[Music] Shots fired at the police. Shoot us with the emergency. You have the air. 3751 talk at a [Applause] 101. My name is Vic Magio and I'm a reporter that has covered the crime on the streets of Chicago for nearly a decade. The series In the Line of Duty is about a couple of things. Police involved shootings, violence in the streets, and the reality of what it is like to be a cop here in [Music] Chicago. The series also shines a spotlight on multiple key points that led policing down the road of destruction here in Chicago. The Chicago Police Department was formed in 1835 and is the second largest department in the United States. There is a headquarters and 22 districts scattered across the city and there are 12,000 police officers patrolling the 279 beats in 77 Chicago neighborhoods. The size of the area they cover is about 237 square miles. According to the Chicago Crime Commission, as of 2000, there were over 600 gang factions with approximately 80,000 gang members. Since the elimination of the projects, the mega gang structure has ceased to exist, leaving gang factions splintered into small sets that are harder to track, leaving Chicago cops outmanned and outgunned. Touch fires in the 11th district zone 10 radio. Over the years, I've followed Chicago police chasing down shooters, carjackers, and all sorts of criminals through the streets, alleys, and buildings in the neighborhoods in Chicago. On multiple occasions, shots were fired at cops while my camera was rolling. The danger is as real as it gets. In this series, the actions of cops will be analyzed by me through the eye of CPD body cam footage. A bunch of people over here. I'm getting a big crime scene. I got two down at 46 in Rockwell. Uh they're in real bad shape. Tell everybody it's rifle rounds again. It's all over. Be careful. Got two two three rounds all over the place. In the line of duty, Chicago cops deal with gunshot victims every day. And every year, thousands of people are shot. And sometimes cops try to save the lives of the people that are shot. On July 22nd, 2018, a call came over the police radio to be on the lookout for a man shot somewhere on the I-55 Dan Ryan interchange. When Chicago cops arrived on the scene, Illinois State Troopers were already working the scene. Shaquille Durkens was fatally shot in the back of the neck by backseat passenger Deontay Young. The front seat passenger and driver looked back after the shooting and saw Young holding a gun. Then they wrestled the gun away from Young. He then bit the passenger in the face during the struggle and then tried to climb into the front seat and began to attack the driver. The vehicle then crashed into an embankment on the Dan Ryan Expressway. Young chased the driver and the front seat passenger, but they got away. Then he tossed the gun over the side of the I-55 on-ramp. Later, state troopers found young, bloodied, and laying in the grassy area about three blocks away. Durkens was found covered in blood in the backseat of the Mercedes. Illinois State Troopers pulled him from the backseat of the car, laid him out on the expressway pavement, and administered CPR on him for over 15 minutes. The troopers tried to keep him alive while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. It took some time to arrive because of the traffic jam caused by the shooting. After the paramedics arrived, they continued CPR. But sadly, Durkens lost the battle and died. He was covered with a sheet and taken away by paramedics. An arrest warrant was issued and Young was charged with firstdegree murder in the shooting of 33-year-old Shaquille Durkens. The media here in Chicago ignored this story because it did not fit their narrative that white cops are killing black men on the streets of Chicago. And no villain or racism equals no story. In this incident, the two state troopers went above and beyond the call of duty. From 2019 to 2022, there were over 500 expressway shootings. And shutting down expressways due to shootings have now become the norm here in Chicago. shots fired a shoot on a Dan Ryan driver center shooting uh officers up at uh in Garfield. There were some people that ran to try to get westbound. This expressway shooting is vastly different than the one you just seen. On August 26th of 2018, a shootout took place on a onem stretch of the Dan Ryan Expressway. Two men were seriously wounded after a lot of shots were fired on the expressway near Garfield Boulevard. Chicago police tactical officers could be seen with guns drawn running around the top of the expressway searching for the shooters. The victims in the white SUV were traveling southbound on the Ryan when a black car pulled alongside and multiple people inside opened fire on the three men and two women in the white