Chicago Police Say 27 of Their Officers Were Affected' By Tear Gas Used By Feds: Communication Is Key'

"When our officers arrived on scene, they met with the federal agents who were out there. The federal agents had deployed chemical agents. They deployed chemical agents while our officers were there. Those who will tell you that our officers weren't there, say that to the 27 officers who were affected by the chemical agents that were deployed by federal agents."

"There were 27 reports done to document our officers who were affected by that gas. I've since had a conversation with federal agents; and on that particular day, I spoke with the leadership of the federal agency. We talked about things as to how we were going to work this out. You see, communication is the key here. Communication does not mean collaboration."

Federal agents have maintained a presence in Chicago under a presidential directive to curb crime and identify illegal immigrants. Tensions between law enforcement and residents escalated into violence similar to earlier events in Los Angeles. Local police faced accusations of refusing to assist federal agents and ignoring backup calls; police denied those accusations. At least 27 Chicago police officers were affected by tear gas deployed by federal agents during immigration raids and crowd dispersals. A video showed officers fleeing after being hit by gas. Police leadership urged better interagency communication and emphasized that communication does not mean collaboration.

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