The city is moving to give Chicago police officers the power to smash car windows if pets are trapped inside the vehicle during extreme weather—and the cops appreciate it.
Approval for the ordinance that would allow police and animal control officers to free endangered animals by breaking vehicle windows was recommended to be approved Monday by the City Council Finance Committee. Illinois has a state law allowing authorities to conduct such rescues, but the city said it wanted to fine tune the language with its own ordinance.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, introduced the bill last summer.
“Finally made some progress to protect our best friends,” he said in a Facebook post Monday. “More work is necessary, but this is a good first step.”
The Chicago Police Department seems to be in agreeance with Villegas.
“We appreciate the Council's support,” department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in an email. “This ability will aid in our efforts to help safeguard pets that may be in distress.”
Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, said he might try again to get an ordinance passed that would allow Chicago residents—not just cops—the power to bust windows and save pets, the Chicago Tribune reported.
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“Even though the law says I have to wait for police and animal care, if I see a dog in a car dying, I’m going to break the window myself,” he told the newspaper.
