Thread by @BauerJournalism

Supt. David Brown will have a press conference at 10:30 a.m. on weekend violence. I'll live tweet.

Follow for updates and let me know if you have questions.

Brown: One officer was shot in his shoulder; bullet went in and out and he was treated and released. He's home, recovering.
Second officer was shot, with a bullet going "across" his upper torso; another hit his arm. He's still hospitalized.
blockclubchicago.org/2020/08/31/wes…

Brown: That brings the total number of officers shot at (not necessarily shot, for clarity) this year to 41.

Brown: 126 guns were taken in this weekend.

Brown: 6,967 guns taken in so far this year in Chicago.

Brown: The officers are part of a team that is working to reduce violent crime this summer. It's primarily deployed on the South and West sides "to address the violence we've seen this summer."

Brown: Overall, crime is down 19% so far this year in Chicago. CPD's clearance rate "are over 40%." "Have some room to improve, but that's a significant improvement."

There were 10 murders and 42 shootings with 52 shooting victims this weekend.

Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan on police account of the shooting: They were stopping a driver. When he stopped, he parked and crawled into the backseat of his car. His car has "extremely tinted windows." They saw a gun in the car.

Deenihan: He reviewed some of the video and he's "sure it will be pushed out later."

Deenihan: Officers saw the man near the gun and he wasn't complying with the orders to come out. They broke the window. He still wasn't complying and had a gun. It was "chaotic" and "super fast."

They rolled him over and he started shooting. Two officers shot.

Deenihan: Officer shot him.

Deenihan praises officers for "split-second decisions on what they need to do to protect their own safety but also the safety of the community."

Deenihan: One of the officers hit had damage to his lung and colon and has a long recovery ahead.

Malcolm Crawford of Austin African American Business Networking Association: Austin and Lawndale can get a bad rap, and sometimes the officers do, too. ...

Crawford: But this is a time to work together, "continue building relationships. ... We're gonna keep on working together, the Police Department and the community, because there's some great work happening."

Brown on having a press conference soon after: "We're trying as best we can to convey as many facts as early as we can to the public. And, again, it speaks to rumors and misinformation that we have seen not just in Chicago but across the country spark unrest and other ...

"destructive behaviors. We'd much rather have the facts for everyone to digest and come to their own conclusions."

Brown: They have conversations about how soon after an incident they can release bodycam footage. It's done with COPA. "The sooner we can get the bodycam out ...," he wants it out sooner rather than later.

Just in: The man has been charged with seven counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault of a police officer.

Deenihan: Obviously man in Lumes Pancake House shooting was targeted. They do have video.

blockclubchicago.org/2020/08/31/man…

Brown: "I mentioned clearance rates are above 40%. Much of that is recently, given more people have come forward from the community to solve homicides. And I just want to thank the community for coming forward and to encourage the community to continue coming forward to bring ...

"these violent offenders to justice."

Brown: The Mag Mile protest "didn't get the numbers that was solicited ... ."

Brown, asked about if changes are needed after officers in the special summer unit shot someone for the second time: "Violent offenders need to be kept in jail longer."

Brown: There's a sense of lawlessness among violent offenders. "We need to push back further against lawlessness and give no quarters to people who would commit any kind of crime ... ."

Brown: "I think 51 officers being shot at or shot in one year, I think that quadruples any previous year in Chicago's history. I think there's more than a suggestion that people are seeking to do harm to cops."

And the press conference is over.