Chicago police face being kicked out of their union if they kneel in solidarity with protesters, organization chief warns

  • He warned officers taking the knee while in uniform could be thrown out of union
  • Catanzara argued that it 'wasn't the time or the place to be doing that'
  •  His comments attracted criticism from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
  • Officers have been videoed across the globe kneeling in solidarity with demonstrators 

By Sophie Tanno For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Chicago's new police union head has warned that any officer who kneels in solidarity with protesters could be kicked out of the union. 

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, who has been in office for only a month, argued that it 'wasn't the time or the place to be doing that'.  

Catanzara described the act of uniform officers taking the knee as 'ridiculous', arguing that some of the protesters were calling to defund and even scrap the police department. 

Chicago's new police union head John Catanzara has warned that any officer who kneels in solidarity with protesters could be kicked out of the union

Chicago's new police union head John Catanzara has warned that any officer who kneels in solidarity with protesters could be kicked out of the union

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, who has been in office for only a month, argued that it 'wasn't the time or the place to be doing that'

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, who has been in office for only a month, argued that it 'wasn't the time or the place to be doing that'


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'Specifically this weekend, this was about defunding and abolishing the police department, and you're going to take a knee for that?

'It's ridiculous,' he told a Fox 32 Chicago reporter. 

His comments attracted criticism from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who told reporters during a press conference: 'I don't really think we should credit those kinds of really unfortunate comments. 

'I'm not going to dignify them with any further response.'

His comments attracted criticism from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, pictured above

His comments attracted criticism from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, pictured above 

Law enforcement officers and officials have been videoed across the globe kneeling in solidarity with demonstrators demanding justice for 46-year-old George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed in Minneapolis last month. 

In many instances, the protesters have been the ones asking the officers to kneel with them and the gesture has elicited cheers.

Yet not everyone is on board with the action, and some protesters have taken issue with officers kneeling, condemning it as a PR stunt that doesn't contribute to the movement.

Taking the knee is a widely recognised symbol of protest against police brutality and racism which is traced back to American football quarterback Colin Kaepernick's peaceful protest of kneeling during the national anthem.

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