Crown Point Community Leaders Angry At Town’s Depiction on “Chicago P.D.”
The mayor of an Indian town is asking that NBC issue an apology for the racist depiction of the city on a May 10th episode of “Chicago P.D.”
“It was just a very bizarre episode, I thought,” Uran told The Chicago Tribune . “Obviously the story line isn’t true. We have never had a case like that here in Crown Point. Just the way it engaged the image of our city was a little disturbing.”
Uran doesn’t normally tune into the program, but after he was contacted by numerous constituents he watched the episode and says he was shocked at what he saw. He claims that the fact the show used a real place for a fictional storyline could give a false impression that the incidents COULD have happened there.
The episode, titled “Army of One,” revolves around the murder of a black man after he’s released from jail for the rape of a white girl, which he was accused of when he was a star athlete in high school. Just minutes into the episode, police interview the man’s aunt who claims he never raped the girl, stating she was his girlfriend. She says, “They were just kids. They put him in jail for having relations… Because she was white and that don’t fly in Crown Point.”
That’s the line that has the community and its mayor up in arms.
“Even if the incident was real and it was 30 to 40 years ago, they made it sound like it was happening yesterday. Everything felt like it was within the realm of possibility that it just took place. We know it’s not true. Other places in our viewing area may believe it,” Uran said.
The episode also shows investigators going to Crown Point to interview the young woman — who is depiced as living in a trailer park — and her current boyfriend, who is drinking in a dive bar.
Uran says the city was depicted unfairly and the show could leave an inaccurate impression on millions of viewers who have never visited Crown Point.
“We work hard everyday. When I say we, it’s the people who live here and invest their dollars here. We have low crime rates. People maintain their properties. It is not the way they portrayed the city. All they had to do is change the name,” Uran said.
Along with Uran, Rev. Mark Wilkens of First United Methodist Church and Speros Batistatos, president and CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority are calling for an apology from the show. Batistatos even suggests the apology should take place in downtown Crown Point so producers and writers of the show can see the city for the beautiful place they believe it to be.
What do you think? Are these community leaders being extra? Or is it only right that they defend their city? Would you be upset if your hometown was named as the setting of a horrible racist event?
Courtesy PHoto
