It’s not a stretch to believe that Mayor Lightfoot or her hand-picked police brass minions are not aware of that old saying attributed to Napoleon  Bonaparte,  “an Army marches on its stomach.” One of the first functions of any commanding officer is the condition of those who serve under them. To be effective, an army relies on good and plentiful food. Since Napoleon was a student of Alexander the Great, it’s my guess he flitched it from the great general.  Nonetheless, it certainly has applied and does apply today, not only to troops in battle and on the move but to all walks of life when large groups of people are called upon to perform at their peak. Of course, this extends to water, rest, and equipment, and in the modern world, and in our cities of course places to relieve our bodies of that good food and water.

I’m old enough to share a time and place with you that I think demonstrates, how pathetic and clueless leadership could learn from old Napoleon. Back in 1968, the city of Chicago hosted the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, at the International Amphitheatre. The Convention was scheduled to begin on the 26th of August and run through to the 29th of August. However, someone in their great wisdom, decided that Chicago’s cops would be posted to their assignments beginning on 23 August. This meant that we were on those posts for 12 hours from noon to midnight. When the convention finally got underway those hours extended from noon to well past 5 am, in order to try and stem the riots that engulfed the city. When it was finally concluded, the behavior of the police was deemed a police riot by a study undertaken by the Governor of Illinois and a select panel.

The intensity of the demonstrators, Molotov cocktails, flying bricks, bottles filled with urine, cans of excrement, and many more flying objects, had the police actually defending themselves as well as the demonstrators defending themselves from the police tactics.  A cluster fuck of mammoth proportions. The cops no doubt have to share some of the blame for the mayhem. However, the inept and clueless police leaders and politicians must share some of that blame. Imagine after 3 full days of 12 hours shifts, then 4 more days of 17 and 18-hour shifts going home to rest for a few hours before returning to the mayhem.

There was no provision for water, they provided some with a box lunch (that said compliments of the 11th ward Democratic Organization) the box contained one sandwich with white bread and a piece of baloney with a splash of mustard and an apple that William Tell once discarded. Remember there was no bottled water in those days, very few fast-food restaurants, so for 17 or 18 hours that Napoleon saying was nonexistent. Add to that there was no place to relieve yourself except in parks or on sidewalks, and you had a beleaguered embattled force that was not fit for the challenge. Now, lets skip to a few weeks ago, but before I do I want to point out what medical experts have to say about the consequences, dangers, and fatigue that working long hours cause.

People who work long hours or overtime hours experience numerous mental,  physical, and social effects. Significant effects include stress, lack of free time, poor work-life balance, and other dangerous health risks. The science says that working long hours is associated with a 60% jump in risk of cardiovascular issues, performance levels are deeply affected as well as tiredness, fatigue, and an alarming lack of attentiveness. Notwithstanding all that, add to the chaos a raging crowd, throwing bricks, bottles, and other objects, setting fires, looting, and overturning police cars and one can understand the situation from a different perspective. This is what Chicago cops faced over the weekend of 29 May thru 1 June. Some were dropped off in certain areas in buses, fought with looters and rioters, no food, or water, or places to relieve themselves. It was a complete failure of command, a political fiasco by a Mayor who was totally unprepared.

The City and outlying areas were devastated by rioters, the cops were greatly outnumbered, and yet when it came time for criticism the brass and the Mayor were front and center. The Mayor and Congressman Bobby Rush actually held a press conference in the afternoon, breathlessly condemning some cops for being in the Congressman’s office after they stopped the looting, using the facilities and brewing some coffee and according to BOBBY RUSH having a few bags of his popcorn at 5 am, after the 18th hour of being isolated and forgotten by command. Now we get the Truth starting to ooze out.  The cops saying they were assigned to guard the Congressman’s office and him saying they were not supposed to be there. Time will tell, but it’s a sad commentary that the City was looted and totally unprepared and all City leaders could do is shift the blame again on the police.

After all that has taken place the Mayor a few days ago has ordered the cops back on 12-hour shifts, the worry being that another police-involved shooting in Atlanta would once again trigger violent protests. Well it’s day 3 and it hasn’t happened yet but a very jittery  Mayor is determined not to get caught unprepared again, sooner or later she may run out of people to blame. Her history shows she’s always the second one to admit her mistakes. No lessons from 1968, no lessons from last month, the political GENE pool caught short again without a lifeguard.

As I’m writing this the Police Union President is preparing a court case to prevent the City from again placing cops on 12 hour days. If Chicago’s leadership hasn’t learned the lessons and dangers of long grueling hours by cops under siege, let’s hope there are really some robots that can answer the call and save the city. Humans are having a hard time. There are no Napoleon’s or Alexander’s in this city.