FYI!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Fellow Sergeants,
We here at SCS have a website/blog that we created to service a need for a forum that at this time PB&PA is not providing. Our new president has asked for patience from the membership to get things up and running. That's fine but until then brothers and sisters we hope you use this site to air out your beefs and throw out suggestions to better our position in the department. Please spread the word to other sergeants that we exist.....we may take another idea from SCC and get business cards printed and distributed with the site info.

By the way we are averaging about 250 visits a day...thats roughly 10% of what SCC gets in a day. Since Sergeants make up approximately 10% of the ranks we'll take it for now.

PROGRESS!!!!!

Click on the Sergeants Association Website..........I guess you can call it progress.

UPDATE: last night the site had a message "coming soon" and that was it. Well we just checked and it's back to last updated "01/06/2005"( so much for progress)

NYPD SHOOTING

The recent police shooting in New York of Sean Bell is very similar to the 1999 shooting of Amadou Diallo. Both Diallo and Bell were "unarmed" and approximately 50 bullets were discharged in both cases. In both cases there was great community outrage and accusations of police overreaction by both the press and politicians.
The officers in the Diallo case were tried criminally and appropriately acquitted.
A video recreation of the Diallo shooting was produced by former NYPD Detective, Beau Dietl. Dietl recreates the shooting from court transcipts. We bacame aware of this video from Dietl's appearance on the O'Reilly Factor where he and Bill O'Reilly were making a case for the involved officers. See the entire video at Beau's website a must see.

POLICE SHOOTING IN 003

Last night at 67th & Prairie in the 003rd district officers were involved in a shooting TRIBUNE officers shot the armed offender in the leg. Great the idiots already think we should unarm offenders in that manner.
The best news is no injuries to the involved officers. John Franklin is sure having a great first couple of weeks.

In the United States approximately %78 of the population considers itself Christian and statistics show that nearly %95 celebrate Christmas. So now the City of Chicago in all its infinate wisdom has decided that a movie (NATIVITY) can not be advertised at a Christmas festival known as Christkindlmarket at the Daley Center. Why?

"Our guidance was that this very prominently placed advertisement would not only be insensitive to the many people of different faiths who come to enjoy the market for its food and unique gifts, but also it would be contrary to acceptable advertising standards suggested to the many festivals holding events on Daley Plaza," Jim Law, Mayor's Office of Special Events.

Brilliant! You go to a Christmas festival and you see an add for a movie about the birth of Christ and you're offended. Are you kidding me? This is a perfect example of the illogical logic of political correctness. In essence that logic would rather offend a majority in order to not be insensitive to a small minority.

RETIREMENT

An article that one of our readers felt was important reading. We couldn't agree more.

FORBES MAGAZINE -
Billion-Dollar Retirement Rip-Off
Neil Weinberg, 11.27.06

In a move that could have far-reaching consequences for a $140 billion industry, the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office has filed a class action charging units of Nationwide Financial Services with receiving illegal kickbacks from fund companies whose products it included in public employee retirement plans.

The suit, filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, near Nationwide’s (nyse: NFS - news - people ) headquarters, seeks as much as several hundred million dollars and aims to include as plaintiffs some 7,600 other public employee retirement plans that are Nationwide customers.

The suit involves so-called 457 retirement savings plans, which are a public-sector equivalent of the 401(k). The 457 market, with $143 billion in assets, is dominated by variable annuities, which are bundles of mutual funds or separately managed accounts bundled into life insurance policies by Nationwide and other vendors. Variable annuities have been widely criticized as poorly disclosing what are sometimes excessive fees.

The Orange County suit claims that over the past decade and a half, Nationwide received kickbacks from the firms whose funds it included as investment options based on a percentage of plan assets gathered. Insurers refer to the payments as revenue sharing. To critics, they smack of pay-for-play. In the Orange County Sheriffs’ case, Nationwide’s fees were frequently equal to 2% to 3% of assets annually. The plan recently switched to a Vanguard-based plan that cut fees by roughly two-thirds.

ELIMINATE 6 DAY WEEK!

While we here in Chicago are fighting to eliminate the 6th work day LAPD has a system they love and certin politicians want to eliminate it.

