NoCopAcademy Activists Allege They Were Threatened with Arrest For Flyering on L Trains
Community activists organizing against the new $95 million police academy the Chicago City Council’s budget committee is scheduled to vote on Tuesday say they were threatened with arrest by the Chicago police if they went through with a “train takeover” on Monday. The group, dubbed NoCopAcademy, has been pushing to get Mayor Emanuel and the City Council to put the brakes on funding a new $95 million police academy on the west side and instead, put the money towards other public services and schools in the community. They had planned a series of “train takeovers,” a peaceful action where activists ride the L, pass out fliers, and talk to commuters about their issue but say that police were stationed at many Loop entrances who threatened to arrest them if they went through with it. “CPD did not allow #NoCopAcademy organizers on the trains and stationed police at every platform nearby, threatening arrest if any “disruption” aka passing out flyers happens,” tweeted the group. “We utilize this tactic for political education, and they know it’s effective.”