CPD officers suspended after caught on video 'lounging,' sleeping in Bobby Rush's office during Chicago riot: sources
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Several Chicago police officers have been suspended after they were seen lounging in Representative Bobby Rush's office while people were looting stores nearby last summer, sources tell ABC 7.
WATCH: Raw video of police officers in Rep. Rush's office
Pictures from inside the longtime congressman's South Side campaign office over the summer show more than a dozen Chicago police officers making themselves at home as Chicago erupted in chaos.
"The abandonment of their post was what really infuriated me," Rush said.
CPD said 17 officers caught laying on the Congressman's couch, resting their heads on his desk, and helping themselves to coffee and popcorn without Rush or his staff's knowledge are being temporarily suspended.
"I'm not running a victory lap because of this," Rush said. "At the end of the day we want a better, more equitable, more responsive police force."
Pictures show at least three white shirt supervisors, all while the city around them was in ruins, left torn apart by looting.
At the time Police Superintendent David Brown said, "If you sleep during a riot, what do you do on a regular shift when there's no riot?"
Just a day earlier, on May 31, looters had raided the very office where the officers hid from the heat.
"They even had the unmitigated gall to go and make coffee for themselves and to pop popcorn, my popcorn in my microwave," Rush said.
Sources tell ABC7 the officers involved in the incident have now been suspended by the police department.
"These individuals did indeed abandon their responsibilities and their obligation and their oath to serve and protect," Mayor Lightfoot said following the incident. "We should all be disgusted."
WATCH: Full press conference with Mayor Lightfoot, Supt. Brown, Rep. Rush
Lightfoot said there was a core group of officers in the office and then several others coming in and out. She said at its height, there were 13 officers.
She offered an apology on behalf of the city, saying those officers have done incredible harm, including confirming the perception that many have on the South Side that police simply did not care that minority communities were being looted.
CPD issued a statement Thursday that said:
"The Bureau of Internal Affairs has concluded the investigation into allegations against Chicago Police Department members seen inside Congressman Bobby Rush's office on June 1, 2020.
The members have been notified of the results of the investigation. One member was issued a reprimand and 17 were given suspensions. Each member may elect to challenge the decisions based on their collective bargaining agreements, which initiates the grievance process. We are unable to release further information regarding the results of the investigation at this time due to the ongoing grievance process."
The police department said one more officer was reprimanded for the incident.
The 17 suspended officers can appeal their punishment.
ABC 7 reached out to the union representing the officers for a response, but we've not heard back.