SUV. After over 50 shots were fired throughout the onem stretch of the expressway, the SUV hit a concrete barrier and the black car with the shooters sped off and disappeared down the expressway. Two men were hit by the gunfire. The driver was struck in the head, face, and chest, and the other man was shot in the arm. Both were in serious condition. Surprisingly, the man and the two women in the back seat were not hit by the gunfire. Some on the scene thought the driver was dead because no aid was being rendered by cops. The male passenger can be seen wounded, sitting along the shoulder, surrounded by state troopers and the backseat passengers. The driver sat lifeless, covered in blood for at least 15 minutes while police flashed their lights into the car looking for signs of life. I could see he was clearly breathing, but no one on the scene tried to treat him. And the question is why? And I found out it's the option of each and every cop to treat the wounds of gunshot victims. Sometimes the wounds are not within their basic expertise. And that's why they have to wait for paramedics. The CPD now presently outfits cops with better medical kits and advanced training to treat gunshot victims. The truth is the politicians in the CPD brass now want cops to be paramedics, too. along with a whole host of other things they have heaped on the shoulders of cops. The Illinois State Police have jurisdiction over all Chicago expressways and the CPD just assists in patrolling them. Come on over here. [Applause] [Music] In the line of duty, cops save lives when they are in the right place at the right time. Hold on. On January 20th of 2019, cops from the 20th district pulled a man to safety after he attempted to save his dog from a frozen lake, Michigan at Foster Beach in Lincoln Park. The man was out walking Pika, his 9-month-old American Eskimo mix, along the lake on a blistery cold day. He was playing with his dog. When the dog got away from him and ran down the beach and disappeared over a ledge, the man ran up to the ledge and looked down over the six-foot drop and saw his dog, Pika, paddling in the freezing cold water of Lake Michigan. He knew the dog was in trouble and would soon drown from the waves and the freezing water, so he jumped in after him. The water was up to his waist. He grabbed hold of Pika and put him over his shoulder and began to search for a way out. The ice wall was 2 feet above his head and stretched across the entire shore. Now they were both trapped. Oh my gosh. He continued frantically to search for a way out, drudging through the icy water along the shoreline. He eventually found a portion of the wall that was lower. Now he was able to lift the dog up onto the ledge, but found he could not scale the high, icy, slippery wall. He then pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911 for help. And he was lucky because his cell phone was waterproof. Just before this took place, a passer by saw the man jump into the lake and ran to two nearby cops and alerted them. The cops used a dog leash to pull the man to safety. They worked for two minutes on the icy ledge trying to pull him out. They knew they were fighting the clock because hypothermia was about to set in. They were able to pull him out and he and his dog were rushed across the frozen lake to a warm police squad until the ambulance arrived. The man said he knew he would have died without help from the officers that saved his life. And he was also grateful to the first responders that treated him and his dog Pika so compassionately in the ambulance and at the hospital. They allowed Pika to stay with him under the warming blanket throughout the ordeal. The unidentified man and his dog, Pika, would end up being fine. Cops in the line of duty save a lot of lives every year here in Chicago. But the problem is most of these events get minor media coverage, if any at all, because heroic actions like this don't fit the present cophating narrative. Watch this. Stop here. Throw the bag in the back seat, please. Someone stuck in there. In the line of duty, cops periodically come up against the clock that ticks between life and death. Get him out. Get him out. Get him out. Come on. Come on. Let's go. Right there. On July 4th, 2020, a man and a woman were killed and another woman was critically injured in a high-speed crash in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the west side. Come on, man. More back. Pull them more back. This shit's going to explode. Pull them more. Get it legs. Drive her legs. Go. The male driver was speeding west in a Jeep SUV at around 1000 p.m. when it hit a parked vehicle, then hit a metal pillar before coming to a stop and bursting into flames. [Applause] The police arrived on the scene and immediately