LA Daily News
Report shows response times slow, court overtime up
BY RICK ORLOV, Staff Writer
A new report showing that the LAPD's flexible work schedule has slowed response times and boosted court overtime revived debate Monday over the effectiveness and value of the agency's three-day, 12-hour workweek.
City Councilman Bernard Parks - who was police chief when the 3/12 schedule was adopted over his objections in 2001 - said he believes that the report from City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka demonstrates the program has failed.
"Response times are higher, we have fewer officers on the street and I don't believe it has done anything to either help us keep officers or hire new ones," said Parks, who wants the Los Angeles Police Department to return to a traditional workweek.
Parks' successor, Bill Bratton, said he would not defend the 3/12 program - which is wildly popular among officers - but wouldn't criticize it, either. Roughly 70 percent of the LAPD officers work the 3/12 shift, with most of the others working 10-hour shifts four days a week.
"It is something we have to deal with," Bratton said. "It does make it difficult but you have to look at what's been accomplished since it took effect. Crime is down, way down, over the past four years. Officer morale is up and citizen satisfaction is up.
"It's kind of like that old commercial, `Where's the beef?'
"The long-term answer to our staffing problem is hiring the 1,000 more officers that the mayor wants. As a matter of fact, under 3/12, we are able to have the equivalent or more officers on the street."
Bratton said he could resolve manpower shortages immediately if the City Council budgeted more money for LAPD overtime. This year's budget includes $76.4 million for overtime for roughly 9,000 sworn officers, compared with $107 million for the Fire Department, which has 3,000 firefighters but mandates full staffing.
"The fact is they have more overtime money available for full staffing than I do," Bratton said. "We could dramatically increase the number of officers on the street by paying more overtime."
And Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who opposed the 3/12 plan when he was on the City Council, said he does not want to change it now.
"At this point, it is part of the department's benefit package," spokesman Joe Ramallo said. "The mayor is concerned that dropping it could jeopardize our ability to hire 1,000 new officers, so he wants to keep it in effect."
Fujioka's report did not make any recommendations, but laid out a variety of divergent findings:
Overtime paid to officers who have to testify in court on their off-duty days has jumped 8.5 percent, while those required to stay on duty after their shift ends has dropped by 4.4 percent.
The number of hours officers are off duty because of illness has increased because of the calculation of longer shifts, even as the number of officers calling in sick has dropped.
So-called Part 1 crimes - murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault - have increased 1.7 percent, but violent crimes, which include other offenses, have dropped 5.2 percent.
Response times went from 10.2 to 6.7 minutes for emergency calls; 8.5 minutes to 11.5 minutes for nonemergency calls, and 18 minutes to 26.9 minutes for routine calls.
The LAPD changed its response system in May 2004, expanding the type of crimes that warranted a lights-and-sirens response to a 911 call. Fujioka said he did not determine how much the change in procedure impacted his findings.
Fujioka could not determine whether the 3/12 schedule had impacted recruiting.
But Councilman Dennis Zine, a retired police officer and director of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said he was convinced the flexible work schedule had helped retain officers.
"I think this report shows we have to continue with 3/12," said Zine, who also is a member of the City Council's Public Safety Committee.
"If we stop this, we will lose thousands of officers working for us now and not be able to hire new officers."
Phyllis Lynes, who oversees police hiring for the Personnel Department, said there is no way to determine whether the 3/12 schedule impacts recruiting and retention efforts.
"Every month is a struggle to get applicants," Lynes said. "I would have to believe it is helpful to offer it since other police agencies have it as well. It is just part of what you have to do to attract candidates."
Bratton said he believes that as long as other law enforcement agencies offer a flexible work schedule, the LAPD needs to be competitive.
"My goal is to see us hire all the officers we need and the fact is we are faced with what other cities are offering and that is part of it," Bratton said.
But Parks said the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and other agencies are abandoning their 3/12 programs.
"I recognize that officers like this, because it gives them so much time off," Parks said. "But the question is: Who are they working for? They work for the city and their job is to provide for public safety."
Officials with the Los Angeles Police Protective League have said they are not prepared to give up the flexible schedule and will insist that any changes be negotiated.
"Crime rates are down in Los Angeles, officers are working more hours and have improved morale," PPL President Bob Baker said.
"The report from the city administrative officer does not look at the flexible work schedules in the context of outside influences. We are confident the City Council will agree with us that it has been a positive change for the LAPD."
rick.orlov@dailynews.com

CAPTAINS

Here is the list:

Nagode 001
Roberts 006
O'Donnell 006
Raymond 006
Parra 007
Denk 013
Forlenza 126
O'Neill 126
Bay 141
Elmer 170
Angarone 189
Graeber 189
Schmitz 214
Pilipuf 253
Thompson 384
Trahanas 543
Gibson 601
Batrich 650

Anyone with info as to where the openings are for the new Captains?

