Crime Gun Strike Force: Identify Gun Traffickers And Open Shooting Cases
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The ATF agent who was shot is a member of the Chicago Crime Gun Strike Force. What exactly is that task force and what does it do?
CBS 2's Mai Martinez explains.
"It's a multi-jurisdictional task force to help combat the gun violence in the city of Chicago," said Celinez Nuñez, the ATF's Special Agent in charge of the Chicago field office.
It was created last summer and announced by CPD following a tweet from President Donald Trump in which he stated quote "crimes and killings in Chicago have reached such epidemic proportions that I am sending in federal help."
The task force teams up law enforcement from the federal, state and local level and it has two main missions: to identify gun traffickers and work open shooting cases.
To help with that, last summer the task force used this ATF mobile ballistics testing lab which has direct access to a national database.
When it was first announced, the Chicago Crime Gun Strike Force consisted of 20 CPD officers and 20 permanent ATF agents.
As of Friday, CPD said the number of ATF agents has grown to 30, and that's not all.
"We have Chicago Police, Illinois State Police, the U.S. Marshal and various other agencies as part of of this team," said Nuñez.
Another element of the task force is federal prosecution of cases, because federal cases often carry higher penalties.