The biggest holidays of the year, for some, are just around the corner. With Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas so close, one would expect the atmosphere to be more relaxed or people to be kind but It’s quite the opposite. Well, at least for the Chicago police, which ruined a kids’ Halloween costume parade by arresting at least three people. Not only did they handcuff the alleged culprits, but the cops also deployed tear gas canisters.
Redditor Too_Big_to_Succeed shared on r/chicago the chaos that broke out in the neighborhoods near Kildare and Grace in Old Irving Park in Chicago, Illinois. The videographer films as they walk through the neighborhood, while several vehicles block the road and many people gather around. However, what stands out most is how clouds of thick gas fill the street, making it impossible to see and even causing the videographer to cough. The cameraman continues walking to a part where there is no longer any gas, where several members of the Chicago police are arresting people, holding them down on the ground. At the scene, some people recorded, while others watched intently. Meanwhile, the police shouted at those arrested, and another cop in a van began honking to get people to move away so the police could pick up those detained.
According to OP, the arrest happened in the morning, minutes before those Chicago neighborhoods could start celebrating the kids’ Halloween costume parade. The street in the video was the exact street where the parade should have taken place, the same street that was filled with tear gas. OP also said that the police used at least two tear gas canisters to make the arrests of: “a landscaper, a woman on a bike, and an old man whose car was in the way”.
“All so they could arrest a landscaper minding their own business and making the community nicer while trying to earn a living,” said greenline_chi.
“Not ARREST. Arrest implies they were committing a crime. This is abduction. They are being disappeared. We need to choose our words carefully,” explained Mediocre_Bridge_4266.
Given what the country is going through, it would not be surprising if the police had racially profiled the people they arrested, as many Redditors thought. This is because, amid the commotion, someone repeatedly shouts, “Are you a citizen?” Sadly, as inhumane as these events may be, they are part of a new normal.
