Former Chicago police officer reacts to controversial shootings

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - It's a new era in police scrutiny, and for many it has been a long time coming.

A former Chicago police officer, who was on the force for 18 years, said morale on the force is low right now due to scrutiny from the public and city administration, as well as being blamed for the violence on the streets.

“I told my own son I would not allow him to be a police officer,” said Brian Warner, who is currently on disability after he was involved in a shooting that left him injured and an offender dead.

He said officers may find themselves working differently after the release of these videos.

“Most officers, maybe for a day or two, the mayor calls it going fetal, I call it putting the blinders on, you are not going to be as aggressive,” he said.

“You know what the politicians don't want me to, the superintendent doesn't want me to, and I sure as heck don't want to be losing my job over it.”

Warner said most people on the street will welcome the Department of Justice civil rights investigation, and he admitted the Chicago Police Department has its flaws. However, he says there are also problems inside the communities it serves.

“It's horrific to pull up to a crime scene and have a dead 9-year-old and try to process that scene, knowing that 25 of the 30 people there know who killed this child but they won’t cooperate,” Warner said.