Dexter Reed’s Media Alchemists Build Their Martyr
By John Kass
April 17, 2024
In most news stories about the Chicago Police shooting of Dexter Reed there are certain established ingredients:
The weeping mother fainting, the suspicious white leftist lawyers wondering aloud if Dexter Reed’s death was caused by over-eager racist cops, suspicious black activists who see police as the embodiment of white rage even if they’re not white and repeated mention of the 96 shots.
Only rarely if at all was there mention of a most inconvenient fact.
He shot first.
Dexter Reed, unprovoked, shot at Chicago Police first, according to police body cam video and COPA, the historically anti-police Chicago Office of Police Accountability. Reed had a gun, he did not have a permit to carry. According to the video, he wounded one officer at the beginning of his spree. And Reed was killed. If Reed had been a better shot, a Chicago Police officer would be dead, a black officer.
“The media thing kills me,” said my friend and colleague Jeff Carlin, executive producer at WGN radio and co-host of my podcast The Chicago Way.
And the left wing media alchemists are desperately hoping to turn Reed into gold.
“(Almost) every photo we see of this kid is a photo of him graduating from high school,” said Carlin, “or he’s playing basketball in high school but why aren’t they holding up any photos of him recently? Well, it sounds like they’re trying to push a narrative.”
Listen to the podcast:
The Chicago Way w/John Kass: An icon, the eclipse, and Dexter Reed – John Kass (johnkassnews.com)
Indeed, the media alchemists tried to fashion him in death as a symbol. But Reed was not a civil rights icon. He had a criminal record. He was facing an illegal gun case. He’d already been shot in some sort of street battle that I imagine involved street gang signs. He was what he was: Trouble.
He pulled the trigger first. He was not a symbol of anything, except perhaps a symbol of the media’s political appetites.
Now they can shape him anyway that suits them. Like clay.
“Police fire 96 shots in 41 seconds, killing Black man during traffic stop,” read the headline in the left-wing Washington Post.
The Post didn’t mention it was Reed who shot first until the eighth paragraph. The preceding paragraphs were full of emotion from the family’s point of view.
USA Today was another left-wing newspaper that portrayed police as aggressors.
“Seat belt check: Cops fired 96 shots at motorist, killing him.”
The same style, same left wing political alchemy from CNN, CBS, and other political alchemists.
Were the Chicago Police wrongful aggressors?
No, I don’t think so. He was a felon who fired first. He shot 11 rounds. Another fact virtually ignored by media alchemists. At least one officer was hit. Police had a legal obligation to end the threat. That’s not just a comment on their emotional state, it’s the law.
But like the Post, the left-wing USA Today portrays the cops as in the wrong.
The police shooting of Dexter Reed is a tale told by a media that is determined to fan a spark into a blaze and burn Chicago—the host city of the 2024 Democrat National Convention—to a crisp.
According to the leftist local “public television” station WTTW, the lawyer for the Reed family, Andrew M. Stroth, described those final shots as a “military-style (execution).”
He claimed the plainclothes officers never announced they were police. He insisted they initiated an unconstitutional traffic stop before the shooting.
“How many more Black and Brown young men have to die before this city will change?” he said during a news conference Tuesday.
Where are the loud and angry media condemnations of this vicious incendiary and racist anti-police rhetoric? Denunciations vanished into some empty space, without echoes.
I don’t see that the police officers were racist. I spent decades in the Chicago media, not only offering opinion, but covering hard news. There were scrupulously fair editors and reporters. But as Chicago media became militantly woke and journalism died off, the fair journalists were replaced or they hid and maintained silence for fear of being dragged to one of those left wing struggle sessions.
But I think of police and their families, their kids under siege in a city where so many institutions from City Hall to the ruling Democrat Party, the ruling Chicago Teachers Union and the corrupt corporate media hate cops and seek any opportunity to publicly demonize them and reflexively hate cops.
But I did read some interesting and telling observations about Dexter Reed.
