Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Chicago Police Officer Under Investigation After Apparently Letting Hulk Hogan Ride In Squad Car Along Airport Tarmac
“My Uber’s got a siren,” the professional wrestling legend says in the video.
A Chicago police officer is being investigated after he was caught on video giving former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan a ride in his squad car — with the sirens blaring — at the airport earlier this month.
Video posted on Hogan’s Facebook page on Aug. 2 shows Hogan sitting in the front seat of a police car as they ride along the tarmac of O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois with the sirens on full blast, the Chicago Tribune reports.
“My Uber’s got a siren,” Hogan said at one point in the three-minute clip, later adding, “Chicago PD for life.”
Hogan’s manager, Jimmy Hart, rode in the backseat during the ride and can be heard telling the officer, “Don’t get in trouble doing this,” Fox News reports.
The officer then replied that his sergeant was “all for it,” according to the Tribune.
At another point in the video, Hogan and the person holding the camera talk to the officer about a large crowd that had gathered at the baggage claim area. The officer later says, “That’s why I don’t have a problem doing this.”
The clip has since been deleted from Hogan’s Facebook page, but an internal affairs investigation has been launched concerning the officer, who is reportedly stationed at the airport and who gave Hogan the ride while he was on duty, multiple outlets report.
Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department, said Monday that Hogan’s ride in the squad car was “not authorized by the department,” Fox News reports. Airport Operations Commander Thomas O'Brien, who presumably oversees the officer in question, “had no knowledge that [the ride] was taking place,” according to Guglielmi.
“The video came to the attention of the superintendent’s 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 told the outlet.
The officer’s behavior in the clip “poses a significant risk to the officers and overall aviation safety on the airfield,” and, as such, the superintendent was “furious” when he saw the video, Guglielmi told the Tribune.
He confirmed to the paper that the officer, whose name has not been released, will lose a certification that previously permitted him to operate a vehicle on the tarmac, pending the results of the investigation.
The Tribune was unable to reach representatives for Hogan and Hart for comment on the video.
