Peter Nickeas
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — Chicago police are setting up checkpoints throughout the city both to remind people about the statewide stay-at-home order during the coronavirus outbeak and to “show a strong police presence” in areas hit by violence.
A department memo obtained by the Tribune calls them “seatbelt safety and informational” checkpoints, and adds that the “goal of this mission is to engage the community in a positive and informative manner while providing a visible police presence in areas affected by violence.”
Each of the city’s 22 patrol districts is to have one checkpoint each day, staffed by a supervisor and an unspecified number of officers, according to the memo.
Any officer “interacting with any occupants of a vehicle will don a mask and gloves,” according to the memo. Each checkpoint will last up to an hour.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, which represents rank-and-file police officers, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.