I didn’t find it in mainstream corporate media, but in The Chicago City wire, a news outlet publicly hated and loathed by the Tribune, the publicly funded television station WTTW (Wilmette Talking to Winnetka) and others.
My friends Dan Proft and Brian Timpone are involved with the Chicago City Wire and other publications. The Tribune and its political writer hates Proft and this writer encourages his unctuous media posse to hate them too.
One story ignored by Chicago’s corrupt corporate media involved thousands of federal dollars to Dexter Reed: But Proft and Timpone don’t apologize. I loathe the man, and he loathes me but I’ll never apologize to an oily combine sympathizer who has posed for decades as a newsman while protecting the Republican combine. I’m sure there are those on the left who would champion him now, to get at me, but then they’re shameless.
The story in Chicago City Wire was clear:
Did Biden and taxpayers buy him a car?
Another such story involved the lawyer Stroth having had his law license suspended reported in The Chicago Contrarian.
“A Chicago attorney who was threatened with a defamation lawsuit by police union officials in 2018 has had his law license suspended, according to records from the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC).
“Attorney Andrew Martin Stroth was suspended for 30 days after “the hearing board found that (Stroth) failed to act with reasonable diligence in representing his client, provided improper financial assistance to the client, knowingly made false statements of material fact in connection with a disciplinary matter and engaged in dishonest conduct,” according to ARDC records.
I looked it up myself, and checked it against other stories, including in the Illinois Bar Association News.
Yep, there it was, not my opinion but fact: attorney Stroth suspended.
“Mr. Stroth, who was licensed in 2001, was suspended for 30 days and ordered to take the ARDC’s professionalism seminar. He failed to pursue a client’s personal injury case, allowing the statute of limitations to expire. He also provided money to the client as a loan against an anticipated settlement and then as a purported settlement. He falsely told his client that he had communicated with an insurance claims adjuster, and he made false statements to the ARDC in the course of the disciplinary proceeding. The suspension is effective on October 14, 2021. “
You’d think the corporate media—so eager and wiggly to list each and every anonymous complaint ever filed against police officers—might think it might be newsworthy to note the following:
Reed picked up $20k in PPP loans for a “transportation” business while facing other felony charges.
And the family lawyer having been suspended for lying to clients and allegedly making false statements to State Supreme Court investigators?
Isn’t that something to be mentioned too?
Throughout this column and in the podcast, I’ve referenced the media and alchemists hoping to breathe life into Derek Reed and make of him a civil rights martyr, or the excuse to destroy the cities the political left used during their George Floyd BLM “mostly peaceful” riots.
A quick look at the internet will tell you that Medieval Alchemists—the bearded geeks and necromancers who wanted to turn lead into gold—had standard supplies in their bags.
Their supplies included glass beakers, metal frames to hold a beaker over an open flame, and a mortar and pestle with which to grind magical herbs for potions.
I figure the media would want to throw in the head of a Chicago police officer.
But there’s also something missing.
What is it?
Nothing.
Yeah, nothing.
Because that is the negative space where so many interesting and vital things are kept.
The negative space in silhouette–between the moving bodies of two ballet dancers—tells the story of the dance.
It is the space where the watchdog is expected to bark but remains silent.
It is in the negative space where you find all manner of secrets.
Like the fact that Dereck Reed shot at police first. It was that first shot that was hidden, obscured, lost by so much of the early reporting by major mainstream corporate media.
It was pushed into the negative space by so many institutions that insist that Democracy Dies in Darkness.
And now that you know that it happened, you might want to ask yourselves the one thing they don’t want you to ask:
Why?
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About the author: John Kass spent decades as a political writer and news columnist in Chicago working at a major metropolitan newspaper. He is co-host of The Chicago Way podcast. And he just loves his “No Chumbolone” hat, because johnkassnews.com is a “No Chumbolone” Zone where you can always get a good cup of Midwestern common sense.
(Copyright 2024 John Kass)
Comments 54
Great column John. Thank you for your courage to always speak the truth.
