CHICAGO – State Senator Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) issued the following statement after a video of a woman being harassed by a white man for wearing a Puerto Rican flag shirt as an officer for the Cook County Forest Preserves stood just steps away:

“It’s unacceptable that an officer would sit idly as a woman is verbally attacked for displaying her Puerto Rican heritage on her shirt. There is no room for this type of racist behavior at our forest preserves, and there is especially no place for women or minorities to feel unsafe with an officer present.”

“As a person of Puerto Rican heritage, I am especially offended and disappointed by the lack of support the woman received. My hope is that both the officer and her harasser face the proper consequences for their actions.”