Video shows Chicago Police officer throwing away street vendor’s goods
By MARYBEL GONZALEZ
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — Outrage has been growing after video surfaced on social media showing a Chicago Police officer literally trashing two street vendors’ goods because they did not have licenses.
As CBS 2’s Marybel González reported, a street vendor named Wilson took a video as the corn he sells on the street was dumped down the sewer. Next, the video shows his cups, cotton candy, chips, and even a beverage jug were thrown in the trash.
Just moments before he recorded that scene, Wilson recorded a video from a distance showing a Chicago Police officer emptying out a vendor’s orange container near Washington and State streets downtown.
But the ordeal for Wilson did not end there.
An hour later, two blocks away at Millennium Park, Wilson and his dad, Francis – who also works as a street vendor – were approached by who they said was the same officer.
In a video of this incident, also taken by Wilson, the officer is heard asking Wilson if he has a business license to sell food. Wilson says he does not.
The officer is then seen taking Wilson’s cart, grabbing the bags of chips on it, and throwing them in the trash. The officer also told Wilson he would go to jail.
We caught up with Wilson and his father. They said they are sad about what happened, but have no choice but to be back at Millennium Park to work to provide for their family.
Dad Francis said the officer should have given them a ticket – which they would have accepted – instead of throwing their product away.
We wanted to know if proper protocols were followed by the officer.
Mylan Masson – a retired State of Minnesota trainer of police officers – said it depends on a supervisor’s directives, but: “You now have gotten rid of the evidence. You didn’t even take any pictures. You’re just throwing stuff down the sewer. Is that even a protocol?”
We spoke to Chicago Police about the incident, and we were waiting to hear back from a supervisor late Thursday.
Video of the incident posted online has already gotten response from community activists. One of them showed up Thursday night to show support.
“I don’t think this is fair,” said community activist Ricky Medina. “Their hard work – just throwing it to the garbage. It’s like spitting in someone’s face.”
We have done stories on the licensing of street vendors before. The Chicago Department of Public Health says the licenses are needed to ensure food sanitation and safety, but many vendors have told us they just can’t afford the fees.
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