Dexter Reed is no “kid”. He was a 28 yr old adult felon. COPA is biased against police to begin with. Form it’s inception I’ve maintained they, COPA people, should be required to do 3 8 hour ride-a-longs in a beat car to sit on that board. Eight hours on each watch. And once a year just to refresh their memories a four hour ride-a-long. These officers did nothing wrong, it was a good shooting.
Spot on. Keep up the good work.
Keep telling the real story, brother John. But whom is this oily Tribune political writer to whom you refer? Inquiring minds want to know.
My best guest, Rick Pearson, a far left tool of the Guild. Maybe Steve Chapman, but I think he only writes as a guest as he left the Trib. I would have said Rex the Scumbag Huppke, but he now trolls for an equally off base left wing outlet, USA Today. The only place you find that piece of garbage is the reception desk at your local Choice Hotel chain.
Welcome back, John. Hope you’re feeling much better! Thanks for the “rest of the story” about this regrettable situation.
John, what an outstanding column! Possibly your best ever, and for shining the truth on something that has been driving me nuts that the Media has been doing with this. Keep doing what you’re doing, you are one of the few voices of truth still left in the media. Stay healthy, and God bless you.
Is there a “best” death in all this? I would say yes. There can be no resurrection without a death. In this case the “best” death is the death of actual journalism by the so called major news outlets. The trash and propaganda they spew has become so transparent that even the useful idiots have begun to desert them in numbers. They are moribund. And a resurrection is now possible. Likely? That remains to be seen.
Anytime a weapon is fired and someone is shot it is incumbent that an investigation be conducted. The majority of investigations are conducted by trained police officers. Unless……..the police shoot someone.
In Chicago, police will be investigated by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability or COPA. The unfortunate part of this entire process is that COPA are not properly trained to conduct these investigations and they enter into the investigation with a skewed opinion from the start.
Before COPA there was IPRA or the Independent Police Review Authority and before IPRA was OPS or the Office of Professional Standards. Each office has had numerous Chief Administrators. This work in progress never progressed. Name changes, personnel changes still results in the same sh** different day.
Having a truly independent trained professional investigatory body in this city will never happen because there would be a loss of control. An organization to investigate police shootings without bias and with credentials would never happen because control would be lost.
God bless my brothers and sisters in blue. May you go to work in this cesspool of a city and may you return home unscathed. Your safety and well being is first and foremost.
At this point it seems like we need a Wikipedia-style-site dedicated to practitioners of journalistic/political malfeasance. It would be great if we could lookup folks like Andrew Martin Stroth and find a detailed accounting of their failures and future prospects (i.e. when they’re up for election).
Citing individuals in mainstream media who help amplify the aforementioned folks might be more difficult. The site could quote the articles and who the editors were at the time they were published.
Great piece, John. The only thing missing from the complicit media? Constantly referring to Reed as an “honor student” similar to the false martyr in “Bonfire of the Vanities”.
Welcome back. I hope you are feeling better and all our praying worked.
I along with many no longer trust the media written and talking heads. What baffles me are so many who nod along and worship them. Many arguments have stated they said it on the news or I read said. Ugh. I guess fools follow blindly.
It’s comforting to know I can come here and read and hear truth.
Thank you for a fact filled column and speaking the truth.
As news of this story broke, I immediately began searching for the body camera footage. I eventually found it. Unedited, uncut, uncensored, and from 4 different officers body camera footage, including the officer who was shot. There is no way in hell Reed did not know he was being stopped by the police as his lawyer stated. Reed knew he was going to shoot it out with the officers as soon as he rolled his blacked out tinted windows back up. That was when he reached for his weapon ( which mind you, he was carrying illegally),and began firing at the police. 96 shots they say? Watch the video. It doesn’t take all but about 30 seconds to unload that many rounds when you have 4 officers firing semiautomatic weapons with full clips. These officers were in fear of their lives, rightfully so. The officer who shot the fatal blow should be a hero and awarded a medal of commendation for his act of bravery in eliminating the threat, then immediately rendering aid to his fellow officer who was shot, lying on the ground, hand dangling with a hole in it.
