Chicago Politics

CPD Press Conference 10.31.24

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0:00 All right, good afternoon. Good afternoon. So I'm joined here today by Mayor Brandon Johnson, Deputy Mayor of Community Safety, Gary and Gatewood, Cook County State's Attorney, Kim Fox, Alderwoman Deborah Silverstein, Chief of Detectives, Antoinette Our City, Chief of Patrol, John Hyde, Director of Community Policing, Glenn Brooks, and members of the Bureau of Detectives and the Investigative Response Team.

0:30 So, today, I'm here to talk about a shooting that occurred in the Rogers Park neighborhood this past weekend. During that shooting, a 39-year-old man of Jewish faith was injured in a shooting. Also, multiple officers and paramedics were fired upon at the scene in separate incidents. Just want to make that clear. Earlier this week, we announced charges against 22-year-old Sidi Mohammed Abdel Hadi.

1:10 Today, he was additionally charged with one felony count of terrorism and one felony count of a hate crime. This offender remains hospitalized because of his injuries from the shooting that occurred on that date. The most important thing I want to come out of this press conference is we want everybody to know that we will never tolerate violence that's rooted in hate and bigotry.

1:41 This shooting is deeply personal to members of our Jewish community. We know that. But this shooting should be personal to everyone across the city. We have a diverse city. We live in a very diverse city. And any time someone suffers violence, especially a shooting, we should be outraged no matter where it occurs in our neighborhoods and across our city. Since this shooting occurred, our investigative response team has worked their fingers to the bone to determine a motive.

2:15 There must be sufficient evidence to support hate crimes and terrorism charges. And it was important we took our time to thoroughly investigate and confirm that this was indeed a crime of that nature. So I want to be clear about one thing, and I want to make this clear to everybody and everybody in every community. We did not secure these charges because of public pressure or because of media attention.

2:48 As the head of a police department, and the responsibility that we have in law enforcement is that we will never go out in public, make statements, allegations, accusations, or attempt to bring charges without any proof of what we're attempting to charge someone for. Now, gathering evidence and facts takes time, and we have to do it in a timely fashion so that we don't impede the possibility of getting charges.

3:23 We will never do things just based on a belief. We need proof. That's what we do as a police department, and I can tell you right now, our investigative response team did an excellent job of doing that. This investigation included a strong partnership between our federal partners and our prosecutorial partners at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. With detectives unable to interview the offender because of the injuries that he sustained during the shooting,

3:58 detectives sifted through digital evidence to establish this case. Evidence from the offender's phone indicated he planned this shooting and specifically targeted people of Jewish faith. This evidence allowed us to secure the terrorism and hate crime charges. I cannot say enough about the work our detectives and our investigatory teams did and worked with all of our partners to secure charges here

4:31 and to provide a level of safety around the community. Thankfully, this victim did not suffer life-threatening injuries. We know that this is something that he's going to have to deal with the rest of his days. I can also, I can't. Leave this press conference without talking about our first responding officers who arrived on the scene,

5:04 who were shot at, engaged in an exchange of gunfire with this individual, and stopped him from taking lives. They put their lives on the line for this community to make sure that the community was safe. The same thing that our officers do out there on a daily basis. It's extremely important to understand the effects of that. Our officers going out, making sure that these communities are safe all over this city. So I can't leave here without talking about how well those first arriving officers responded on the scene.

5:41 This trauma also affects our Jewish community. We know that. In Rogers Park, the community had concerns. And again, we understood what those concerns were as a police department. But again, we did not rush to judgment. We made sure that we continued the investigation that I told you earlier that we were working on. And those detectives did just one heck of a job getting that job done.

6:13 I also have to thank Chief for City for her leadership, Lieutenant Pat Kenny for the work that he does as the lead for the investigatory response team. and Glenn Brooks from Community Policing with our hate crimes unit. We've been working over in Rogers Park before and since this happened. And to our chief, John Hine, who made sure that there are additional resources around religious institutions throughout the neighborhood.

6:51 We will continue to pay special attention to the location to make sure that people feel safe. But lastly, we need to understand one thing, that what terrorism is designed to do, it's designed to change your way of life, it's designed to change the way that you move about your daily business. We want there to be some calm in the neighborhood so that you understand that we're there to make sure that you're safe.

