Chicago Police post looting videos to identify suspects

Chicago police started giving people another look Wednesday at the looting that happened downtown and around the city this week and are hoping they will recognize suspects and provide their names and other information that will help detectives make arrests.

Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan announced the department has started posting videos on its website of suspects who took part in the widespread looting early Monday morning. One of the first videos posted shows a person, apparently a woman, smashing store windows with a rock. Another shows some young men striking and trying to pry open an automatic teller machine with a hammer as one of them can be heard complaining, “It won’t open.”

Police have said they recognize that people might be reluctant to identify suspects but urged them to do so. “This was an assault on our city,” Deenihan said.

Deenihan said the department will add more videos as they come in and urged business owners to turn over to police any surveillance videos showing their stores being looted. He also said there the department is working with business owners about creating rewards for information.

“Someone surely knows the offenders who are causing this destruction,” he told reporters. He said that even though some of the suspects were wearing the kind of face masks that many people are wearing during the coronavirus pandemic, he believes they can still be identified.

People with tips for police can email the department at: 630lootingtaskforce@chicagopolice.org.