Our local media and politicians are disgusting pigs for even allowing this false narrative and incomplete story to be told.
I hope everyone of those officers heal completely physically and mentally for what this POS put them all through. Thank you CPD for all you men and women do to keep us safe in this cesspool city.
This story needs to be spread far and wide.
John, thanks for this article and exposing more details about the situation than the lame stream media ever would. Keep up the great work. We need you.
Featured link in my little free speech crafting group. Glad to see you up and about!
Like you were taught as a kid: if you go out looking for trouble, don’t be surprised when trouble finds you.
A felon, illegally having a gun and starting a gunfight with police = looking for trouble. Hiding this truth combined with continued police scapegoating = political agenda B.S.
Dexter Reed is the Urban Honor Student par excellence. Thanks for the dose of reality, John.
As a current Cook County criminal judge once told me, there is what is known as the “Texas defense.” It goes like this-“Some folks just need killing.”
Great column, John.
The media coverage was exactly as one would expect. You could almost see the “Reporters” drooling over a big story about a poor black man minding his own business and getting gunned down by “Aggressive Police!!
Watching the nightly news is a way to improve one’s marketing skills by observing how the news is marketed. My wife is finally seeing the news for what it is on most stations. I was impressed by Superintendant Snellings’ comments days later about the lack of rage purposely directed at the media in an implying way.
.
CHICAGO (WLS) — The murder of a nine-year-old girl at a family party is prompting Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling to ask, “Where’s the (public) outrage?”
Yes, Superintendent, “Where’s the outrage?”
Not only shot at the police, but eleven times…that is a fact, which goes unnoticed. BTW, it was reported that offenders shot over 76 rounds into a party at 52nd and Damen over the weekend…where is the outrage?? innocent family members injured and killed…where is the outrage across the city and media types??? Pray for the police officers and innocent victims across our City.
The hatred (not fear) of the police or any other lawful authority instilled by the Do Gooders – (Winnetka Talking To Winnetka – hilarious and spot on) and other left media, martyr like zealot community activists, and woke teachers is the basis of the problem. No accountability on one side (a double standard?) exemplified by the political trials occurring today. Like those who are standing on roadways to O’Hare and elsewhere chanting “death to America, and this felon who scammed the PPP program out of $20K America has been too generous to you. The Dems give away money to buy votes. Those who put in an honest days work and scrape by, dealing with ridiculous inflation watch this BS go on daily and are fed up. I truly fear a redux of 1860 as people with a real work ethic finally say “enough”.
John, Once again, spot on! True investigative reporting, even after all your health issues. I just wish you had more exposure to the public so they can see what an actual reporter should do.
You look at this story, and then wonder why anyone would still want to pursue law enforcement as a career. These days, all a miscreant has to do when stopped by the police is to disobey orders and resist arrest. The media will instantly turn the miscreant into a martyr.
With any luck, a dead martyr.
First off, I was so glad to see this was your byline today. Welcome back!
I could be wrong, but I think the media alchemists might be surprised to find out that their Ho-hum predictable anti-cop narratives are increasingly met with diminishing returns! Not many productive members of society care any longer what they have to say! That’s not to say it’s benign. It’s not. But the bloom is off the rose on the communications department for the Bolsheviks!
Thank you John. Well stated and written. As Paul Harvey used to say “Ann now you have the rrreesssstt of the story”.
I really wish when the clowns come to town that the police all head to the nearest Dunkin Donuts (Starbucks got too woke) and ignore every crime committed in the Loop and/oe near the United Center. Then the clowns get first hand what they encourage.
