Is the Chicago Police Department now requiring its officers to ask for consent before arresting criminals? No, that's not true: The claim came from a satirical website, and a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department said the claim is "not accurate."
The story originated in The Babylon Bee, a conservative news satire website (archived here). It was then published on Facebook on May 22, 2021. The headline and beginning read:
Chicago Police Now Required To Ask For Criminals' Consent Before Arresting Them CHICAGO, IL -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot has announced new rules for the Chicago Police Department, declaring that officers must ask for a suspect's consent before arresting him or her.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook on May 26, 2021:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Wed May 26 14:40:10 2021 UTC)
Lead Stories emailed the Chicago Police Department's Communication and News Affairs team on May 26, 2021. Their response the same day was:
No, that headline/claim is not accurate. Arrest procedures are outlined in the links below: Restraining Arrestees and Field Arrest Procedures.
The spokesperson sent Lead Stories two directives (linked above), neither of which have the word "consent" in them nor require the officer to ask for consent.
Lead Stories has written other stories about satirical posts from The Babylon Bee. You can read those stories here.
