The Chicago Police Department on Tuesday denied Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's claim that he met with a "top" Chicago officer and argued the city's violence would not be solved with "tough police tactics."
"We've discredited this claim months ago," CPD spokesperson Frank Giancamilli said in a statement. "No one in the senior command at CPD has ever met with Donald Trump or a member of his campaign."
Trump said in an interview Monday that he believed Chicago's violence could be stopped using "tough police tactics," telling Fox News' Bill O'Reilly that he met a "top" Chicago officer who reportedly said he could "stop much of this horror show that’s going on" within a single week.
Trump added that he knows officers in Chicago who would put an end to violent crime "if they were given the authority to do it," a claim that Giancamilli refuted.
"Beyond that, the best way to address crime is through a commitment to community policing and a commitment to stronger laws to keep illegal guns and repeat violent offenders off the street," Giancamilli added.
Trump told O'Reilly he didn’t ask the officer for specifics on the plan because he isn’t the mayor of Chicago, but added that police would be "much tougher than they are right now."
"I’m sure he’s got a strategy," Trump added. "I didn’t ask him his strategy."
Trump also claimed that he submitted the officer’s name for some sort of job.
"I sent his name in and I said, 'you probably should hire this guy because you have nothing to lose,'" Trump said. "Look at what’s going on in Chicago, it’s horrible. This guy felt totally confident that he could stop it in a very short period of time."
Trump's campaign told the Chicago Tribune Tuesday that he did not specifically say the officer he spoke with was in senior command, but rather he "spoke with some talented and dedicated police officers on a prior visit."
It's not the first time Chicago police have disagreed with Trump's claims.
During Trump's failed Chicago rally, which was canceled due to violence concerns, the candidate said he met with law enforcement before canceling his appearance. CPD said in a statement, however, the department had not advised Trump's campaign to cancel the rally and did not issue any public safety threats or safety risks.
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