STANDOFF ENDS

Early this morning, according to the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, a hostage standoff on the south side has ended nearly 24 hours after it bagan. At this time not many details of how it ended are being reported but it is known that 2 are dead.

APOLOGIES

We apologise for being away since the morning of the 22nd. Much has happened since then. Thanksgiving Day we spent with our families.

Nice to see the SUN-TIMES do a good story on a true hero. U.S. ARMY Staff Sergeant Bryan Anderson lost both his legs and an arm in Iraq. Let him know how much we appreciate his service and his sacrafice at a site set up for Sgt Anderson by the SUN-TIMES

Same Old Shit!

Well our favorite columnist at the
SUN-TIMES is at it again. Mary Mitchell and her tired rhetoric about race and the injustice heaped upon young black men is at it again.
The arrestee and the subject of one of her past rants was released from custody after a finding of "no probable cause" in a robbery case. As if no PC is a declination of innocence. Just spend a day in a felony branch and watch all the hypes walk out for no PC due to the weight of the dope not in the strength of the case.
Ms. Mitchell couldn't just tell this kid's story and celebrate the perception that the system worked in his case. No she had to go on her usual race baiting sanctimonious tirades where conspiracy theories reign supreme.

Jemelle swore to police, to his mother and to me that he had nothing to do with the assault. He is a "B" student, captain of his school's basketball team, and has no arrests or convictions on his record.

Hello felony review.....we have one for a strong armed robbery....however we have a problem.......he swore he didn't do it.....and he's a "B" student and captain of the basketball team...........felony charges denied!

Had these young men been suburban, white and first-time offenders, they would have probably been given a "station adjustment."
That's when a parent is hauled down to the police station and between the parents and the cops, the teen is made to see the error of his ways without being hit with formal charges

Really! Where the hell does this columnist get her information? Oh that's right she was picking the brain of one of Chicago's foremost legal scholars...R Eugene Pincham.
Ms. Mitchell, according to Illinois Compiled Statues, a juvenile is a person under the age of 17 and "station adjustments" apply only to juveniles. So white or black, suburban or urban, first time or multiple offender, Mr. Lloyd wasn't eligible for a station adjustment since he was 17 at the time of the crime. Do facts matter to you Ms. Mitchell or were you just misinformed by Judge Pincham?
Then we are left with these pearls of wisdom from the Judge "The judicial system and the police department need to be more sensitive. That is why the jail now is full of black folks,"
Personal responsibility and moral fortitude is no longer a requirement to keep a young black man out of jail. The need to be more sensitive by both the police and the judicial system would be the preferred route. Great lesson Judge!

"He Doesnt Own Any Weapons!"

"He Doesn't Own Any Weapons!" according to Michael Smith's fiance. As if that has anything to do with the attempt disarming of a police officer. A news conference was held today by family members of Smith and community leaders of Woodlawn. The Chicago Tribune had a crack staff on hand to ask tough questions concerning the communities allegations. Right! The Tribune uses the term "allegedly" when describing the actions of Smith as described by the police but the word is never used when describing the action of the officers when described by "alleged witnesses".

Rev. Leon Finney Jr., chairman and chief executive of the Woodlawn Community Development Corp. and president of The Woodlawn Organization, said it had been years since a shooting of this type had occurred in the community.

He said his organization has asked Police Supt. Philip Cline to conduct a full investigation, preferably by an independent body, in five days and report to the community.

Why is it Reverend that you prefer to give the benefit of the doubt to a convicted dope sligging felon to that of a young man (police officer) who puts his life on the line every day. An investigation is being done but I'm sure it will conflict with the information that you gathered from the regular mutts that "hang" at 63rd and Evans. Where is your indignation when these shitheads kill each other or shoot an innocent bystander?

