CPD Officer With Ties to Proud Boys is Suspended

AP News is reporting that a Chicago police officer with ties with the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, was suspended for 120 days but won't be fired, the city's watchdog agency has announced.

The Office of Inspector General, after a 'lengthy investigation', found that an unnamed in the report officer engaged in activities relating to the Proud Boys. The officers name was not included in the report, but in a previous Sun-Times article Officer Robert Bakker acknowledged that he took part in Proud Boys group chats, and the police department confirmed that Bakker was, in fact, the subject of the investigation.

The investigation into the links between Officer Bakker and the Proud Boys was first reported on two years ago. Since that time, the group has been labeled as 'extremist' by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that tracks hate crime groups in the USA. The Proud Boys has also found itself at the center of investigations regarding the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol.

A former group leader and members are now on trial in Federal court in regards to their Jan. 6 actions.

According to the AP article, Officer Bakker, who was also under investigation for not disclosing to the police department that he was under FBI investigation, could not be reached for comment. The police department declined to comment.

The inspector general's office determined that a police department investigation by its internal affairs bureau found that Bakker “made a contradictory statement” about his participation in a Proud Boys' chat group and lied about attending a Proud Boys sponsored barbecue, the newspaper reported.

Bakker has acknowledged to the Sun-Times after being contacted for an article about him in 2020 that he posted messages on the Proud Boys Telegram channel but maintained that he was never a member of the group.