Chicago cops caught sleeping while on duty in viral photo to face disciplinary action

Images of two Chicago police officers sleeping while on duty were widely shared online over the weekend, which prompted an investigation by the Chicago Police Department.

After an internal investigation, the officers involved will now face disciplinary action, Patrick McGinnis, the Chicago Police Department's spokesperson, told ABC News.

The images were first shared by a public Facebook account under the name “Breed Stank” with the caption: “Y'all see why crime happen[s] make this go viral Facebook family.”

Over 22,000 people shared the post since Aug. 18, including Ja’Mal Green, a mayoral candidate for Chicago and a vocal activist.

Green wrote in a Facebook post Monday that the photo shows why the department’s new policy of deploying 600 additional officers and its overtime initiative to combat violence in the city is a “bad idea,” adding “militarizing communities does NOT reduce violence.”

Lori Lightfoot, another mayoral candidate, also expressed her condolences on Twitter Monday to the families affected by the violence this week, saying policing isn’t enough.

“It’s about poverty and reversing decades of disinvestment through quality schools, social services, career training, and job opportunities,” she wrote in her tweet.

McGinnis confirmed the incident occurred Saturday morning in the 009 district, which is central Chicago, and the officers “will be disciplined.”

The Chicago Police Department responded to the photo in a statement Tuesday: “Officer welfare, health, and safety are among our highest priorities. The officers involved in this incident were not on an overtime initiative and worked minimal amounts of overtime since July 1 and didn’t work overtime this week or weekend.”

This incident comes after Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson stated on Monday in a press conference that the city had “another unacceptable violent weekend” where police reported that 58 people were shot and six of whom were killed.

Johnson addressed the crime statistics, expressing the anger and frustration he shared with the families affected by the city's gun violence issue.

Although the police are making “good progress” crime is continuously driven by the city’s rampant illegal gun problem and the lack of accountability the judicial system holds against repeat offenders, Johnson said.