started to remove all three people from the burning jeep. Cops did their best under extreme circumstances to get the crash victims out of the Jeep, and they did accomplish this, but the damage had already been done by the crash itself. Had the Jeep exploded, many cops would have been injured or killed in the aftermath of this crash. The driver, 24y old Kenny Parti, was pronounced dead at the scene and the two women passengers, ages 19 and 23, were taken to Stroger Hospital. A day later, 23-year-old Jasmine Wilson of East Garfield Park died and the 19-year-old passenger was listed in critical condition, but she would survive. first responders. [Applause] Oh my god. Oh, what happened? Ran in front of the car. The ambulance is coming, dude. Sit still. What do you have on you? In the line of duty, cops deal with gory scenes like this on a regular basis. In this case, a drug suspect was being taken into custody by cops and fled with one handcuff on and was hit by a car. And he was in real bad shape. Drugs were found when he was searched by cops. And one cop went out of his way to help this suspect. [Applause] He can be seen going to his squad and pulled out a stop the bleeding trauma kit and immediately went and rendered aid to the bleeding man while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Cops that find themselves in these situations never get the credit they truly deserve. In the line of duty, cops sometimes find themselves being observers. In this case, a man and a woman were trapped in a car after hitting a pole and then crashing into a fire hydrant. The two people were trapped in the twisted metal of the vehicle while the water from the smashed fire hydrant spewed like a geyser. Cops on the scene were left with few choices because first they had to get the water to the fractured hydrant shut off so the fire department could use the jaws of life to extract them from the vehicle. This all started when the blue Lexus was involved in an accident with another vehicle at Ohio and Well Street. The female driver got out of the vehicle and Damon Smith, the man driving the Lexus, told her he had a gun and then took off. CPD dispatch broadcast a description of the Lexus and officers eventually spotted it and began a pursuit. That's when the Lexus crashed, fleeing from cops. Damon Smith, the driver of the Lexus, died from his injuries. And the woman passenger would recover and a Chicago police officer on the scene, also suffered minor injuries, but he would be okay. And sometimes this is just the way it is for cops in Chicago. Due to these circumstances, they were forced to wait for other first responders to arrive and basically became spectators. He does crash. Send an ambulance. Drop the gun. Please freeze. Please stop. Let me see your [ __ ] head. Charlie Lar. In the line of duty, cops roll up on unforeseen situations, and this is one of them. Cops witnessed a shooting between two men that were fighting in the North Austin neighborhood. coming your way. One of the men jumped in his pickup truck and tried to run the other man over on foot. And that's when the man on foot pulled out a gun and started firing into the pickup truck. At this exact moment, a cop opened fire, firing three shots at the man, shooting into the crashed pickup truck. The shooter was not hit and ran away. The man shot in the pickup truck crashed into a parked car. He was shot multiple times in the head and had collapsed forward on the steering wheel with his foot on the gas while the truck was in gear. The truck tire spun out of control and started a fire beneath the truck. Cops were well aware the truck could blow up or become unwedged from the parked car and blast forward, running down cops in its path. Some cops fanned out and tried to find the shooter and the others stayed on the scene and for about 5 minutes tried to extract the man wounded in the pickup truck. Once the tires burned down to the rim, cops made their move. With a fire under the truck, cops pulled the man to safety and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Unfortunately, the 27year-old victim later died at Stroger Hospital and the shooter was never found and cops went above and beyond the call of duty in this crazy incident. We got an ambulance rolling, can you repeat your transmission? Hands up. Hands up. 222 as well. In the line of duty, cops find chasing a suspect with a gun can end in many different ways. He crashed. He crashed. He crashed. On September 16th, 2022 on the 4,100 block of South Oakwald in the Oakland neighborhood. He's in the woods. In the woods over here. A Chicago pod camera focused in on three men in a silver SUV. One of the men had a gun with an extended magazine and he put it in his pocket. A squad was quickly dispatched to the