CLOUT!

We found an article the other day in the Chicago Tribune about Illinois State House Rep. Edward Acevedo. It appears State Rep Acevedo wears many hats; he is a member of the Illinois Legislature(asst majority leader) ,a leader of the Hispanic Democratic Organization and a Chicago Police Officer. This story reeks of stupidity and the politically connected. Officer Acevedo may have some problems with the medical section but his brother is the real star in this story.

SHOOTING IN 003

A man trying to disarm a Chicago police officer was shot to death Saturday afternoon during a struggle on the South Side, officials said.

Police got a tip about 4 p.m. that a man wanted in a robbery was in the 700 block of East 63rd Street with two other men, police spokesman Pat Camden said.

Two officers responded and asked the men to remove their hands from their pockets, Camden said.

Two of the men complied, but the third instead walked toward the officers. After ignoring two more warnings, Camden said, the man tried to grab one officer's gun.

"The officer was about to lose control of his gun," Camden said. "He fired one shot that struck the man" in the abdomen.

The unidentified man in his early 20s was pronounced dead at the scene.

His companions were being questioned Saturday night, Camden said.

SHOTS FIRED IN 006

From the Chicago Tribune

A gunman who fired at a Cook County sheriff's deputy outside his South Side home this morning was spotted shortly before by Chicago police officers bailing out of a car that crashed into a light pole, authorities said.

The officers were westbound on 83rd Street when they saw a late-model Buick, also heading west on 83rd, driving erratically and weaving before crashing into the pole near 83rd and Michigan Avenue, police said.

The deputy saw one of them hiding behind bushes in his yard around 4:50 a.m. and the other hiding in a neighbor's, Kuemmeth said. When the deputy went to confront them, the man in his yard fired at least one shot at him and missed

The deputy's wife called 911, identified herself as the wife of a Cook County sheriff's deputy and said, "My husband needs help. He's trying to hold two offenders and they have guns," Kuemmeth said.

Her husband and the Chicago officers managed to arrest the accomplice, who tried to run away, in the 200 block of East 83rd a short time later, he said. Police also found a handgun in the Buick.

But the gunman got away on foot.

BUDGET

The city council approved Daley's budget proposal yesterday and yes the vote was unanimous however grumblings where heard from a few aldermen.

But in his comments, Ald. Ed Smith (28th) assailed City Hall corruption, saying there was "no line item" in the budget for wrongdoing in the scandal-plagued Hired Truck Program, timesheet scams or criminal activity.

"We have cheats, connivers and crooks who want to rip off this budget," he said. "There are some people out there who seem to be bent on doing the wrong thing, and it makes us all look bad."

"Thank you," said Daley, clearly peeved. "Make sure you meet the inspector general. I will have him in your office tomorrow morning. Thank you. We'll make sure he'll be in your office. Thank you."

Daley stated that he made that comment as a joke and inferred that the IG took complaints so he would send him to hear any complaints Smith might have.
Sounded like a threat to us. "We'll make sure he'll be in your office. Thank you." to hear your complaints? More like to look into your own dealings Mr. Smith.

Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th) won mock applause from Daley after delivering a speech in which she criticized inequities between African-Americans and whites as well as city jobs given to members of the pro-Daley Hispanic Democratic Organization.

I can picture his beat red face on the verge of exploding.

MORE INDICTMENTS

Today the SOS four faced a new round of indictments. Sun-Times

OH REALLY!

In todays Chicago Tribune the Mayor tries, with a straight face, explaining how compromise works in the city council.


For most of his tenure, the council has been compliant, but Daley bristled at the suggestion that it has been a rubber stamp.

"I have to work with each of the aldermen," he said. "I keep legislation in committee to work out compromises. I am a great compromiser. I don't have all the answers. They don't have all the answers."

Later Monday, an alderman who had been pushing to hire 100 new police officers over the mayor's opposition said they had reached a compromise.

Ald. Thomas Allen (38th) said after a council Budget Committee meeting that he was satisfied by the Daley administration's plan to aggressively fill vacant police positions with new hires.

