Earlier this month, local and national news outlets reported on videos posted by an activist in Englewood that depicted Chicago Police officers parking an unmarked truck filled with merchandise in the neighborhood, with the intention of arresting anyone who tried to break into it. In one of the videos, the activist confronts the police officers monitoring the "bait truck," one of whom replied, "No one touches it, no one gets locked up."
According to Vox, the truck (which contained Nike Air Force 1 and Christian Louboutin shoes) was left at multiple sites in the South Side neighborhood as part of an operation arranged by the Norfolk Southern Railway police that was meant to deter cargo theft. The "bait truck" operation was used to lure thieves and ultimately led to three arrests, according to the Vox report.
Vic Mensa was just one of several prominent Chicagoans who took notice of the "bait truck" incident and the impact that it's had on the community.
The rapper's SaveMoneySaveLife foundation gave away thousands of shoes to Englewood, a low-income South Side neighborhood