In what is probably an excellent lesson of how you shouldn’t be bragging on social media if what you’re doing is not exactly legal, former wrestler Hulk Hogan unwillingly got a police officer from the Chicago Police Department in trouble for a ride he got last week.
While leaving the Chicago O’Hare International Airport with his longtime manager and a friend (who was filming the whole thing for a Facebook Live video that has since been removed from the star’s page), Hogan got a chauffeured ride in a police car from the officer assigned to the airport. He got the star treatment, too, as the officer turned on the sirens at Hogan’s request.
A snippet of the video is available at the bottom of the page. The video went live on August 2 and was taken down shortly after, following criticism from Hogan’s fans. The Chicago PD also took notice of it and has now launched an investigation into the officer, the Chicago Tribune writes.
“My Uber’s got a siren,” Hogan jokes at one point in the 3-minute video. “We love Chicago PD! Yes, sir. Chicago PD for life.”
After asking for the siren to be turned on, Hogan tells the officer that he wouldn’t want to get him in trouble, to which the cop replies that his sergeant is down with it. They talk about how crowded the baggage claim area is and how this, riding in a cop car across the tarmac, is the best way to avoid unwanted attention.
As it turns out, the sergeant wasn’t down with it at all. Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department, tells Fox News that the ride was “not authorized by the department,” and Cmdr. Thomas O'Brien, of airport operations, “had no knowledge that it was taking place.”
“The video came to the attention of the superintendents office this week and it is of significant concern. An internal affairs investigation has been opened into the officer and supervisors at the airport,” Guglielmi adds. “We are in the process of revoking credentials for the officer to operate a vehicle on airport grounds pending the investigation.”
So far, no word on whether the officer has been suspended for the duration of the investigation or whether that’s even a possibility once it concludes.
A snippet of the video is available at the bottom of the page. The video went live on August 2 and was taken down shortly after, following criticism from Hogan’s fans. The Chicago PD also took notice of it and has now launched an investigation into the officer, the Chicago Tribune writes.
“My Uber’s got a siren,” Hogan jokes at one point in the 3-minute video. “We love Chicago PD! Yes, sir. Chicago PD for life.”
After asking for the siren to be turned on, Hogan tells the officer that he wouldn’t want to get him in trouble, to which the cop replies that his sergeant is down with it. They talk about how crowded the baggage claim area is and how this, riding in a cop car across the tarmac, is the best way to avoid unwanted attention.
As it turns out, the sergeant wasn’t down with it at all. Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department, tells Fox News that the ride was “not authorized by the department,” and Cmdr. Thomas O'Brien, of airport operations, “had no knowledge that it was taking place.”
“The video came to the attention of the superintendents office this week and it is of significant concern. An internal affairs investigation has been opened into the officer and supervisors at the airport,” Guglielmi adds. “We are in the process of revoking credentials for the officer to operate a vehicle on airport grounds pending the investigation.”
So far, no word on whether the officer has been suspended for the duration of the investigation or whether that’s even a possibility once it concludes.