Officer On County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's Security Detail Shot At Would-Be Carjacker Near Her Home Last Month
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is facing calls to come clean about a carjacking targeting a member of her security detail – a Forest Preserve police officer – who opened fire at the suspect outside her Hyde Park home last month.
CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reports a Cook County commissioner says when anything happens involving a Forest Preserve officer or county property – such as a car accident or an assault involving a member of the public – county commissioners are notified, so he is beyond confused as to why there was no mention of that officer shooting at a would-be carjacker near Preckwinkle's home.
A member of Preckwinkle's security detail says they were the victim of an attempted carjacking last month, and fired several shots at the suspect. The officer is a member of the Cook County Forest Preserve Police.
"They were trying to take his car, and he's the one who shot at them, but he doesn't know if he got any of them," a dispatcher said on Sept. 27, the night the attempted carjacking happened on the same Hyde Park block where Preckwinkle lives.
"The part that really stinks, and smells to me, is why have several weeks gone by and we weren't notified?" Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison said.
Morrison wrote a letter to Preckwinkle, asking – among other questions – why didn't she mention the shooting when it happened?
"What really has me upset is that this happened last month, and no one was notified, and no one was told," Morrison said.
Jack Potrykus lives on the block, and he heard the shots that night
"There were like two, three really loud bangs right outside my apartment," he said.
But just like Morrison and the rest of the public, he had no idea the shooting involved one of Preckwinkle's security guards.
"It would have been nice to know it was a security team, and not some lunatic running around with a gun," Potrykus said.
"Another question that I have is was this intentionally withheld? Was this information on this incident intentionally withheld? I don't know the answer to that either," Morrison said.
A spokesman for The Forest Preserve Police said an internal affairs investigation has been opened to look into whether or not department policies were followed.
It's still unclear why the incident was not disclosed by Preckwinkle or her team until now.