7:21 We don't want to heighten. Awareness is great, but what we don't want you to do is walk around in fear. Know that we're here and the support is here from the Chicago Police Department and the mayor's office because, and I just want to be clear about one thing, I was in constant contact with the mayor about this information. The mayor had the information that we, as a police department, provided to the mayor. And until we gained enough information to provide the mayor with charges, to let him know that charges were coming about,

7:57 he only had the information that we as the Chicago Police Department provided to him. So we saw his support in this situation. We kept him abreast of what was going on. And I just want to thank the mayor and everyone standing here for the support. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Mayor Brandon Johnson. Thank you, Superintendent Snelly, and good afternoon, everyone. I want to start by being absolutely clear. There is absolutely no place in Chicago for anti-Semitism.

8:34 There's no place in our city for hatred directed towards our Jewish community. And now that the charges have been issued, I can speak in more specificity of the attack that took place that was clearly motivated by hatred. But hatred towards our Jewish community. It is not only hideous, it is wicked. And as the leader of this city, as a husband, as a father,

9:08 it grieves me and it breaks my heart knowing that our Jewish community doesn't feel safe and secure in our beloved city. This is not just an attack against our beloved community of Jewish people. This was an attack against us as a city. And over the past several days, my administration has been in constant communication with the Chicago Police Department,

9:38 the superintendent, the state's attorney's office, regarding this case. we followed all of the necessary steps to ensure that we could charge the individual with not only hate crime but acts or an act of terror I am truly grateful for the leadership of Alder Deborah Silverstein, her work to combat anti-Semitism in the city of Chicago. We will continue to defend and protect the Jewish community.

10:11 The place of worship is a sacred place. As a man of faith, a man of faith who recognizes the precious elements of being able to exercise your faith, to be able to live out your ethnicity and your nationality without fear. I hope that today is a first step towards achieving not just justice in this case, but our continuous work to ensure that every single member of the Jewish community

10:45 feel safe, loved, and protected. and just as I want for my family I want for the families of our Jewish community and going forward I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure that every single community is fully supported and protected and loved but particularly our Jewish community they deserve to feel safe in the confines of their own homes their own places of worship and certainly in their own communities

11:17 my administration and I, we are committed to continuing this work with our partners across the city to, again, to ensure that we are all working together to put an end to the hatred towards our Jewish siblings. Anti-Semitism in Chicago does not reflect the soul of Chicago. Everyone in our city deserves to feel safe. No one in our city should be attacked based on their beliefs, their religion, their identity.

11:48 So with that, I'm grateful that we have partners at the state's attorney's office. So with that, I bring to you Cook County State's Attorney Kim Fox. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. I again stand here today alongside Mayor Johnson, Superintendent Snelling, Alderwoman Silverstein, our incredible partners at the Chicago Police Department, to address the concerns regarding the shooting on October 28th in Rogers Park, where a man was shot while walking on his way to synagogue.

12:22 The suspect, Sidi Mohammed al-Boudahi, has already been charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated discharge of a firearm. I should also note aggravated or attempted murder of a police officer as well. As you have heard today, we are announcing the approval of additional charges of hate crime and terrorism in this utterly senseless act of violence. These charges reflect our unwavering commitment to justice

12:53 and our determination to confront the acts of hate and violence. When an individual targets someone based on their faith, their ethnicity, or their identity, it goes beyond an attack of a single person. It becomes an attack on an entire community. Hate crime charges recognizes this. They acknowledge that the acts motivated by bias or prejudice aim to instill fear, sow division, and marginalize entire groups of people.

13:25 Hate crimes are not just crimes against an individual, but are attempts to disrupt the social fabric that unites us all. By bringing terrorism charges, and I will acknowledge that it is rare that we bring terrorism charges, we underscore the gravity of targeting specific communities with violence intended to intimidate or terrorize. This charge sends a clear message. Any acts that seek to destabilize our communities through fear and hatred

13:56 will face the fullest measure of accountability under the law. Quite simply, hate has no place here. Our responsibility is not only to respond to such acts, but to send the message to those who choose to act on hate that they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. I just want to take a moment to echo the sentiments of Superintendent Snelling, that when this incident occurred, the state's attorney's office,

14:26 working alongside the Bureau of Detectives and the superintendent, worked diligently around the clock to bring charges as they became ready. I think it's incredibly important to underscore that we do not charge cases at the state's attorney's office based on political motivations or political pressure or those who may not be as informed of the law. and are driven by sentiment.