Great analysis John. The reporting of this story is another fine example of local journalism or whatever it’s called these days. The ridicule the local media has incurred is hilarious. This exemplifies why the media is trying to censor social media. Social media was doing fine as long as the misinformation it was spreading was spread by the Left. The mainstream was controlled by the Left until Elon Musk bought Twitter. Did Leftists throw a hissy fit, realizing one of their most powerful outlets was no longer in their control. The Left, along with their print and television associates demanded Congress act to prevent Musk from buying the site. Those that control the lies controls the truth. People like Tucker Carlson, Megan Kelly and yes, John Kass are now detached from legacy media and are totally independent. For this we are thankful and they are loathed by their former cohorts. As the national elections approach the media has begun the usual headlines to herd the Democrat voters to the polls. Yesterday’s Chicago Fibune carried the headlines ” Tracing Charlestons slave history” by Emily Cochrane, NYT. and “Bundy dispute goes on ten years later” from Ken Ritter AP. Both surreptitiously placed to elicit a desired reaction. Ritter’s story goes on for fifteen paragraphs before it completely veers off its subject story. It reports a standoff between a Wyoming rancher and the Feds over cattle grazing rights. No one was harmed and no one went to jail. The sixteenth paragraph then goes into the “insurrection” and “Maga” movement. Neither were in existence at the time of this incident and are totally irrelevant to the incident. Yes, let’s find a policemans head to put on a spike . Time to herd ’em to the polling place with the usual, racist, voter suppression, Maga, Anti- ism (abortion, vaxxer, democracy, blah, blah, blah..) rhetoric. The ridicule Chicago media is getting on social media is totally deserved proving what hacks they really are.
Yianni,
Here we go again…another martyr (with more money) like Floyd! Good thing you left that old rag because you’d never be able to write an honest column there any longer. I only read the comics online through my library website. When I first read the “accounts” of the shooting, I was somewhat taken aback by the 96 rounds the cops fired, but then, buried below was the critical clue that the perp shot first. You gotta be the dumbest criminal in the world to shoot at cops anyway, and this guy was no genius either. In any event, journalism as we once knew it is dead and buried, only to be supplanted by a woke, leftist/socialist media, bound and determined to undermine and destroy this country – under the guise of a “free press!” When it’s contolled by the government – it ain’t free. God help us…..oh, I forgot, He’s no longer allowed in our conversations….
Left-wing Democrats side with criminals, because they are criminals.
WOW u done socked it too em, JK!
I loved what I did as a Cop for 36 years, but quite honestly I’m glad it is over. I never met a Cop who woke up and thought “Gee, I think I’ll find and kill someone for no reason at all”. Maybe they are out there, but I never met one, contrary to what a lot of politicians and their (sic) “media” lapdogs try to convince you is occuring.
When a Police Officer uses force, especially deadly force, it should be thoroughly and professionally investigated, hopefully by people who have a background and training in investigating use of force or OIS (Officer-Involved Shooting) situations. If the Cop is wrong, discipline and/or criminal charges should be pursued. It’s really pretty simple.
However, until that thorough and professional investigation is concluded and the facts (not the opinion, not the hyperbole, but just the facts) are known and proved, what the hell happened to the “Presumption of Innocence”? When the (sic) “media” and their lapdog politicians immediately assume that the Cops were wrong, racist, evil, or whatever else, without knowing the facts, is it any wonder that confidence in the (sic) “media” (not to mention some politicians) is at an all-time low?
I haven’t watched the news on TV for almost ten years. I find it insulting to watch a “talking head”, reading a teleprompter, who may or may not have ever had an original thought, try to convince me how to think. There are no more Walter Cronkites out there. But fortunately for us, we still have John Kass here, writing the truth and making his Greek ancestors proud. Great job and hope you’re feeling better.
Dan, Not that anyone would ever say it, but thank you for your service.
Ken- You are very welcome, it was my honor and privilege to have served.
The focus of the articles by the MSM: traffic stops. They seem to suggest that there is a direct correlation between a person being subjected to a traffic stop and him or her shooting at the officer conducting the stop.
As another reader pointed out, it was illegal for Reed to possess a handgun, given his criminal record.
