Police Superintendent Larry Snelling shared the department’s plans to protect the Chicago Pride Parade during a June 28 news conference at Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St.
Snelling said the “small changes” made to the parade this year—like the earlier start time, shortened route and reduced number of entries—were “necessary and helpful” to promote safety throughout the event and later in the evening. Some organizers and advocates criticized the adjustments because they were made just months before the event and without consulting the mayor’s LGBTQ+ advisory council.
The shortened route means police will be more concentrated in the area, and the earlier start time will allow officers to swap out and take breaks before monitoring the area in the evening, Snelling explained. He wouldn’t provide an exact number of officers staffing the event, but said “an abundance” of police will be stationed throughout the entire route and surrounding area.
“When it comes to the Chicago Police Department, we don’t want to do anything to change the spirit of the parade,” Snelling said. “We know how important the parade is, not only to the participants, but the people who go there to see the parade. There are people who wait all year to attend this parade and see it. We never want to interfere with that.”
Parade-goers are encouraged to alert officers on the ground or call 911 if they see anything suspicious happening along the parade route or if there are any emergencies. There will be pole markers throughout the route that people can reference when making a report, so the police know exactly where they are.
The police are most concerned about crowds descending on the area to commit violence and vandalize property later on in the night after most parade goers have gone home, Snelling explained.
“I’m just here to tell you right now that’s not going to be tolerated,” Snelling said. “We’ll put an end to that, and if arrests need to be made, we’ll do that. We hope we do not have to do that, but that is the plan.”
The department canceled officers’ days off to make sure there’s enough “manpower” to monitor the parade route as well as the surrounding community from morning until night. There will be shift changes, so officers aren’t on duty for long periods of time and “so they’re fresh in mind, fresh in body when they’re out there to respond,” Snelling said.
The police department is also working with its federal partners to monitor hateful threats made against the event. Officers are investigating every threat, regardless of how credible they think it is, Snelling assured.
“We know that this parade gets threats constantly,” Snelling said. “We take them all seriously. We do our research, and we put plans in place to make sure that none of those threats can be carried out. … If it’s predictable, it’s preventable.”
The police department has been preparing for the parade “for a while,” and has been in constant contact with Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th Ward) and his office to discuss safety measures, Snelling and Lawson relayed.
“I appreciate the superintendent’s commitment to keeping the entire day safe, that’s really what this is about,” Lawson said. “It’s a very long day in Lakeview. For those of us that do the whole day especially, it has to be safe from the first arrivals to the very end.”
For more information about this year’s Chicago Pride Parade, read Windy City Times’ guide to the festivities.
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