There is no universe anywhere where the media should bestow credibility upon a man like Garry McCarthy who stands as the only man in American history to have two consecutive police departments he controlled taken over by the US Justice Department. Just prior to becoming the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department McCarthy was the Director of the Newark, NJ police department. Newark was taken over by federal officials just after his McCarthy was hired in Chicago. With the coming consent decree in Chicago McCarthy will have ominous honor of being the only man to run two municipal police department asnd have them both take over by the feds immediately after his departure.

“The Justice Department announced today it has reached a comprehensive settlement with the city of Newark, New Jersey, that will bring wide-ranging reforms and changes to the Newark Police Department (NPD).  The agreement, which is subject to court approval, resolves the department’s findings that NPD has engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional stops, searches, arrests, use of excessive force and theft by officers in violation of the First, Fourth and 14^th Amendments.  The proposed consent decree also resolves the department’s findings that NPD’s law enforcement practices had a disparate impact on minorities in Newark.” more…..

I included this quote so I made it patently obvious the level of civil rights violations and misconduct that was occurring the Newark Police Department. Why in the world would the media find a guy who was in charge in Newark credible on the issues about how to run a department? No take this to the next level and add in his firing in Chicago and what do you get?

Here is some of his media hits in Chicago since his firing in Chicago:

• Chicago Sun-Times
• WGN Radio
• Chicago Tribune
• ABC 7 Chicago
• Chicago Tribune
• Chicago Tribune
• ABC 7 Chicago
• WGN TV
• DNAInfo

I bring this up because for some reason the Chicago press has decided he is way more credible a source than he was while on the job in Chicago. At least a few times a month while on the job in Chicago McCarthy’s use of crime statistics would be challenged. By the time he left is was pretty clear that neither Chicago residents nor journalists thought he had any credibility.

Unfortunately for us all within weeks of his firing in Chicago he started to spring up in news stories criticizing the Emanuel administration and the politics of Chicago. Now, what happened in those few weeks that he suddenly became a worthy go to source for journalists in Chicago we will never know. I tend to believe he did nothing and that it all rests on the fact that the media believes a false narrative about crime and violence in Chicago and anyone that will say things that reinforce that narrative is deemed to be credible.

This has opened up a floodgate of McCarthy comments about how politicians are putting restrictions on the police and that is responsible for the increase in homicides. He also then assigns the same blame to federal investigators. Now, if he had any evidence to back up his claims it would be nice but I don’t so the Chicago press corps pushing him for that. You see when you say something the press agrees with you don’t need evidence it is just taken as fact despite there is no evidence to back it up.

If only there were organizations filled with professionals and scholars who could comment on these issues that didn’t run two of the most brutal police departments in the country. Well there are. Instead of continuing to quote this man why doesn’t the Chicago press place a call to the International Association of Chiefs of Police or maybe the Police Executive Research Forum?

There are a couple main reasons why they don’t call these organizations:

• There really lazy and this would take effort and time.
• They will not parrot their narrative back to them

Both are dangerous for our city. After his firing McCarthy should have faded in to history but the Chicago press had other ideas despite his tremendous record of failure.