Top Cop McCarthy: Violence At Gang Funerals 'Way Out Of Control'
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Dec 3, 2012 11:20PM
Chicago police anticipate violence at funerals for gang members, especially those who have been murdered, and they ramp up police presence to account for it. However, police did not anticipate violence at St. Columbanus on Nov. 26, but gunfire left 21-year-old Sherman Miller dead and another person critically injured.
Miller was also at a previous funeral where violence broke out. In a video posted to YouTube (see below) Miller, gun in hand, mocked the increased police presence at the funeral for Joseph “Lil JoJo” Coleman. The Sun-Times writes:
The Brick Squad is in a feud with a faction of the Black Disciples linked to popular 17-year-old rapper Keith “Chief Keef” Cozart. JoJo and Keef’s associates were locked in a war of words when JoJo was gunned down Sept. 4.On the day JoJo was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery, police received a call about shots being fired nearby at 115th and Kedzie. Gang officers, some carrying rifles, searched vehicles in the area and found a loaded .45-caliber handgun in one car. At least two people were taken into custody.
“This video shows how brazen these guys are,” Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy told the Sun-Times. “We have been working these funerals for a while. These guys are driving in and out of traffic, hanging out of windows and have firearms. This has gotten way out of control. We have to ramp it up to make sure this behavior stops.”
Police did not expect gun violence at the Nov. 26 funeral for James Holman, 32, and they do not believe Miller's death was gang related either. Instead investigators "suspect Miller may have been shot on the church steps because he had been robbing drug dealers."
Watch the video of Miller at Lil Jojo's funeral below.