Several inmates that applauded as the alleged killer of Chicago police Cmdr. Paul Bauer was escorted from a court hearing Thursday will be transferred to different jails and the state’s attorney will be notified of their actions, a Cook County Jail official said.
More than a dozen inmates watched from a holding cell as accused gunman Shomari Legghette, flanked by guards in green uniforms and black vests, was escorted from his court hearing. Several of them can be seen applauding in jail security footage obtained by NBC 5.
None of the men in the cell, who were waiting to see a judge, have had trials yet—including those who clapped. But the jail plans on notifying the state’s attorney’s office of their behavior to be considered in their upcoming trials and possible sentencing if they are convicted.
“Certainly engaging in such despicable behavior goes toward the character of the person,” Cara Smith, chief policy officer for Sheriff Tom Dart, said in a brief phone interview.
The inmates will be transferred to one of 10 Illinois jails outside of Cook County, Smith said.
The Cook County State's Attorney's office declined to comment Thursday night.
Prosecutors said Thursday Legghette shot Bauer six times in a stairwell outside the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago earlier this week. Officers had attempted to stop Legghette for a field interview after observing him acting suspiciously in a known drug area on Lower Wacker Drive, authorities said. Bauer was in the area after undergoing active shooter training and responded to the radio call about a fleeing suspect before he was killed.
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Legghette, a four-time felon, was charged with first degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, armed violence and possession of a controlled substance. He was wearing a ballistic vest and armed with a 9 mm handgun with an extrended 30-round magazine at the time of his arrest, prosecutors said.
Bauer leaves behind a wife and 13-year-old daughter.
Asked if she had any additional comment on the inmates applauding for Legghette, Smith was vexed.
“What a world,” she said.