Regarding the number of shots fired by the police, be it 75 or a similar number, when confronted by a lethal threat the police are required to stop the threat, whether it is directed toward him or her, or toward another. That it took 75 rounds attests to the apprehension experienced by the officers. Nowhere have I read that Reed was hit 75 times. Under conditions where the officers feared for their lives and those of their partners, marksmanship was clearly impaired.
To be charitable, some (perhaps only a small fraction) of the biased reporting may stem from ignorance of firearms laws.
“He claimed the plainclothes officers never announced they were police. He insisted they initiated an unconstitutional traffic stop before the shooting.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
How does he know that? Was he there?
Pbbt.
Sorry, but when you cross a line by shooting at police, there is no parsing the reason or the strength of the response. You will get one response. The George Floyd syndrome isn’t going to take place again.
Some commentator said said last week: If you shoot at police, the police will shoot back and they won’t be counting their bullets.
Let’s get a few more of these done while someone clamps down on gang violence (not gun violence) in democrat cities. Law and order is not on the chaos menu for the left. They revel in this kind event.
This is why I am happy to subscribe to John Kass news. We have officers in our family and the job is unbelievably difficult without the woke going after them on trumped up charges.
Speaking of Slavery, the institution that never dies..My ancestral First cousin, Gov. John Page of Virginia (close associate of Thos. Jefferson) proposed a compensated emancipation plan in each of his three one year terms as Governor. In 1800, he had enough votes to “end Slavery in Virginia in 100 years, but we can probably get in done in fifty”. Then a guy Gabriel led a Slave rebellion in Richmond that scared the life out of both Whites and Blacks – which killed the deal – as everyone was now more concerned with safety, in a nutshell. President Lincoln also on many occasions proposed gradual compensated emancipation. What a different world it would be now if President Lincoln had never been killed (say my cousins in Virginia)
My point is, there were back then, concrete plans, with concrete outcomes. The Left has no plan, or outcome. As Mr. Kass has taught me, its about power – period.
Yes sir, welcome back!
Are blacks just plain stupid? One case after another when the blacks are not complicit with a police officer order! It seems that all they want to do is commit the crime but not be held accountable. Thank you to the CPD for all you! As far as I am concerned, keep killing the dumb criminals that threaten you!
Great questions. The answers are easy as to why our media doesn’t portray Dexter as he was. The narrative against police officers needs to be maintained. Never mind the gang shootings every day. Never mind that kids get killed every day. No, we must maintain the idea that police are always in the wrong. “Just look at how many traffic stops are done in that area!” Yeah. There could be a reason for that, don’t you think? “Why did the police have to shoot so many bullets? They are trained.” Um…because they’d like to get home to their families too.
There should be a new movement afoot with marches and protests: DSC (Don’t Shoot Cops).
“….it’s my money and I need it now!!” JG Wentworth song…
There isn’t much I could add that hasn’t already been stated except this;
The democrats will do everything they can to set this nation ablaze by late summer.
Their recipe of white cop kills black criminal seems to work for them to win elections.
I would like to think most sane and reasonable Americans see right through this, but with the biased leftwing media being willing accomplices, I have my doubts.
Prepare now while you can America, it is going to get uglier the closer we get to election day.
Welcome back, Mr. Kass.
The narrative that “the police didn’t announce their office” is a flat lie. The videos clearly show that their mars lights were on and they were wearing plainly visible badges. He knew they were cops and that he was going to jail for illegal gun possession, so he decided to commit suicide by cop.
Also, the blacked out cars windows are supposed to be illegal. Their proliferation is at least as responsible for the drive-by shootings as the guns used. Why aren’t they “just cause” for police pulling people over?
