A Chicago Police Department commander was suspended for a week after over-the-top ridiculous claims that crime was down 44% in his district and it was, in part, his leadership that was responsible for that great result. Commander Harris caught a 7-day unpaid suspension for his make-believe numbers. In his district, not only was crime NOT down 44%, it was up 30%
Here’s the original story from CWB Chicago about Commander Harris’ bombastic claims:
Chicago — The commander of the Chicago police district that includes the Loop, Bronzeville, and adjacent lakefront areas went on WLS-AM this week to brag about enormous reductions in crime that have occurred since he became commander in June.
When talk show host Steve Cochran asked Cmdr. David Harris what he credited the incredible statistical improvement to, Harris replied, “Well, I’m gonna have to brag a little bit. One, my leadership.”
Among the leadership tools Harris said he employs are walking the hallways at the police station, “leading from the front” on the street, and awarding a giant wrestling belt to cops who do a good job.
David Harris and two officers he recognized with his wrestling belt from 2022.
Perhaps it’s appropriate that Harris would use a wrestling belt. Because, like wrestling, the crime statistics he listed on WLS were fake.
“Brag on your numbers a little bit,” Cochran’s cohost told Harris in the Monday morning interview, “because I know when we hear the numbers that come out, overall, you know, we hear these stats all the time: crime’s up, crime’s up, crime’s up. But, technically, in the first district, they’re down since you took over in June.”
“Absolutely,” Harris replied. “Yeah. I took over in June, and since then, overall crime is down 44%.”
“That’s huge,” Cochran replied.
“[L]ike wrestling, the crime statistics he listed on WLS were fake.” OMG. That’s comedy gold right there.
CHICAGO — The commander of a downtown Chicago police district was slapped with a 7-day suspension for inaccurately claiming that crime was down in his district and that he was responsible for it.
We told you about Cmdr. David Harris’ bombastic claims the day after he spewed them during an interview with WLS-AM talk show host Steve Cochran in late 2022.
“Yeah. I took over in June, and since then, overall crime is down 44%,” Harris boasted, even though crime reports were higher every month under his command than the year before…
In fact, we reported that crime reports in Harris’ district were not down 44% since he took command. They were up 30%.
Among the leadership tools Harris said he employed were walking the hallways at the police station, “leading from the front” on the street, and awarding a giant wrestling belt to cops who do a good job.
“Robbery is down 55%. Our aggravated batteries are down 41%. Burglaries are down 42%,” Harris claimed.
In fact, all three categories were up compared to 2021.
CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs launched an investigation of Harris’ radio appearance after Dep. Chief Jill Stevens filed a complaint, claiming he “inaccurately cited crime statistics and wrongfully took credit for crime reduction in the 001st District,” according to a summary report of the investigation’s findings.
The investigation resulted in two sustained findings against Harris: that he “took credit for the significant reduction in crime since being appointed as the Commander of the 1st District” and that he “inaccurately cited crime statistics during a media interview,” the summary report said.
Internal affairs recommended a seven-day suspension. A CPD spokesperson said Tuesday that he served that time from September 9 to September 15, 2023. The Internal Affairs report documenting the findings and suspension recently became available on CPD’s transparency portal.
(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker is touting his efforts to attract new businesses throughout the state. During a discussion with Crain’s Chicago Business, he also discussed concerns around crime in the city.
The governor took questions Monday from the publication during a midday event and was asked about what he is doing to stop the violence in Chicago, which he says is not as bad as some believe.
“Violent crime has been coming down, actually for three years, but in particular over the last year,” Pritzker said. “Shootings and murders have come down significantly. Again, it doesn’t make anyone feel safer to just hear a statistic; it will take some time, but that is something people should know.”
Reality looked a lot more like this:
Image courtesy CWB Chicago.
If only we could hold the governor responsible for uttering such bombastic falsehoods.
One thought on “IF WE COULD ONLY HOLD THE GOV. SIMILARLY ACCOUNTABLE: Chicago PD commander suspended for week after outlandish claims about reducing crime”
When a balloon deflates hot air expels.