location and cops jumped out and yelled, "Hands up and the SUV sped off in reverse for about two blocks. The passenger door was still open and the SUV hit a curb and ejected the 20-year-old man from the vehicle. He was killed instantly and the SUV went over the steep ledge that runs along the railroad tracks. One man was immediately taken into custody by cops and the driver fled on foot and got away. animal. It wasn't the efforts by cops to take that gun that killed him. It was the actions of the driver that ultimately cost him his life. And luckily, no innocent people were hurt or killed in this incident. And this incident and many other incidents like it are being used as reasons to stop chasing people with guns on foot and in squads. There is a weapon right here where this individual is at that we need an am. I did not recover but it's here because the powers that be can't stomach outcomes like this. The flip side is what would that young man have done with that gun? Would he have shot or killed somebody with that gun or sold it to somebody else? What we do know is there is one less gun on the streets and unfortunately one less young man too. uh just trying to get hold of someone in central diesel second district. Um we were just involved in uh oh chasing a car with a gun and they crashed and a lot of [ __ ] going on right now. The offduty police officer witnessed a maroon Chevy with a gun hanging out the window chasing a a person on foot. They call they called it out. I'll give a detailed description of the car. Um description of some of the passengers. Um we go in the area where it was last seen. We see the car. It takes off on us. Um go on a mini 2-minute chase. Um they did an accident um on 42nd uh just east of state in the alley. Um the victims who were in the other car, a little kid and my mom appeared to be okay. They went to the hospital to get checked up. There were three occupants of the vehicle um that we were chasing. Um the one in the back seat is EOA. Um, he's dead. Oh, he's dead on arrival. Okay. So, there's guns. I mean, there's at least one gun that we could see that we left in the car. So, who do we detectives aren't coming to check that out? That's for the ET or Not that we know of. No. Turn your camera on. He does crash. Send an ambulance. Hey, I got in the line of duty, cops chase carjackers and sometimes the fleeing jacker dies by his own hand. Dude, turn your [ __ ] camera. In this incident, two carjackers wearing masks confronted an 88-year-old man at gunpoint on the 1000 block of West 61st Street in the Englewood neighborhood. The victim had just returned home from the gym when he was ordered by two carjackers to turn over the keys to his 2003 silver Lincoln. He gave up the keys and the carjackers took off. Don't offend. [Applause] [Applause] Chicago police spotted the car heading north on Wentworth and got behind the Lincoln and it sped away. Moments later, it rear ended a semi-tra at a high rate of speed, ending the chase. There's maybe two guns in the car. I got you. Yo, I'm grabbing don't don't grab it. [Applause] I don't know. Unless Unless you feel like Unless you feel like he can I don't know. I don't want if you feel like he can grab it, dude. [Applause] The car was totally mangled and the driver of the stolen Lincoln died on the scene and the other man was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital. This is a rare case where a gun crime injured no one except the suspects in the end. The gun crime led to turning this car into a weapon that kills. And luckily, it wasn't a civilian that was struck and killed by these jackers. There are so many different reasons that surround these car accidents, and these are just a few of the many accidents I have covered over the years. On May 18th, a car was being shot at and the driver hit the gas trying to escape from the shooter, then crashed into two cars driving down the road at 16th in Palaski in the Homeman Square neighborhood. There were people hurt in this accident. On August 11th of 2016, a gunman was fleeing after firing shots at someone in another car. He blew the red light and nailed two cars. One car was full of women and the other car had two people in it that were injured. The guy that caused all this misery was taken into custody on the scene. On August 1st of 2016, cops were responding to a shooting on Palaskian Division in the Humble Park neighborhood. Cops were about a block away when they crashed head-on into a lady's car, bounced off her car, and crashed into a parked car. Both cops had minor injuries, and the woman stayed on the scene, and she would be okay. On November 12th of 2016, a car full of people suspected of being involved in an earlier shooting fled after being spotted by cops. They then