Funny stuff from Channel 7. They even get a couple of lies from various department talking heads:
- This week's blizzard was the first major test of Chicago's new police patrol fleet.
In this Intelligence Report: how the Chevy Tahoes did and what one mayoral candidate is saying after helping to push a police SUV from some deep snow.
Chicago police officials spent tens of millions of dollars the last two years replacing most of their aging Ford patrol cars with Chevy Tahoe SUVs.
The old Crown Victoria sedans were popular with many officers but terrible in the snow because they were rear-wheel drive cars.
Popular because they were capable vehicles. And you could push a CV out of the snow if you got stuck. You need three cops and a mayoral candidate to push a Tahoe it seems.
On Friday, a Chicago police spokesman disputes that, saying that only 25 Tahoes from a total fleet of 3,000 vehicles needed towing during the storm.
"In some conditions you could be driving an M-1 Abrams tank and you're not going to move forward on this," said Chicago Police Department Superintendent Jody Weis.
Dispatchers were making announcements on Citywide all day and all night that if you were stuck, there was no R-Service and tow trucks had no E.T.A. That probably means of the hundreds of stuck Tahoes, officers did what they normally do and dig out, enlist help, flag down passing tows, etc. We took the initiative. And for our troubles, J-Fled claims only 25 Tahoes needed tows? What a bunch of double-speaking bullshit.
Rahm made some political hay, too:
Rahm made some political hay, too:
One of the SUVs, however, did get stuck, and Rahm Emanuel helped push it out. If elected mayor, he says the police fleet may change.
"We have snowstorms. It is the City of Chicago. It did not make sense to me," Emanuel said.
[...] Emanuel said as mayor he would get rid of the police Procurement Director who did the SUV deal.
We're pretty sure there was a political stink over the SUV contract being awarded to a suburban dealer rather than a city one. With all the crap Shortshanks spouts about patronizing the city and keeping his indentured workforce close by, you'd think that he would have wanted to keep that contract around here.
Anyway, always fun on the political side of stuff.
Anyway, always fun on the political side of stuff.