Chicago officer kneels outside police union HQ in uniform and holding Black Lives Matter sign, defying boss who threatened to kick out cops who do so

A Chicago officer has been pictured kneeling outside a police union headquarters, defying its president who threatened to kick out cops for doing so. 

In an image shared online the female officer can be seen in full uniform and holding a Black Lives Matter sign outside the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge #7 office.

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara last week warned any cop who kneels in solidarity with protesters they could be kicked out of the union. 

'I think it's almost a dare. It's a challenge for us to do something about it', he told Fox32 Thursday.  Asked if black lives matter, Catanzara replied: I believe all lives matter.'

Catanzara, who has been in office for only a month, had argued that it 'wasn't the time or the place to be doing that'. 

He described the act of uniformed officers taking the knee as 'ridiculous', arguing that some of the protesters were calling to defund and even scrap the police department. 

Chicago police noted the department’s code of conduct where 'failure to wear the uniform as prescribed' is listed as a violation. 

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A Chicago officer has been pictured kneeling outside a police union headquarters

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Chicago's new police union head John Catanzara had warned that any officer who kneels in solidarity with protesters could be kicked out of the union

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'Specifically this weekend, this was about defunding and abolishing the police department, and you're going to take a knee for that?

'It's ridiculous,' he told a Fox 32 Chicago reporter last week. 

His comments had already attracted criticism from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who told reporters during a press conference: 'I don't really think we should credit those kinds of really unfortunate comments. 

'I'm not going to dignify them with any further response.'

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His comments attracted criticism from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, pictured above 

Law enforcement officers and officials have been videoed across the globe kneeling in solidarity with demonstrators demanding justice for 46-year-old George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed in Minneapolis last month. 

In many instances, the protesters have been the ones asking the officers to kneel with them and the gesture has elicited cheers.

Yet not everyone is on board with the action, and some protesters have taken issue with officers kneeling, condemning it as a PR stunt that doesn't contribute to the movement.

Taking the knee is a widely recognized symbol of protest against police brutality and racism which is traced back to American football quarterback Colin Kaepernick's peaceful protest of kneeling during the national anthem.