crashed the stolen minivan at Costner and Hirs in the Garfield Park neighborhood. Luckily, no one else but the suspects were injured in this crash. These accidents happen for a variety of reasons and have different circumstances surrounding them. A person fleeing from cops in a car sometimes turns out to be as deadly as a man with a gun. And when a person chooses to turn a vehicle into a weapon, everyone around that vehicle becomes a potential victim. Car accidents can be more destructive and more visually graphic and disturbing than most shooting scenes. These weaponized cars aimed at cops and the public over the decade has been a problem. But since the COVID lockdowns, the weaponized cars are being crashed by the unhinged public more and more every day, rising to an epidemic level. Hit him. We got [ __ ] In the line of duty, cops sometimes use physical force to take a suspect into custody. The question is when does it become excessive and why? [ __ ] We ain't [ __ ] [ __ ] is y'all doing? The Chicago Police Department makes tens of thousands of arrests every year. And a small fraction of these arrests are deemed to be excessive. For one [ __ ] that was scary as hell. Right. Yeah. Get the [ __ ] back. Get the [ __ ] back. No, it's only one [ __ ] He just kicked the [ __ ] in the street. After the claims are investigated, 90% of these claims turn out to be false. and the few that are proven settle out of court with the city of Chicago. Most of these incidents are extremely questionable and very few turn out to be criminal in nature. There are many reasons for the use of force by cops. The fact is 85% of all documented excessive force situations start with non-compliance from the suspects. on my life. Over the past 10 years, disrespect towards cops has been spiraling out of control. This is being fueled by the media, politicians, and activists. And this type of rhetoric is creating a crisis for cops here in Chicago. The truth is these tense and heated interactions with the public sometimes turn cops into the aggressors. And the suspect ends up on the receiving end of force by cops. [Music] [Applause] It surprises me how outraged people were over this incident, but are not equally as outraged over the 3,000 plus people a year being shot across Chicago. I have found that in the present age of cell phone cameras, body cams, some suspects purposefully resist arrest and push cops into using excessive force. 2932. Most of the time, this is an attempt to shift the focus off of them and their criminal actions, turning themselves into victims and cops into villains. Put your [ __ ] hands there. There are a very small percentage of cases where cops over exceed their authority, but most of these cases turn out to be justified. This case here is one of the worst cases I've seen in years of excessive force by cops. Make sure his airways open. What's up, man? You got driver's license? Why? Because you didn't use your turn signal to come in here and your plate light is out. My turn signal was on and my plate my plate light is out. Yes. You got driver's license. Oh my god. Are you serious right now? Just so you know, you're being recorded without audio and video. Huh? You're being recorded without audio in video. Can you lower that window down, please? The new law enforcement transparency campaign began 15 years ago and has been a double-edged sword for cops. Without the cameras, it is the cop's word against the suspects. But with the body cams, false claims against cops can be rooted out. And when cops are wrong, they are held accountable for their actions that are sometimes proven to be excessive. Another pitfall for cops with cams is the few videos that show cops seriously violating people's rights. These videos are being used to wage war on cops. The new society that has been created through victimization is full of disrespectful, non-compliant criminals that have become a big problem for good cops. Another problem is sympathy by some in the public for criminals over cops. Some in these communities side with criminal suspects that terrorize their neighborhoods. Why? Because cops have been made out to be public enemy number one. They just threw me out the car for no reason. No reason. You stepped out of the vehicle. Today, people are constantly being told they are victims at the hands of cops. When you add in the failing revolving door justice system, a failing education system, and failed parenting, which is happening on an epic generational scale here in Chicago, all this combined has created a very dangerous class of people that feel laws do not apply to them. The politicians and their failed agenda are dumping the systems failures on cops. All these failures begin and end with the policy makers. Cops are now being tasked