Budget Director Paul Volpe told the committee that 179 of 222 positions that were vacant on Jan. 1 have been filled since June, and the remainder will be filled by year's end

Last year when certain aldermen made a push to create Fred Hampton Way we remember one particular alderman oppose it. Alderman Allen actually attended a FOP general meeting and explained to the membership that Fred Hampton Way would never see the light of day. Last month we posted a story in which Alderman Allen voiced his desire to see red light camera revenue be used to bolster our manpower with the addition of 100 new policemen. Alderman Allen's heart has to be in the right place however, it appears Mayor Daley presented him with a "compromise". Now that's a compromise! The city filled 179 of 222 vacant positions and the rest will be filled at the end of the year. It appears that the alderman got zero new hires and the city has filled
roughly 80% of existing vacancies with a promise to fill the remaining 20%. How in the hell is Ald Allen satisfied with this? Alderman Allen got nothing and in the end we get screwed. Thanks for trying Alderman but until the lemmings of this city stop electing the tyrant your opinion means nothing.

VISITS

FYI....Every few days we like to review our visitor stats. We usually average about 225 visits a day. We're sure that represents a fraction of the visits that SCC receives but we have a much smaller target audience. We have received visits from Canada, UK, Australia, China and Germany.

FROM SCC

From our friends over at SECOND CITY COP


OFFICER SAFETY ALERT
In Areas 4 and 5.

Until further notice, ALL JOBS dispatched will be handled by a 10-4 car OR two one-man cars PLUS a Sergeant.

Evidently, FOXNews was more on the ball than our own Department when they broadcast the report that the new breeds were seriously targeting a Chicago Police Officer or Officers.

This represents a complete 180 degree turn from what was read to us at roll calls for the past week.

Maybe someone can address the hideous manpower shortages now? We saw that last week on midnights, a couple of districts in our Area were averaging 4 cars DOWN for the ENTIRE TOUR. That's about a third of the District manpower for any civilians or media types reading the blog. We are stretched so thin, it isn't even funny now.

Be careful out there.

CORRECTION? ADDITION: We're being told by a couple of people that this is for the 1st and 3rd watches only, responding cars are TWO two-man cars PLUS a Sergeant (5 total). The Districts are assumed to be in immediate RAP beginning 3rd Watch. Conflicting reports have TRU and SOS deployed to Areas 4 and 5 and rumors abound of Tact and Gang teams in uniform.

LAPD

You be the judge! Tonight we heard that statement over a dozen times on all the news shows. The sad thing is that the average Joe who watches the selected 19 seconds of this arrest will come away shocked and outraged. We put this video up here because we know you the professional police officer will come away with the same opinion as we did "reasonable force was used to effect the arrest"

TRIBUNE
According to testimony at Cardenas' preliminary hearing, Schlegel (identified officer) said he and his partner were in their patrol car when they spotted Cardenas drinking beer with two friends on the corner of Fountain Avenue and Gordon Street. Schlegel said he recalled that Cardenas had a warrant for failing to appear on a charge of receiving stolen property. In later testimony, a transcript of which was obtained by The Times, a gang expert identified Cardenas as a member of the Gordon Street Locos.

Farrell (identified officer) yelled for the men to put their hands up, but Cardenas took off and they chased him a short distance. Schlegel said he caught up with Cardenas, tripped him, then pushed him in the back, "causing him to fall forward, and his face bounced off the sidewalk."

Schlegel said he got on top of Cardenas, who then tried to hit him with his right fist and left elbow. Schlegel said Farrell caught up to them and joined the struggle.

Schlegel said Cardenas was "grabbing at me, at my clothes. He grabs at my belt, I could feel my belt being tugged on, my holster move." Farrell warned his partner to watch his gun and punched Cardenas twice, according to Schlegel. Cardenas complained two or three times that he couldn't breathe, "but we're not going to let him up. He's gonna get away," Schlegel testified.

The officer said he then used pepper spray on Cardenas and called for backup. The officer testified that he was cut on his right little finger and that Farrell hurt his left thumb and had difficulty closing his right hand, which also had a cut knuckle.

Commissioner Ronald Rose, in ordering Cardenas to trial, found that "the response of the officers was more than reasonable under the circumstances."
Rose acknowledged the video was violent, but said, "The issue here is not whether the officers had to use force. The question is whether or not the defendant used force in resisting the lawful arrest, and I find that he did resist, using force."

