CPD on high alert after cops killed in Baton Rouge

Chicago Police are on high alert after the murders of three officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Police brass have issued an order that all officers, from the rank and file all the way up to command staff, need to be working in pairs to ensure there is always backup and always that extra set of eyes and ears alert for danger.

“The ambush style attacks that we've now seen in Dallas and Baton Rouge, those were risks that a few months ago, a year ago, none of us would have thought we'd be looking at. Hopefully, we won't see that here,” said First Deputy Superintendent John Escalante.

He said that there is no known threat to officers in Chicago, but that was also the case in Baton Rouge and Dallas.

The head of the Fraternal Order of Police said the heightened anti-police rhetoric and the climate that is fostering hate towards police in general is taking a toll.

“The police officers, their families, their spouses and children are all at a new heightened level of concern every time the spouse or family member leaves the home,” said Dean Angelo, FOP President.

Police said they have not suspended outdoor roll calls, but are being more judicious in how they are used and where they are conducted.

Community engagement, particularly in black communities, is still a priority.

“As much as we're asking our officers to be vigilant and protect each other and to be mindful of their surroundings, we don't want to put any invisible wall between us and the community. We have to get out of the cars still, we have to have that positive interaction,” Escalante said.

The mayor called on people to initiate their own positive interaction with police.

“Find a way to thank individually an officer for both being a police officer and being selfless in their sacrifice for the rest of us,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.