By Pamela Brown and Mary Kay Mallonee
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is looking to transfer approximately 20 agents to Chicago in an effort to “beef up” the federal presence in the city, two federal law enforcement officials told CNN Friday.
The additional agents will form a new task force, which the ATF referred to in internal documents as the “Chicago Crime Guns Strike Force” in an effort to stem the city’s gun violence.
The increase, one official said, has been in the works for some time and is not in response to President Donald Trump tweeting last week that “If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on … I will send in the feds.”
The second official, however, could not say for sure Trump’s comment had nothing to do with decision, considering its timing.
There are currently more than 40 agents assigned to the Chicago area, so the surge would increase that force to more than 60 agents.
Two law enforcement officials tell CNN that ATF headquarters in Washington sent out a bulletin to field offices around the country on Wednesday looking for agents to volunteer for permanent transfer to the Chicago area.
One official said it’s unusual to ask for permanent relocation in reaction to a specific problem. Typically, it would just be a surge of agents for 30 to 60 days. The bulletin notes there have been 4,386 shootings and more than 750 homicides in 2016 alone, which is a 58% increase over 2015. It goes on to say, “ATF is committed to helping Chicago law enforcement partners to prevent and reduce these violent killings and assaults.”
Trump’s tweet did not specify what was meant by “feds” but some had questioned whether he intended to send in the National Guard. Last week, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the guard would not be welcome but he would appreciate federal help.
“You want the federal resources that are set up to deal with that,” Emanuel said at a press conference last week. “That is the ATF, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. That is DEA, Drug Enforcement Agency. That is FBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigations.”
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