Violent crime has 'taken over' Chicago, alderman says
CHICAGO - A Chicago alderman is issuing a stark warning on rampant crime, claiming "it is a lawless land right now" as the number of officers shot in the line of duty spiked 43% since last year.
Anthony Napolitano, who is also a former police officer himself, accused politicians of prompting anti-police rhetoric on "Fox & Friends," urging officials to do more to combat the crime wave.
"We're the land of the lost here," Napolitano told co-host Lawrence Jones. "Crime has taken over. People aren't afraid of the police anymore… Politicians have vilified the police. You have your defund the police movement. Nobody wants to be the police anymore… It's a lawless land right now."
According to the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), there have been 101 officers shot on duty so far in 2022. This is a 43% increase since the same time last year.
"There's no backing from our city, there's no backing from our administration, and we need society to step up and start putting these children and these criminals in their place," said Napolitano. "If we don't do it… we're going to lose Chicago, and it's happening. It's happening at a quick pace."
There were a record number of attacks against police officers in the line of duty last year, with the number of officers shot climbing to 346, according to FOP.
"In a crazy way it's the Lord's work because they're putting their lives on the line to fight crime every day, day in, day out," Napolitano stated. "They have to know that when they're going out there doing this job, that someone's going to back them."
"When they're not backed up, they're doing just a little bit less work because they're in fear that they're going to lose their house, they're going to lose their life, they're going to go to prison," he continued.