to deal with the total collapse of the mental health system and are presently being forced to be psychiatrists and psychologists among other things. And the question is, how much more burden will the failed system heap on the shoulders of cops in the future? Due to their decadesl long failed policies, policing in Chicago is in deep, deep trouble today. Hey, Mr. Cory, judging by your attitude and your behavior, I'm kind of worried about your mental health. Boy, if you don't get out of here, my mental health. Yes. The way you're taking off your I'm a junior in college. What the heck is mentally wrong with me? Please let me know. I'm asking cuz No, you're just trying to No, no, no. It's all on camera. I have my hide anything. All right. You've been profiling me since you guys drove past me and then going to talk about some my um my license plate light is out. Boy, get out of here with that [ __ ] ass excuse for pulling somebody over. Well, you're taking your clothing off. In guns, recovering 10,000 guns. Uh, as we know with Ella French's death is dangerous work for Chicago police officers. It's very dangerous work. Uh, we've had record number of officers shot at and shot this year, last year. It continues. This violence against police officers continues. It's more than rhetoric. It's violence against police officers in this country. Guys, it's time to go. It's time to go. Time to go. Let's go. Keep moving. Keep moving. It's time to go. It's time to go. All my bosses want to do is lock people up right now. I don't want to. Please go home. Please go. Yeah, guys. It's time to go home. It's time to go home. In the line of duty, cops are very aware large street parties with drugs, booze, and a gun can easily become a mass shooting scene. Where you got to go, though? How can I go without my my ride? Do you live there? No, my friend lives there. What I would do is hang on. During the summer months here in Chicago, cops are constantly breaking up large block parties. This is the third. No, no, we won't go. No, no, we won't go. Come on, man. Thank you. Good. Come on. Don't grab me cuz it seemed like he ain't no guns back here. On July 28th of 2017, cops were dispatched to break up a large party due to loud music. When they arrived, they asked all the parters to go home. Some left and others refused and decided to stay and defy cops orders to disperse. Get your [ __ ] hands up. Get your Get the [ __ ] out of here. Lay down. Lay down the [ __ ] out of touching me. Back up, man. You got to go to jail, man. One young man in the crowd told cops, "There ain't no guns here." This statement would quickly be proven wrong by cops. The young men and a few girls became aggressive toward cops. And cops pushed back and took down a few of the most aggressive men. One of the men's gun fell out of his waistband. He was arrested and the rest of the people went home. [Music] Cops are very aware of the mass shooting history in the most violent Chicago neighborhoods. 80% of them are large gatherings involving booze and drugs. That's why cops are dead set on taking them out of the hands of people under the influence at these parties. You got nothing on you, right? No, I'm That's my brother. We got a gun. Right there. There's a gun right pointed at your face. Where a gun? You can see a gun. You think we're doing this for no reason? Right there. Where? Wherever there might y'all wrestling from? I didn't do nothing. Stand up. Stand up. What y'all wrestling me for? The powers that be can't seem to figure out why cops are so aggressive towards the young men in these high crime neighborhoods. The reason is the top 10 most violent neighborhoods in Chicago account for 70% of the 10,000 illegal guns taken off the streets every year. You were pushing all this while we were trying to get this gun out. Oh, I'm just saying y'all stepping on it. None of this had to happen, guys. All you had to do was go home. All you guys had to do is go home. [Music] Supposed to be shot in the stomach in the middle of the street. We're We're in the crown big. Let's put him in the Let's put him Let's put him in the wagon. Let's put him in the wagon. Right. What I do? That's the crazy. What I do? Now we're getting a report. 51 in Champagne in the park near the tennis court. At least 12 people were just shot. Fires rolling. Multiple tickets are hitting the board. Is that 302? Looks like a semi-automatic weapon is being used. I'm trying to see right now. We got one. doing this on one scene already. Just give me one second. 