Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) snapped at reporters following questions about officer Ella French’s murder and the lead-up to officers turning their backs to the Mayor at the hospital.
The Daily Mail noted that a number of officers wanted a “bagpipe procession” while French’s body was being transported to the medical examiner’s office, but First Deputy Police Supt. Eric Carter rejected the idea, saying, “We don’t have 20 minutes for this s**t.”
Lightfoot supported Carter’s decision and suggested the officers pushing for the procession were trying to “hijack” the night.
She said, “There was — let me choose my words carefully — well-meaning but not well-organized group that wanted to hijack the procession, which would have meant that the family would have been delayed exponentially in getting to the morgue.”
The Chicago Sun-Times noted that Lightfoot pointed to restrictions issued by the coroner, suggesting that adding things to slow the procession would have been unfair to French’s family.
Reporters also brought up the fact that approximately 30 officers turned their backs to Lightfoot on Saturday night when she arrived at the hospital where French’s wounded partner was being treated. They asked if she had “forced her way into the hospital,” thereby angering the officers.
Lightfoot responded, “I don’t force my way anywhere. And that’s offensive, frankly, that you would ask me that question.”
Breitbart News pointed out that the father of French’s wounded partner reportedly “excoriated” Lightfoot to her face when she came to the 7th floor of the hospital.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that sources indicated the father “blamed [Lightfoot] for what had happened,” yelling at her.
NBC 5 quoted Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara telling Fox News that Lightfoot was told not to go to the 7th floor because that was where the critically wounded officer’s family was waiting to speak with doctors. Lightfoot went to the 7th floor anyway, leading Catanzara to believe “[the Mayor] still thought she knew best and went up there against the advice of family.”
