Dupage Policy Journal

Darren Bailey, a candidate for governor, recently expressed his thoughts on the Naperville shooting involving a police officer. 

A video has been recently released to show what transpired before the shooting. The Naperville Police Department initially had only released a photo of the suspect holding an axe. 

“A viral video shows the quick thinking and bravery of a Naperville, Illinois policeman who neutralized an attacker wielding an axe," Bailey said in a statement. "Such a brazen and vicious attack upon law enforcement sadly flows from a culture of disrespect for police that is fostered by radical politicians, including both JB Pritzker and Richard Irvin.” 

While Bailey believes "there’s nothing that’s wrong with Illinois that can’t be fixed" he blames the governor and his allies for how bad the state is being run.

“JB Pritzker shows regular and callous disregard for the carnage of the streets of Chicago, which led the country with over 800 murders last year in 2021 under his governance. His political allies, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, allow an entire city to devolve into lawless mayhem. But as the Naperville video starkly reveals, the violence is hardly contained to just Chicago. The suburbs become far less safe, as well, thanks to the feckless job performance of establishment politicians. Regarding the suburbs, as his own city was literally burning during the 2020 riots, Mayor Richard Irvin of Aurora had the gall to state that he was “conflicted” about the destruction of lives and property,” he said.

Bailey, a well-known conservative Republican, has emphasized hard work, individual liberty and social responsibility in his campaign. 

“Today, there is a political class that is ignoring our values and harming American families," he said. "Illinois needs a leader that is one of us.”

Irvin once stood up for the Black Lives Matter protesters, claiming that he understood the necessity for "disruption" of small businesses in order to persuade their owners to extend greater "justice and fairness" to blacks, the Dupage Policy Journal reported.

“I saw the drones overhead as things on fire, police cars on fire. You know my downtown just on fire, people destroying things. I was conflicted – in one sense I am the mayor and I’m saying, 'This can’t happen in my city, I refuse to accept this is happening,'” Irvin said in a video released after the BLM riots in Aurora. "And then on the other hand I realize unless there is some type of disruption in what we want here in our country, things won’t change. Just to simply knock on somebody’s door and say I want equity and fairness without disruption and without anything behind just doesn’t work. Disruption that needs to happen for real change to occur. So what can I do as mayor, to ensure that we have the change necessary?” 

The video released by Naperville police shows a hatchet-wielding suspect who charged an officer. The officer’s dashcam footage showed the attacker before the officer-related shooting, who was killed by the officer in the incident. 

The deceased suspect was identified as 28-year-old Edward Samaan of Naperville, according to CBS News. Prior to the incident, the officer, a 22-year veteran of the police department pulled over a vehicle at Bond Street and McDowell Road for running a stop sign when Samaan came. The authorities are still trying to find out if Samaan is related to the individual pulled over by the officer.