Chicagoans express support for CPD after Dallas shooting

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Although demonstrators marched through Downtown Monday evening to protest police misconduct, Mayor Emanuel highlighted something else. He noted that others have reached out across the city to express their sympathy and support for Chicago Police.

At the 16th Police District on the Far Northwest Side, dozens delivered hand-written notes and signs over the past few days, not to mention cookies and pastries. While the neighborhoods around the Jefferson Park District include hundreds of police families, Mayor Emanuel said some residents did the same in districts where crime and police-community tensions are much higher.

“The Progressive Church dropped donuts off at the Second (Police) District. I forget exactly what was given in the Sixth District. But something else was by residents,” said Emanuel.

Emanuel said other groups did the same in the troubled Gresham Sixth and Chicago Lawn Eighth Districts.

A Chicago Police spokesman said that after the murders of police officers in Texas, hundreds of residents in Chicago gave cops spontaneous messages of support and solidarity, often with children in tow.

Indeed, a Sun-Times intern at Monday’s protest march posted a photo with the caption, "Angela Turnbow thanks police officers for their service & explains 'it's the bad officers who we are protesting.'"

The mayor said it's a sentiment many Chicagoans share.

“You don't have to pick sides to want good policing, safety and good community relations. I'd say we're all on the same side,” Emanuel said.

The mayor praised what he called successful hard work by Chicago Police at Taste of Chicago Downtown and in neighborhoods across the city.