December 23, 2020
National Muslim Organization Calls For Resignation of Chicago Police Union President Over Islamophobic Comments
Emgage Action, a national Muslim American advocacy organization, calls for the resignation of John Catanzara, the President of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7. He wrote of Muslims: “Savages they all deserve a bullet.”
Between 2016 and 2018, he wrote over 17 social media posts that are currently being investigated. These posts were written prior to him being elected to his leadership position.
“Catanzara’s comments are horrifyingly Islamophobic, and indisputably promote violence against Muslims. It is further infuriating that he was elected as President of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, despite him making such gruesome comments prior to his appointment. Police brutality is a grave issue in our country, and this is an example of the failure on the part of the Chicago Police Union to conduct a simple background check to ensure that individuals hired for such positions do not espouse such racist and problematic biases. We call for the immediate resignation of Catanzara, and an investigation into the Chicago Police Union’s racial bias screening procedures in their hiring processes.” – Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action
Emgage Action is a Muslim civic advocacy organization, with national headquarters in Washington, D.C., and state chapters in Michigan, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York.