Has any media reported how many bullets Reed ACTUALLY caught? From the time a body is brought to the morgue its pretty easy to strip the body of clothing, hose the body down and count the holes. And yes, I speak from experience. The morgue attendant could have told you in ten minutes how many times Dexter was shot. The city won’t because they’re controlling the narrative they’re presenting to their political base. The media graciously hypes up the 96 shots allegedly fired by police without ever asking how many were really caught by Dexter. Never let the truth get in the way of a good spin. I mean just because we don’t tell you all of the facts means we didnt lie to you. I’ll take a guess and tell you what this really means. It means Chicago Police need more range training to ensure a higher accuracy rate on shooting someone who is trying to murder them. Ninety six (allegedly) and how many hit Reed? To quote an old commercial ” the world may never know…”
Enrique,
“Chicago Police need more range training to ensure a higher accuracy rate on shooting “
So do the gang bangers. Media and pols say murders are down. Maybe, but it’s only because the bangers couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat.
Again, the cops need to totally disappear come convention time.
If you were to dig deeper, I’m sure you’d find out that ten-year old Reed was smoking blunts and sippin’ 40’s in Garfield Park at 2am on a school night while his baby momma was twerking at some house party.
In fact, I’m of the opinion that these ghetto baby-mommas’ dream come true is to raise a felon and have him killed by the police so they can cash in. I call it the “ghetto lottery”.
Just ask George Floyd’s relatives if they would give back their $20 million plus in exchange for bringing ole St George back to life….
His mother, the lawyers and the reverends all smell money in a civil suit against the city. They expect the city to give them some enormous out of court settlement. They never loved Dexter Reed more than they do now.
I’d be curious to know the insurance company that insures the city of Chicago against civil lawsuits.
I wonder what it costs taxpayers to pay for the premiums for these insurance companies.
I can’t believe that ANY insurance company would cover the city of Chicago, who throws money at the families of criminals, even though the criminal was in the wrong.
As long as the money keeps flowing, the lawsuits will continue.
Great article about the perpetual Chicago Thug Comfort Zone. In death, as in life,Chicago honors the thug, the grifter, the cheat and the deadbeat. That is so Progressive.
Honestly, nobody cares anymore anything about Chicago and its social and/or economic problems. The city is in decline with no turnaround in sight. The old line media has lost its voice and has fewer eyes and ears listening. Nobody really cares anymore.
Um, did I miss something? There were maybe a dozen cops there, but we get to see only the video from one cop’s camera. And that video somewhat obscures Reed shooting first. Why don’t we get to see video from other officers, especially the one who was shot? The answer is wokesters didn’t want to see anything else that might snuff about the BS story. Lord, I’m glad I’m outta there.
Dennis-
There were a few YouTube channels that had complete unedited bodycam footage of the melee as of the other day. They may have been scrubbed and removed by now as it doesn’t fit the narrative. The footage I found had 4 different officers pov, including the officer who was shot. It was extremely intense and chaotic. People want to scrutinize the 96 shots, most of those shots were shot at the vehicle he was sitting in. All the windows were blacked out, so they couldn’t see in the vehicle until the windows were shot out. Even after the vehicle was riddled with bullets, Reed exited the vehicle with 1 hand tucked into his waistband and tried to flee the scene. That’s when he was shot 3 more times before doing the pavement temperature challenge.
Even after all that carnage, once officers approached him, they immediately began cpr to try and save his life, after he tried ending theirs. ( Just another tidbit the media seems to want to omit). Imagine that. Some a-hole tries killing you, and after you defend yourself, attempt to save the man who almost ended your life not 20 seconds earlier.
JK, good to see you back in the saddle. I have to say, as a legal gun owner, if someone shoots at me or injures one of my family members, I would definitely empty my gun on him. The guy was a hoodlum, and it was only a matter of time before he killed someone. Do I feel sorry for “Dexter Reed”? Yes, because he was a young man who had a whole life ahead of him. But, he brought that upon himself by firing at the police. One can only imagine the shock of seeing one of your fellow officers going down from a gun shot wound. The first thought must have been kill or be killed. The fact the media skewed the story is just unimaginable; but that is the liberal news world we live in. You are never going to get the real story from the media unless is investigated objectively. Nice work JK!
Welcome back, John.
Brilliant column just presenting the facts.
As Dragnet’s Sgt. Joe Friday said, “All we want are the facts, ma’am.”
Often misquoted as “Just the facts, ma’am”.