14:58 We understand that what happened last Saturday stoked incredible fear in the hearts of those who lived in that community, who practiced the Jewish faith in our entire city. We understand the need to want to hold people accountable for such horrific and heinous acts. But we also have a duty to abide by the facts, the evidence, and the law. And until we have the facts, the evidence, and the law to support a charge, we will not charge that case until it's ready.

15:35 What I want to underscore as well is that this department, from the very beginning, when we were prepared to announce charges related to the shooting of the victim and the heroic officers who responded, it, that the investigation didn't cease. The investigation continued. The motivation for this attack, it was important for us to get to it. And as the superintendent said, one of the ways that we could get to it was by the defendant himself, who was unable to speak because of his injuries.

16:09 And despite that, they continued by looking into digital and forensic evidence to get to the motivation behind this crime. Again, the extraordinary nature of a terrorism charge isn't simply that this person went out for a single individual. Based on the information contained from that digital evidence, we were able to determine that this individual plotted on this particular community, sought out this particular community, sought out this particular faith, that the efforts

16:40 to engage in this crime were not spur of the moment. They were not simply to rattle at the time, but to inflict terror. And so I am grateful for our partnership with the Chicago Police Department and their unrelenting pursuit of justice to bring us to this moment today. I want to commend the members of the Cook County State's Attorney's Felony Review Team, who alongside these detectives worked 24 hours to ensure that we can get to this moment.

17:13 The defendant, just by way of clarity, was due in court on Tuesday, but because of his injuries was unable to appear in court. He has a following court date of the 7th next week, barring any medical reason for him to not appear. Again, we are very proud of the partnership and collaboration that we've had with our partners in the Chicago Police Department, we too want our communities to know that we will hold those who intend to inflict harm or terror accountable to the fullest extent

17:49 of the law. With that, I will turn it over to Alderwoman Deborah Silverstein. Thank you all. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. I would just first like to say that my outpouring of thanks goes to the Chicago Police Department, to the officers on the scene who got the situation under control very quickly and who risked their own lives, to the detectives and to our superintendent, Snelling,

18:25 who has been on speed dial with me since this happened, always taking my calls, always trying to calm a very nervous community. And so thank you very much, Superintendent. To my community, I want to thank you for your patience. I know it's been a very, very difficult time for all of us. I do just want to say one thing about the Jewish community. We are a strong, united, resilient community, and we will remain that way.

19:01 I know that public safety is our highest concern, and I give my community my word that I will continue to advocate for the safety of everyone in my community, and I will work together with our friends in the police department to make sure that stays safe. Thank you. With that, we'll take any questions that you may have. Charlie DeMar with CBS News Chicago. First for the mayor, Superintendent, you're there.

19:32 I'll start with you then. Superintendent, I asked you on Monday about what more do we know about this suspect, a resident of Chicago, country of origin, and any other previous arrests anywhere in the country. And we're going to go back to the same answer that I gave you then. Those things are still under investigation because we're still working with our federal partners to get more information on this individual. You know, as as these charges were placed from the very beginning, we had someone who committed an act that could have taken a life.

20:07 And, you know, to the credit of our detective division and, you know, State's Attorney Fox and her people at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office got those charges approved immediately. That allowed us to continue with our investigation, to continue on, to secure the charges that we have now for hate crime and an act of terrorism. So we're going to continue to get more information. again it is it would be irresponsible for me or anyone else to stand here and try to give you

20:40 information that we don't have this just rooted concretely you know in facts so we just want to make sure that anything that we put out there we can back it up with fact-based information and mayor johnson your initial statement on this shooting made no mention uh that the victim was jewish that he was on his way to synagogue i know that alderman silverstein the edl other jewish leaders were critical of that. Why were those facts omitted from your statement? Well, look, it's important to know that my responsibility as the mayor of the city of Chicago is to keep every single community safe.

21:11 And I take that responsibility seriously. It is very clear, the evidence that has been brought forward, that this individual acted to not only strike fear into the Jewish community, but I was very clear about their action, was very clear that there is hatred towards the Jewish community. And I'm going to continue to do my part to ensure that the Jewish community knows that they are loved and seen and heard.

21:46 Look, I'm appalled and sickened by the wicked behavior that came from this individual. and as someone that comes to this job with a deep sense of faith and moral clarity, my stance and my position is lived out every single day in this job.

