Chicago's top cop came out swinging Monday, denying claims that a chief ordered officers to "stand down" after federal agents were rammed in two weekend attacks, and warning protesters that striking law enforcement could trigger a justified counterpunch - including the use of deadly force.
"If you ram any vehicle, especially one that contains law enforcement agents, and that's any law enforcement… and you do this intentionally, this is considered deadly force," Larry Snelling told reporters at a news briefing Monday. "Deadly force is anything that can cause great bodily harm or death. When you plow into a vehicle that contains law enforcement agents, you are using deadly force. And they can use deadly force in response to stop you."
Federal agents arrested two people accused of jabbing government vehicles with their own on Saturday. One of the suspects, identified as Marimar Martinez, was shot and wounded. The other, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, was arrested in an unrelated but similar ramming incident. No one was hurt in that one, Snelling said.
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Martinez's shooting was one of 22 incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday, resulting in 29 shooting victims and four murders, according to city police records.
Snelling warned that hitting or blocking law enforcement vehicles would be considered the unlawful use of deadly force.
"If you box them in with vehicles, it is reasonable for them to believe that they are being ambushed, and that this could end in a deadly situation," he said. "And it's reasonable for them to use force based on those conditions. Do not box in any law enforcement officer. You are breaking the law when you do that. And you are putting yourself in danger."
The superintendent said he called the news briefing to dispel reports that Chicago police did not respond to the incidents and were ordered to stand down, which he said were "absolutely not true."
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Snelling offered the following timeline of events:
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As proof, he said 27 of his officers were exposed to tear gas that federal agents deployed in an effort to remove protesters.
However, Fox News previously obtained what appears to be a dispatch log indicating the chief of patrol did appear to order officers to stand down.
"The facts - radio tapes and the dispatch message screen - speak for themselves," a retired high-ranking officer told Fox News Digital. "Snelling is in a tough spot, first dealing with the politics and the rhetoric."
Snelling, for his part, said he would never order officers to hold back when other members of law enforcement were in need.
"I would not tell our officers to stand down, because if our officers were in trouble and we needed help from other officers, I would expect those officers to step in and help us," he said.
Additional information is expected to be released Tuesday as the department continues to review the incident, Snelling added.
