3rd Chicago Cop Reprimanded For Post Of Protest Photo With Flag

CHICAGO, IL — For the second time in a week, the Chicago Police Department has reprimanded one of its officers for making a political statement while in uniform. In a widely shared photo, a uniformed police officer stands before a department SUV with a sign saying, "I stand for the anthem," "I love the American flag" and "I support my president and the 2nd Amendment." The image was first uploaded to the personal Facebook account of officer John Catanzara, along with the message "2 sides to a story," before being posted to the Chicago Code Blue page Tuesday evening and spreading rapidly.

Two days earlier, a photo posted to Instagram showed two officers in uniform kneeling and raising a fist alongside an activist in the lobby of a South Side precinct. The symbolic pose was in support of ex-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Kaepernick, who began kneeling last year to protest inequality, police brutality and racism. President Trump reignited the controversy last week with a call for NFL owners to fire any players who refuse to stand for the national anthem.

The two officers were reprimanded for violating department policy against participation in any "partisan political campaign or activity." Both officers pictured kneeling are black. They have not been publicly identified. The officer who posted the picture in support of President Trump is white.

"Mayor Rahm Emanuel praised other CPD officers for taking a knee," said an accompanying message on the Chicago Code Blue page. "Will he also praise this officer?"

Emanuel said on Tuesday he wants officers to increase trust and engage with members of the communities they serve, according to the Chicago Tribune. The two kneeling officers were caught "between two different aspirations," and ended up violating department policy.

"The rules prohibiting officers from making political statements while in uniform will be applied consistently," CPD's chief spokesperson, Anthony Guglielmi, said Wednesday. "This will be no different."

The officers will be reminded about rules regarding political statements on the job during a roll call training, while the police union declined comment in either case, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

ProPublica Illinois reported that Catanzara, the officer who posted the flag photo, was recommended for firing five years ago after a police oversight board determined he was working a side job while on medical leave. He has also been suspended seven times for misconduct, making him one of the top seven officers in number of accumulated suspensions in the 22 years he's been with the force. He has received 22 commendations from the department in the same period.

DNAinfo reported that after the photo was widely shared online, Catanzara was fired from a security job at a charter school and reassigned from his post at Hubbard High School in the West Lawn neighborhood.

Catanzara did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"What is political about my pic? It's patriotic," commented Catanzara below his photo.

"There is a difference but clearly not everyone understands that," he wrote.

» Related: 2 Chicago Cops Reprimanded For 'Taking A Knee' Photo

_{Top photo: Image captured from John Catanzara's Facebook page | Facebook}