I'm astonished nobody has commented. Am I the only one surprised by this? Or are people afraid to comment (as were some people, according to the article).

It's not at all out of character for the CPD, actually:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Police_Department#Cont...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Zuley

Seems this item was flagged and this alternative link ended up on the HN frontpage instead: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9105549

All under the watch of our Nobel Peace Prize winning president's former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.