Chicago Cop Faces 10-Day Suspension for Playing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ at Black Protest March

Chicago Cop Faces 10-Day Suspension for Playing 'Sweet Home Alabama' at Black Protest MarchBeverly-Mt Greenwood Patch – by Dennis Robaugh

The Chicago Police officer who blasted “Sweet Home Alabama” from his squad car as he and other officers trailed a “Black Lives Matter” march last week — a stunt many saw as racially antagonistic — has come forward.

The officer will be disciplined, the police department announced in a statement Thursday.Sources tell the Chicago Tribune the officer faces a 10-day suspension upon the approval of Supt. Garry McCarthy.  

The episode, recorded on video and posted on YouTube, quickly gained national attention.

“CPD fully understands sensitivities related to the song … we cannot condone any behavior that may be viewed as disruptive or disrespectful to any protester or resident. To the contrary, as you have seen over the past couple weeks, CPD is dedicated to ensuring residents’ right to free speech and peaceful assembly,” the department’s statement read.

Some questioned whether the song was in any way racist or offensive. Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, told the Chicago Tribune that the 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd song has been “a kind of neo-Confederate anthem” for years. The band wrote the song as a response to Neil Young’s “Southern Man,” which was a commentary on racism.

“It certainly does look like the officers were taunting the marchers,” Potok said.

After seeing the video, recorded by Chicago photographer Gabriel Michael, the police department began an internal investigation and contacted Michael.

On Thursday, the department said the officer told his superiors he was a “fan of the University of Alabama.” The Crimson Tide beat the University of Missouri Saturday in the SEC Championship game.

http://patch.com/illinois/beverly-mtgreenwood/chicago-cop-faces-10-day-suspension-playing-sweet-home-alabama-black-protest-march#.VIsY8s9e9sY.email

5 thoughts on “Chicago Cop Faces 10-Day Suspension for Playing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ at Black Protest March

  1. “Some questioned whether the song was in any way racist or offensive. Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, told the Chicago Tribune that the 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd song has been “a kind of neo-Confederate anthem” for years. The band wrote the song as a response to Neil Young’s “Southern Man,” which was a commentary on racism.”spoken like a true jooooo. the civil war was not about slavery, but these damned communist will twist the damned issue until it is!!!:

    “A Racial Program for the 20th Century” (1912) by a British Fabian “Israel Cohen” quoted by Congressman Thomas Abernathy during the Civil Rights debate, and entered into the Congressional Record (1957), p. 8559:

    “We must realize that our party’s most powerful weapon is racial tension. By propounding into the consciousness of the dark races that for centuries they have been oppressed by the whites, we can move them to the program of the Communist Party. In America we will aim for subtle victory. While inflaming the Negro minority against whites, we will instill in the whites a guilt complex for their exploitation of the Negroes. We will aid the Negroes to rise to prominence in every walk of life, in the professions, and in the world of sports and entertainment. With this prestige, the Negro will be able to intermarry with the whites and begin a process which will deliver America to our cause.”
    – See more at: http://henrymakow.com/Rosa%20Parks%20-%20Parks-Proof-Communists-Run-America%20.html#sthash.WzxbjPBa
    .do you guys know what we are dealing with yet?

  2. “It certainly does look like the officers were taunting the marchers,” Potok said.”

    I see no intent to incite racial violence.

    Yeah, right.

Join the Conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


*