and to continue Tuesday and Wednesday. It is open to the public, though space is limited because of the COVID pandemic.