Former CPD Officer Wounded On Duty Understands Danger Of Police Work
CHICAGO (CBS) -- One former Chicago Police officer knows all too well the dangers of the job. He spoke with CBS 2's Mike Parker in this Original Report.
It was five years ago at Wells and Chicago Avenue just off the Magnificent Mile when an arrestee in the back seat of an unmarked CPD car, pulled a gun and shot Officer Brian Warner in the back.
"I returned fire killing the offender and it's a burden I carry every day," Warner says.
Warner left the force after showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Whenever there's another police-involved shooting, it triggers up emotions within me and I have to relive what happened that day," he says.
The former officer has been following the controversies surrounding police-involved shootings, the plans for Taser training and body cameras and de-escalation training.
"We're the best trained police department with all the great tools and what are you still going to have? You're still going to have that community with no hope and drugs, and broken homes and gangs," he says.
Warner blames politicians for failing to provide meaningful economic opportunities and mental health centers in crime-ridden neighborhoods.
He also blames those same politicians for settling police shooting cases for big money in court.
"Just because you're shot by police does not give you a payday," Warner says. "Take that five million dollars and open up a community center. Take that five million and help open up a mental health facility."
The former officer says there is an average of 58 shootings each week in Chicago. The police, he points out, are involved in 38 shootings per year.