CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was caught on an open microphone belittling the number two man in the local Fraternal Order of Police during Wednesday’s city council meeting.
As a clerk called on FOP Lodge 7 First Vice President Patrick Murray to speak during a public comment section of the meeting, Lightfoot is heard saying “Oh, back again. This is this FOP clown.”
The comment was recorded and archived during a live stream of the meeting on the Chicago mayor’s official Facebook page. Murray was commenting on the FOP’s anger over a recent police board decision recommending the firing of officers accused of making misleading statements in the aftermath of the Laquan McDonald shooting.
When asked about the “clown” comment after the city council meeting, Lightfoot said it was inappropriate for her to say such things out loud.
FOP Lodge 7 released the following statement:
“Mayor Lightfoot’s contemptuous remark is a misguided and dangerous thing to say to a 30-year veteran police officer and FOP representative, particularly at a time when the city is facing such chronic violent crime. It is also telling that the Mayor would not even apologize. The red noses, however, belong on the members of the Chicago Police Board, her former agency, for their despicable decision to fire three police officers and a sergeant last week for no good reason whatsoever.”