22:18 I don't want children to be afraid to live out their values, their faith. I don't want anybody to be targeted because of their ethnicity. That's personal. I know what that terror leads towards. And there is a common thread that terror wants to incite and ignite,

22:52 is to make people feel isolated and alone. But the Jewish community is not alone. We're standing firm with our Jewish siblings, as I've always had. And I will continue to live up my values and principles to ensure that everyone in this city knows that they are seen and heard and valued, and particularly our Jewish community right now that is feeling a great deal of anxiety and trepidation and fear. My words are not as powerful as my actions.

23:27 And our actions are clear. Charges have been brought. The full force of government is on display. And the Jewish community can be assured that we're using every aspect of government to ensure that they are safe. And hold on, before you go any further, I just want to just kind of follow up with that. Again, as I mentioned earlier, the information that the mayor had at the time was the information that we as the Chicago Police Department presented to him.

23:57 it's It's important to understand that the information that we put out there, if we don't have the proof to back up the statements, because we have to be careful when we put ethnicities out there or, you know, religious connections, because if we put something out there that sounds like the only reason that we had for trying to call this a hate crime is that one person was of Muslim faith and the other person was of Jewish faith, That would be irresponsible of us if we don't have the proof to back that up.

24:31 That's why we continue to work toward gathering the information to get that done. And these detectives did that behind the scenes, no matter what the criticisms were that came their way, no matter the fact that we were accused of covering up or downplaying a hate crime. We weren't doing any of those things. We were making sure that we had the fact-based information to provide to the state's attorney's office so that we can secure charges, and I'm proud to say that they did exactly what they were supposed to do,

25:02 and that's how we secured the charges. Hi, I'm Manolo Camarillo, chair of the Sun-Times. You mentioned the House of the Cada plan. I'm wondering if you could talk more about that plan that did target any specific institutions or neighborhoods besides Westridge. If I may, we will do a full recitation of the proffer. This case is like every other case in which we stand with the superintendent and the department. where we will give you the basic of the facts today. Again, this person is innocent until proven guilty and has an opportunity to be confronted with the charges.

25:33 At the next court date, it is our intention, as we had just two days ago, to do a full recitation of the proffer, which will include that level of detail in which we described earlier today. So we will make that information available next week. Yes, the one with NBC5 News. Superintendent, you talked about how you are still working with federal partners and agencies to get more information on the suspect's origin and his residency at this point in time. What can you tell us? Is he from Chicago? Does he have any family here? You know, what's his connection here?

26:08 And again, you know, I'm not going to get into details of it right now. We know he's not from Chicago. But establishing addresses, residencies, when he got here, all of those things are things that we continue to work on. Again, it would be irresponsible of me to sit here and tell you something that could be different once this investigation is complete. Our federal partners are working with us to make sure that we gather that information. So we want to continue down the path of doing this the right way.

26:43 A second question. You said that you used digital evidence and forensic evidence and searched his phone. What did you guys find on his phone? Well, see, we're not going to get into all of that, too, because that's evidence that has been recovered. And as State's Attorney Fox told you, you know, once she does a proffery, then all of that information, you'll be able to gather it then. But we're not going to talk about the details of that here. Thank you. Courtney Spinelli with WGN. Quick question for you guys. The ICE spokesperson has confirmed to us that he was a Mauritanian national and said that they have leveraged an ICE detainer with the Cook County Jail.

27:24 Without getting into more specifics, obviously, of his background and his history, is that something that the state's attorney's office is aware of and something that you will honor? I know a lot of people wonder what comes next. What we're doing today is announcing the charges next week when we do the full-on proffer regarding and we can confirm the information that you have. Again, this person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The reason I say that is just because we have brought the charges and he has not yet had an opportunity to appear before a judge to face the charges.

27:59 I'm not going to give a level of specificity that has not been afforded to him. And so we will, next week, hopefully, be able to do that proffer should he be physically available to court, and those questions will be answered at that time. Thank you. Hi, Casey Cronus with Fox 32. Are you looking into any relatives or friends? Is there any indication that this suspect had any assistance when it came to planning this attack? At this time right now, we have no credible intelligence that he was working with anyone else.