Rose went on, "The obligation of citizens is to stop and allow themselves to be arrested and not use force against the officers. And when a citizen chooses to use force against the officers, they are entitled to use force in return."

Rose noted the officers did not draw their weapons in the video, and said there was no testimony they used a baton or weapon "which might have resulted in death or serious injury to this defendant. At worst, they used their fist and they used their spray."

Police action recorded at poor quality from one angle frequently is unclear and misrepresents the story," said Bob Baker of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. "This is why it is important to know all the facts in a case and not rush to judgment."

But the ACLU's Ripston said the LAPD's handling of the incident had eroded public confidence in the department.

AHHHHH yes the ACLU.... You take 19 selected seconds of an arrest of a convicted felon whose goal at this time is to make good his escape by fleeing, battering and possibly attempting to disarm an officer and your confidence is eroded. We can only hope one of these self righteous ACLU types is the victim of an in progress crime and upon arrival of the police the offender flees and the coppers just watch him run. Would that build your confidence?

Our Future Direction

We now have "change" for better or for worse. After last nights elections the votes have been tallied and the results are in. It appears that the Democrats have control of the House and probably (after recounts) control of the Senate. The most likely result of Democratic control of legislature and Republican control of executive will be gridlock, unless the President sells out to Pelosi and crew i.e. Rumsfeld resignation. What was the cause for this change in power? Most pundits believe it to be the war and how it has been executed. The problem in our opinion is most Americans don't take into account how it will be executed in the future with a lame duck president and an opposition congress. This leads us to an article we read in REAL CLEAR POLITICS where the author sees this "change" leading us to abandoning Iraq. The author is Canadian and can not be accused of being a Republican operative.

G.P.S. devices have been installed in over 130 department vehicles according to the SUN-TIMES . The vehicles that the devices were installed in are assigned to SOS. John Risley states that the decision to purchase the devices was made long before the SOS scandal. We always knew this was coming but the scandal probably sped up the process.


"Absolutely, this could be a disciplinary tool," Risley said. "Is that a reason why we're buying them? Absolutely not."
The primary reason for the devices is to ensure officers' safety when they are on patrol, Risley said.


Risley states that if an officer is lost or injured we could find them. Who is he kidding? This is purely for the tracking of cars. If this is really just about safety then how come the first cars to receive the devices were from SOS? Granted there will be an added benefit of safety but we think that aspect of it will occur on the rarest of occasions.
What will our roll be in all this? Will they put a program on our PDT’s so we can monitor their every movement or will that be the responsibility of the watch commander? Regardless, if your logs aren’t on the up and up you now have a motivator to rethink your approach to logging your cars.
According to the article the information from the G.P.S. devices will be a treasure trove for lawyers. No more I’m following a vehicle at 25mph and the monitor indicates 70. Every pursuit now has the additional information of duration and speed ready for review by the department. This along with the future additions of cameras and hard wired mikes in the cars will certinly limit our ability to use discretion when dealing with the average copper

DNA unit to hunt down rapists

SUN-TIMES

Seven of the Chicago Police Department's most experienced sex-crimes detectives are part of a new DNA squad that will specialize in chasing rape suspects.
Such a DNA unit was first suggested several years ago when Chicago Police officials saw how DNA -- which gives the ability to scientifically link a crime scene to a suspect -- was going to affect investigations.

And it has -- in 2003, there were 174 DNA hits for cops to chase; in 2005, that number stood at 897.

The number of hits has soared, in general, because the statewide DNA database is swelling each year as more felons are required to submit DNA samples.

The hits include robberies, burglaries and homicides, and the newly formed unit will not be limited to sexual assault cases. But the majority of them are criminal sexual assaults, in part because of a fund-raising effort that helped get old rape kits tested.

And that means the department needed a particular kind of detective for the unit, said Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Maria Maher.

"They're all seasoned sex offender detectives," Maher said. "They know how to handle [the cases]. They're compassionate and have good clearance rates. They know how to talk to offenders, too."

The seven detectives will join three police officers in the new unit, which will be supervised by a sergeant.

The detectives come from all over the city and have years of experience working with victims of sexual assault and using DNA to secure charges against rapists, including some serial attackers.

