Chicago Putting More Cops on the Street in Wake of Teen's Death - East Idaho News
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Chicago Putting More Cops on the Street in Wake of Teen’s Death

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Getty 033012 RahmEmmanuel?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1359712240260Scott Olson/Getty Images(CHICAGO) — A major American city already reeling from a high murder rate was stunned by the shooting death of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old student at Chicago’s King College Prep School and majorette in the band, who performed with her classmates at several inaugural events last week in the nation’s capital.

Now, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said enough is enough.

With 42 homicides alone last month, making it the deadliest January in Chicago since 2002, Emanuel announced a new anti-violence initiative on Thursday to try and slow down the mounting body count in his city.

Spurred by the death of Pendleton, who apparently wandered into a gang area on Tuesday, the mayor said he was taking 200 cops off desk duty and putting them on the street.

During a press briefing with reporters, Emanuel addressed Pendleton being cut down before her life had a chance to start, saying, “When any young person in our city is gunned down without reason, their death makes an impression on all of us, and it demands action from all of us.”

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