2011 be advised. You got three people shot behind uh Diet High School on Ellsworth Drive. Can I get another car to roll behind uh Diet? You got three people behind there that ran from the circus shot on the ground. Over the years on the bloody streets of Chicago, I have covered over 50 mass shootings. And many times I have rolled in hot on the heels of cops rolling into these very dangerous and chaotic situations. Time is of the essence when there are multiple gunshot victims bleeding out on the streets. 1:00 this week fire alarm was at 2 [Applause] 203 in the line of duty. There are three things that Chicago cops will be forced to face at some point in their careers. One is the murder of a child. Two is the murder of a fellow cop. And number three are the mass shootings. now plaguing Chicago. The number one priority of Chicago cops is to get the guns out of the hands of criminals and young men that have no legal right to possess them. In the last segment, cops took a gun off a man at a party. Had they not taken the gun, it could have ended like these parties. A fight starts, a gun is pulled, and many people end up shot or killed. Gang turf wars, drugs, booze, and social media disses fuel these mass shootings most of the time. Can I get you start rolling on the shot at 18 round 5531 drive? Couple of tickets now. A bunch of people over here. I'm getting a big crime scene. I got two down at 46 in Rockwell. Uh they're in real bad shape. Tell everybody it's rifle rounds again. It's all over. Be careful. Got two3 rounds all over the place. From 2016 through 2021, there were 115 mass shootings consisting of five or more people. The largest mass shooting was in 2021 where 15 people were shot. In 2022, there were 48 mass shootings. Nearly 1,000 people have been wounded and over 100 have been killed in mass shootings here in Chicago. Chicago police are the first ones to arrive on these mass shooting scenes. These scenes are volatile, emotional, tense situations. Some of these crime scenes involve a hundred or more people partying at these block parties, house parties, and park parties. And cops never know when they arrive if the shooter is still on the scene. But once cops step foot on the ground, the hunt for the shooter or shooters begins. CPD's priorities are to secure the crime scene and then tend to the wounded. Some cops do triage on the wounded and prioritize their wounds for paramedics and firemen that follow close behind. The victims cops encounter on these mass shootings. range from infants to the elderly. Some are moms, dads, children, teens that are sons and daughters, aunts and uncles, grandma and grandpa, friends and neighbors, and some are gang members. Every single one of these categories of people have been shot and sometimes killed in what I deem to be terrorist style attacks perpetrated by violent thugs on the people of these communities. No one is safe in these communities from these killers lurking around just waiting to attack large groups partying from rival blocks and neighborhoods. When cops first arrive on these mass shooting scenes, sometimes I arrive with them, and I can always tell right away which ones are the rookies and which ones are the veterans. The neighborhoods where a lot of these mass shootings take place are the same neighborhoods rookie cops are trained in. I call these areas the proving grounds. And I am sure these situations are a rude awakening for young cops that witness the absolute savagery taking place in the city. They took an oath to serve and protect. I am sure violent scenes like these test the resolve of some young cops that really want to make a difference. Once the victims are taken by paramedics to the hospital, a squad is always assigned to follow the ambulance to the hospital to interview the victims when they are able to be interviewed. Once the victims are gone, a large perimeter is set up and the investigation ramps up. Shell casings are immediately marked and then witnesses on the scene are interviewed. The men and women of the CPD and CFD have become very efficient when working these chaotic and sometimes gory crime scenes. I have watched Chicago cops work these scenes for years and it all starts to look routine to me. The real shocker for young cops training in the killing fields is the neighborhood code of silence. Because of this code, the shootings and killings sometimes become unsolved crimes because most of the witnesses and victims refuse to talk to cops about who shot them because they do not trust them and do not want retaliation showing up at their doorsteps. And these are some of the reasons why 80% of the mass shootings and shootings in Chicago remain unsolved. The fact is over 80% of these mass shootings and shootings in Chicago are black-on-black crimes. The result of this community code of silence leaves the shooter or shooters on the streets to kill again another day in these neighborhoods. And this leaves the residents in these communities living a nightmare that never seems to end.