Concerns about next time downtown Chicago crowds become violent

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Expert observers say there appeared to be no big picture plan in place for Chicago police to deal with pop-up crowds and out of control conduct last weekend in the Loop. What happens next time?

"These issues are set up like some sort of battle, as if the police have to go back in the next time and be stricter or use sterner tactics. And that sort of opens the door and leads to civil rights abuses that we've heard about and that have been, you know, splashed across the screen over the last several years," Chicago criminal defense attorney and former public defender Tony Thedford told the I-Team.

With imminent leadership changes at City Hall and down the street at Chicago police headquarters, Thedford said he worries about the rules of engagement the next time the thermometer rises and social media draws large crowds downtown. He said an ongoing citywide curfew could be a back door to more aggressive stop-and-frisk tactics.

"It scares me. If this has been sort of set up that way, I'm certainly not suggesting that news media is setting up that way. I'm simply saying that the expectation of folk is that the police will come back more prepared, and come back more aggressively," he said.

"It can be hard to draw the line," said former federal prosecutor and ABC7 Legal Analyst Gil Soffer. "I think if it's a first time offense, it's a very minor offense to begin with, I think you can make the case that they should be let go. If you have an even stronger argument, if you're able to say that they were engaged in first amendment rights, they were there in some sort of protests, that may be a little tougher to say in these circumstances, then you have a get out of jail free card entirely."

Nine adults and six juveniles were arrested during the weekend disturbances. Most were charged with reckless conduct. One 16-year-old is still being held on a gun charge according to the Cook County State's Attorney. After street unrest in recent years, hundreds of people have been arrested and then quickly let go, or charged with misdemeanors, even though a 2021 Inspector General's report concluded some should have faced different charges.