Mayor Daley Defends Chicago's Rogue Cop Unit

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Despite allegations of rogue behavior by officers and a videotape that raises new questions, Mayor Richard Daley today voiced support for the Chicago Police Department's elite Special Operations Section.

An entire unit cannot be condemned because of the wrongdoing of a few, just as a neighborhood should not be tarred by the presence of gang members, Daley said.

The mayor gave no hint of disbanding SOS, which focuses on gangs, drugs and guns. He said the Police Department needs such specialized units.

As for the SOS officers caught on videotape in what may have been an illegal search of bar patrons, and the alleged theft from the homes of two of the patrons who were arrested, Daley said: "You investigate what took place, who supervised, and you take the necessary discipline upon them."

Mayor Daley wants these sorts of cops to have a monopoly on gun ownership in Chicago.