A resigning Chicago 911 dispatcher blasted what he said is the city’s lack of support for police and emergency services — and particularly the “lies” and misplaced priorities of controversial, far-left Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
“Her ego is bigger than the crime level here in Chicago,” Keith Thornton Jr. told Fox News Tuesday.
What are the details?
Thornton — who said he’s moving on to a leadership position in emergency management outside the city — told “Fox & Friends First” that things are out of control in Chicago and he simply has had enough.
“With no leadership … no transparency from … City Hall … and just a very negligent administration, it was just time,” Thornton said. “I’m tired of it.”
He added that Lightfoot and city officials are telling “a bunch of lies” regarding Chicago’s crime problem: “Constantly, every week, every other day, they’re saying that the stats are down with violent crime and people shot and homicides. Listen: Being on the other side of the radio as a dispatcher in Chicago, I’m like, ‘This is nonsense’ … I don’t stand for that. This is wrong.”
Fox News noted that in 2020 there were 13,000 police in the city, and now that number is down to 11,600 — not to mention the rise in sexual assaults, robbery, burglary, and theft.
More from the cable network:
Chicago police made arrests in 12% of crime cases in 2021, the lowest rate since 2001, as sweeping changes have been made in recent years as to how the department patrols the streets, including restricting their vehicle pursuit policy and ending foot pursuits if a suspect runs from an officer or if someone commits a minor offense.
Thornton added to Fox News that city residents “call [911] with people shot right there while I’m listening and my colleagues are listening, it’s sad. Because we’re supposed to tell these citizens a bunch of fluff and nonsense that they have resources and police coming to the scenes, and there’s hours and hours before we actually can get a lot of these officers to many of the scenes throughout the entire city … crime has just skyrocketed.”
On top of all of that, he added to Fox News that Lightfoot has been “out of control” with misplaced priorities such as her promotion of NASCAR in the city and the Lollapalooza music festival instead of protecting citizens.
“Absolute trash,” Thornton emphasized to the cable network.
(H/T: Police Tribune)