Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy's success in Chicago "will take time," said New York and Chicago police expert Franklin Zimring, a University of California, Berkeley, professor. “The mayor has to give him time.” But a key alderman said his caucus is facing pressure about the top cop's performance.  CHICAGO — Garry McCarthy is a Bronx bull in a Midwest china shop, determined to confront the painful reality of crime in Chicago — even as some officials call for his badge.  McCarthy has shaken up the management of police districts. He moved 200 cops from desk jobs to the street. And he’s refocused Chicago’s emergency response system, allowing 911 callers to file less-serious reports by phone or at local police stations. The move, begun this month, is intended to free up cops to respond to serious crimes in progress.  Chicago’s top cop has heard a chorus of criticism as the body count rises.  “People often don’t like change,” McCarthy told the Daily News. “I’m trying to bring accountability. Some accept it and love it; others don’t.”  “Do I feel like a bull in a china shop?” he asked. “Yes. I am a bull in a china shop.”  McCarthy, 53, is a former New York City cop straight out of central casting. His dad was an ex-Marine-turned-cop who fought in legendary World War II battles in the Pacific. The father joined the NYPD in 1947 and found himself in a 1953 Bronx shootout with four holdup men, killing one and winding up a hero featured on a Daily News front page that the son keeps copies of in his office.  For his part, the younger McCarthy — the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department — joined the NYPD in 1981. He rose to captain and deputy commissioner of operations under three commissioners. And he was responsible in New York for running Compstat, the computer-aided crime strategy and management system replicated nationwide.  McCarthy used some of his New York know-how to drive down crime for four years in Newark, drawing praise from Mayor Cory Booker for his police strategies. But critics say he was never able to connect with members of the community.  RELATED: 19 WOUNDED IN CHICAGO SHOOTINGS  Named Chicago’s top cop in 2011, McCarthy has the city’s escalating homicide rate as his toughest professional challenge. The violence — there were 506 murders last year — has thrust McCarthy and his department into the national spotlight.  McCarthy shows no signs of cowering in the wake of the task ahead. He doesn’t seem to be the type to falter under pressure.  “I played football with the NYPD team. I’m a linebacker.” he told The News. “I’m used to it.”  Still, the heat is on.  Several Chicago aldermen suggested last week that unless the number of homicides starts dropping, they might push for McCarthy’s exit. Aldermen had two meetings in which the police superintendent’s name came up.  Alderman Howard Brookins said that if matters didn’t improve, McCarthy could be vulnerable.  “I won’t be able to stop my members (the City Council’s black caucus) from calling for his head, because the public is calling for our heads,” Brookins told The News.
If the task at hand weren't difficult enough, the self-proclaimed Bronx 'bull in a china shop,' who has a successful track record in New York and Newark, faces an ever more strident chorus of criticism from those who say things are taking too long to change. In 2012, there were 506 homicides in Chicago.