So, what has been the policy response? Mayor Daley came out with a
proposal to arm Chicago City police
with assault weapons a couple of days ago, and staged his press
conference in one of Chicago's hyper-segregated
African-American (>95%) neighborhoods, historically red-lined by federal
housing and lending regulations and
systematically harmed by local financial (sub-prime mortgage loans,
"pay-day" loans, etc.) and real estate practices.
*Daley: Chicago police to get assault rifles
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-chicago-police-assault-rifles,0,2104512.story>*
Tribune staff report -
2:55 PM CDT, April 26, 2008
Mayor Richard Daley
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/politics/local-authority/richard-m.-daley-PEPLT007475.topic>
said Saturday Chicago police officers will he armed with high-powered
assault rifles when they're on the streets fighting gangs and other
criminals.
"Many times they're outgunned, to be very frank," Daley said at an event
in the Englewood
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/us/illinois/cook-county/chicago/englewood-PLGEO100100501252700.topic>
neighborhood. "When they come to a scene, someone has a semi
fully-automatic weapon and you have a little pistol, uh, good luck."
The city's police officers carry pistols, and Daley suggested they will
start carrying "M4 rifles."
Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said the department still is working out
details about the M4 carbines.
"It's very preliminary. It's really under review. It is something being
reviewed. As far as all of the logistics, the training component, might
be premature to discuss it at this point," Bond said.
Daley pointed out that the Illinois State Police, Chicago SWAT units and
other police departments around the country already carry high-powered
assault weapons. He said the weapons will better match the Chicago
police officers against criminals with sophisticated weapons, such as
high-powered assault rifles.
"We're finding out that the weapons of criminals are getting bigger and
bigger, AK47s, all types of different weapons, because they can carry
assault weapons, it's not a violation of federal law, and that is a
concern for all of us," he said.
One posted response (SJJ in Chicago) sums up just how wrong the mayor's
proposal is
[ http://www.topix.net/forum/chicago/TSADK75F4HOSTA6RJ -- WARNING: many
of the other comments posted are virulently racist and are from people
who are not even in Illinois, much less Chicago residents.]:
/I can't believe you would arm a police force, known for civilian
brutality and rogue misconduct, with assault rifles.
It's just as bad as putting those guns in the hands of criminals.
How are communities safer now that more guns are present? It's unbelievable.
/These predominately Black (and Latino) neighborhoods also happen to be
_over-represented_ in most indicators of poverty, overcrowding and
substandard housing, felony arrest rates and imprisonment rates for
non-violent crimes (see Bruce Western's and Lawrence Bobo's works on the
so-called "war on drugs" and mass incarceration of Blacks and Latinos),
and poor health (see the City of Chicago's Dept. of Public Health
excellent and very thorough series of reports and maps).
They are _under-represented_ in what Sherman James called, *neighborhood
indicators of opportunity* -
(in his 4/09 Michael Davis Seminar on Health and Vulnerable Populations
presentation
"Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health and Health Care: Where should
we go from here?" at the University of Chicago).
Just two examples:
* after school/out of school programs and facilities
- Chapin Hall reports [Chapin Hall Center for Children at
www.chapinhall.org];
* food deserts, "Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public
Health in Chicago" -
http://www.agr.state.il.us/marketing/ILOFFTaskForce/ChicagoFoodDesertReportFull.pdf
--
Alice Furumoto-Dawson, Ph.D.
Sr. Research Associate
Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research
Institute for Mind & Biology
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL - USA
Email: [log in to unmask]
http://cihdr.uchicago.edu/
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