Can Chicago’s mayor take the heat?
Mayor Brandon Johnson fled from members of the media who sought to question him on Thursday, according to WMAQ-TV video that later was disputed by the mayor’s office.
In the video, at least two different reporters were seen seeking Johnson’s comments on an arrest made in connection to the Shooting death of ChicagoPolice Department Officer Luis Huesca.
“Mr. Mayor, why do you have to run from us?” one reporter asked the Democratic mayor as he apparently fled.
Johnson reportedly was quick to reach a black vehicle in which he was surrounded by security.
“Mayor, we just want a comment about the arrest last night in relation to Officer Huesca,” another reporter said to him.
Another angle, shared by WMAQ’s Mary Ann Ahern, apparently showed members of the media pursuing the beleaguered elected official as he fled.
But Johnson’s office later told the media that it was wrong about the incident.
“That isn’t Mayor Brandon Johnson in the video, and the person that is being filmed running was trying to catch the car before it departed,” the mayor’s office said.
Meanwhile, members of Huesca’s Family had asked Johnson to refrain from attending the memorial of their slain relative on Monday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Huesca’s mother cited what she identified as Johnson’s lack of support for the ChicagoPolice Department in barring him from the funeral.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was similarly asked not to attend the event, which ChicagoPolice officers attended in droves.
Johnson has struggled with dealing with the Chicago press corps before, according to WBEZ.
It reportedly is rare that the Democrat openly answers questions.
“The City Hall press corps has turned hostile, openly frustrated with a mayor who is seldom accessible and evasive when he does take questions,” Chicago journalist Fran Spielman wrote of Johnson’s apparent difficulties.
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This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.