Chicago police squad car, meet Lake Michigan. Seven-foot lake waves, meet the Chicago police.
Unusually rough waters and high winds greeted beachgoers, joggers and bike commuters Tuesday evening, and soaked more than a few. This police squad car was patrolling the beach near Oak Street around 6:30 p.m. when a wave rose up over the concrete path and smashed into it.
Michael Dziadus, 52, was at the beach with a friend taking photos when it happened. Dziadus, a "serious hobbyist" photographer from Mount Prospect, Ill., said the squad car was driving along the beach, "keeping an eye on things," when the waves hit.
Some of the photos were posted on WGN Meteorologist Tom Skilling's Facebook page Wednesday afternoon, and commenters questioned the judgment of the police officers driving the car.
"the cop wasn't paying attention to his "current" situation. I'm "shore" he learned from his mistakes," wrote one commenter named Cynthia Saucedo.
"To save money, the city has cut back at the car wash for its vehicles," wrote Dave Benjamin.
Dziadus said critics of the officers are off-base.
"They were by no means driving around having fun in the water or anything like that," he said. "The photo I took just before, they were on the nice, dry bike path, and then this wave comes crashing in, hits the wall, and consumes the whole area. We even got wet, and we were way over by the wall along Lake Shore Drive."
Police officials said the car was patrolling the bike path to provide extra safety for the pedestrians and cyclists, and the waves did not damage the car or injure anyone.
"A wave hit the concrete edge and sprayed the car, which appears more dramatic than it actually was due to some great timing and excellent photographic skills," said police spokesman Adam Collins. "The car was safely on concrete at all times, sustained no damage and is now very clean."
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