AndrewBlakeChicago, IL – Jail officials said they plan to take punitive action against several inmates who clapped while the man accused of shooting and killing Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer walked past the jail cell (video below).
The Cook County Jail released surveillance video that showed five inmates applauding as Shomari Legghette was escorted past their holding cell by special response team officers after his court appearance on Feb. 15, according to WGN-TV.
Also, none of the inmates who clapped had faced trial yet, so jail officials said they were forwarding the video to prosecutors so that their applause for a cop killer could be considered in later sentencings, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“We are forwarding the video of this horrific and despicable behavior to the state’s attorney’s office with a request that this behavior be considered in the sentencing of the identified offenders,” said Cara Smith, chief policy officer for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.
Jail officials said they would transfer those inmates to another facility and called their behavior “despicable,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
Smith said the inmates would be transferred for “institutional purposes … so the jail can operate as it is intended.”
WGN reported the inmates could be placed in any of 10 counties across the state that work with the sheriff’s office.
Legghette, 44, was arrested for the murder of a high-ranking police officer who chased him in a stairwell of the Thompson Center government building on Feb. 13.
Police said Legghette fired seven times, and fatally shot the popular police commander.
He has been charged with first-degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of narcotics.
Cmdr. Bauer’s murderer was denied bond by a judge called him a “real and present” threat to the community.
Legghette had a lengthy criminal record that goes back 20 years, and included battery, armed robbery, and felony drug charges, WGN reported.
You can see the video of the inmates applauding below: