Officer Who Didn't Step In When Woman In Puerto Rico Shirt Was Harassed Resigns
COOK COUNTY, Illinois (CBSDFW.COM) - The Illinois Police officer who did not step in when a woman at a park was being harassed by a man because she was wearing a Puerto Rico shirt, resigned on Wednesday.
In a tweet, the Forest Preserves said Officer Patrick Connor no longer serves in the police department of the Forest Preserves of Cook County. He resigned late today, but this isn't where our work ends."
We are further addressing aspects of this incident and more information will be shared here and with the media tomorrow. No further information is available this evening.
— Forest Preserves (@FPDCC) July 12, 2018
The Cook Country Forest preserve placed Officer Patrick Connor on desk duty Monday after a video showed the officer standing by as a man harassed a woman for wearing a shirt with the Puerto Rican flag.
"You're not American, if you were American you wouldn't wear that. You know that right?" says the man, who appears to be intoxicated. The video, posted on Facebook, has been viewed more than 1.2 million times.
Mia Irizarry says she was trying to celebrate her 24th birthday last month when the man approached her asking her why she was wearing the sleeveless Puerto Rico flag shirt, which also had "Puerto Rico" written below the V neckline.
Irizarry recorded the encounter on her phone, saying she felt threatened, and posted the video to Facebook.
For several minutes the man berates Irizarry and at one point stands a few inches from her. In the background, a police officer is standing outside the park pavilion.