28:31 Right now, the evidence that we have right now says that he was working alone. So we don't want anybody out there in fear that, you know, there's a network of people out there engaged in this activity. So but we are still continuing to work through that just to find out if those are possibilities. So, again, I told you when we first started this investigation that we're not going to leave any stones unturned and we'll continue to work toward that. Just a quick follow. In the charging information that we received, it shows that he was staying or living on the far south side.

29:05 Do you know, did he intend that day to travel to the West Rogers Park area to carry this out based on it being a Jewish community? Or was he staying in the West Rogers Park area recently? Here, where he was staying and all of that still, those are things that we're not going to talk about here. However, we do know that based on information that was gathered from his phone, that he was targeting Jewish communities. Thank you. Hi, Allison of the Chicago Tribune.

29:36 Thank you for taking my question. Mayor and superintendent, the 2025 CPD budget includes substantial cuts to offices that are critical to the consent decree, such as community policing, constitutional policing and reform, office of training. I understand that those positions had gone unfilled. But does this move to permanently slash them signal that amid this budget crunch, that compliance of the consent decree is going to be put on the back burner? Well, here's what I'm going to tell you. And when it comes to the question of the budget, we're going to have a budget hearing.

30:09 So all of those things will be discussed at the budget hearing. But when it comes to the consent decree, I am 100 percent in Chicago Police Department, 100 percent dedicated to getting to the bottom of the consent decree. And I want to be very clear about the consent decree. The Chicago Police Department is working in good faith with the IMT, the Independent Monitoring Team, and the Office of the Attorney General. And we will continue to do so. And whatever it takes to move compliance forward, we will get that done.

30:42 And that's what we're working on right now. We're looking. I take reform seriously. Everyone in leadership on the Chicago Police Department right now takes it seriously. And when it comes to things like wellness of our officers and the connection and contact with our community and growing that relationship, that's what we're going to continue to push, and we're going to continue to work in that direction. It doesn't matter what the roadblocks are that we may see moving forward. Yeah, sure. Look, the superintendent has clearly displayed not only a commitment to constitutional policing,

31:14 But, you know, he built his chops in training the particular class of women and men who serve this department. Restoring confidence in our law enforcement is of our utmost priority. That's why the sophistication and the coordination that's on display looks the way it looks. We understand that over the course of, unfortunately, decades in this city, that there has been a disconnect between the needs of the community

31:47 and how law enforcement can respond to those needs. You saw it on full display during the DNC, constitutional policing, hiring more detectives, still making sure that individuals are being trained. as we can continue to move the city forward it's important to note that there are different dynamics of the consent decree where we've reached almost 100% in compliance so this is an ongoing process and as the superintendent indicated

32:17 as we continue to go through the budget discussion all of that will come alive but I will say that there is a strong commitment from my administration, our superintendent to continue to make sure the training is upheld, that supervision is upheld, that we're actually clearing cases. Again, we've given a great deal of accolade to Chief Resetti and the work that the Department of Bureau of Detectives have done. We will have 200 additional detectives by the end of this year because clearing cases is also part

32:52 of fulfilling our responsibility as a city to bring people to justice. So I appreciate the question, and we're grateful that there is real coordination between the full force of government, the police department, the state's attorney's office, the mayor's office, to ensure that constitutional policing remains a prevailing form of governance. Mayor Kowash, ABC7. Mayor, actually, a question for you. I know you just addressed the Jewish community and the work you're doing to kind of support that community as well as all communities. Wondering if you have an additional comment on the resignation of the CPS president as well.

33:24 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Reverend Johnson, you know, had a conversation with him and asked him to resign, and he did. And, you know, ensuring that our children have fully funded schools is still my top priority. That's the goal. And, you know, speaking of even hate crimes, one of the reasons why I nominated Officer Rafael Yanez, a police officer, to the school board.

33:58 because of his work within the hate crime division, 15 years, I believe, worth of service there. So we want every single child in the city of Chicago to feel protected and loved, and particularly right now our Jewish community. Look, the egregious attacks that have caused the unraveling of stability in a particular region where Israel is a strong ally with our country.

34:31 We have to ensure in the city of Chicago that we live out the value system that we want to see around the world. And that's what my leadership reflects in this moment. Again, there's a level of sorrow and hurt and grief. to talk to our older woman, Deborah Silverstein, as she expresses the level of fear, but the relief that they are experiencing, at least for this moment. But that work is not done. That work is not done, and we're going to continue to do that work.

35:01 Thank you all very much. Thank you all. Thank you, Secretary. Thank you, sir.

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