They say years of experience has taught them how to approach victims, many of whom are shocked when they answer the door and see a cop standing there.

It's often painful to re-live the horror of the attack, and they are often reluctant to talk. Sometimes they're just surprised to find out anyone was still working on the case.


'Different type of crime'
One key piece of the work is figuring out if the named offender is a true suspect in the crime; just because his DNA is at a crime scene doesn't mean he did the crime, the detectives said.
Detectives need to track down the victims, witnesses and the suspected offender to piece the case back together.

"You have to be creative," said Sgt. Tony Kuta, who is on loan to the group and has worked several rape patterns on the South Side. "You have to be tenacious."

"It's back to good old-fashioned police work," added Detective Rita Mischka, formerly of the Harrison Area. "Knocking on doors."

Smaller units in the detective areas do this kind of work. But a typical workload at the area would also include following new cases and processing sexual offenders who have failed to register.

Recently -- after having just met with local advocates for rape victims -- the team said they looked forward to the narrow focus that will allow them to clear more of these cases. It's rewarding -- especially for the victims who were never believed in the first place.

"It's a different type of crime," said Detective Charles Morgan, a 10-year veteran. "It's a personal type of crime . . . a personal violation of a human body."

Man To Be Returned From Canada In 1969 Shooting

(AP) CHICAGO Thirty-seven years after an Army deserter who had joined the Black Panther Party allegedly shot a Chicago police officer on a South Side street, a top Canadian official has ordered him returned to the United States for trial in the 1969 shooting, according to a published report.

The former Black Panther, Joseph Coleman Pannell, now 56, was facing charges of attempted murder and aggravated battery when he fled Chicago while free on bond in 1973, the Chicago Sun-Tiimes reported.

Pannell been jailed since his 2004 arrest in a suburb of Toronto, where he had been living under an assumed name for more than 20 years.

One year ago, a judge in Toronto ordered Pannell returned to Chicago to face trial, but his lawyers appealed to Canadian Justice Minister Vic Toews, saying Pannell feared for his life and would not get a fair trial in the United States.

Toews denied Pannell's request in a written ruling Thursday, but Pannell's attorneys say they will mount one last appeal of Toews' decision, which will take at least six months.

Chicago authorities say Pannell shot former Officer Terrence Knox after Knox stopped him for questioning outside a South Side store.

Knox was partially paralyzed from three bullet wounds, and credits another officer with saving his life by using his finger to plug a torn artery in his left arm.

Under the name of Douglas Gary Freeman, Pannell had been working in recent years as a researcher at the Toronto Reference Library. He had married in Canada and raised four children.

Authorities say Pannell was tracked down and identified by a 23-year-old fingerprint. In 1983, he was working at Concordia University in Montreal when he was stopped at the Canadian border for trying to sneak a camera into the country. He paid a $300 fine. His prints remained on file.

BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION SYSTEM and PERSONAL CONCERNS PROGRAM

According to FOP..........Over the past few weeks some Lodge members have been placed into the Behavioral Intervention System improperly (C.R.'s) per Administrative Special Order 05-02.

The Lodge has initiated a grievance on Nov 3rd for members improperly placed into the Behavioral Intervention System under Administrative Special Order 05-02.

Members who have been notified that they may be placed into the Behavioral Intervention System or Personnel Concerns Program are asked to do the following, call the Lodge (312-733-7776) only after receiving documentation placing you into either program and ask for Sid Davis. It’s very important that hearing request is made within seven (7) working days of being presented with the Individualized Performance Plan (IPP) for the Behavioral Intervention System, or seven (7) working days of having attended a Personnel Concerns Conference.

Fellow sergeants please let your people know about this. From the word go this has been an absolute knee-jerk reaction by the department. Guarantee most coppers never even look at the FOP site to read updates like this one.....so lets give them a heads up.

OUTGUNNED! REORGANIZE SWAT

Over at Second City Cop they are running a piece about being out gunned at every turn. We have a suggestion of our own that could be used in conjunction with SCC’s suggestion. SCC feels that a gun safe should be installed in the sergeants trunk with 2 shot guns and 2 rifles with the sergeants and additional officers trained in these weapons. They feel that part of the problem is that the time needed for SWAT to respond is way too long and officer safety is compromised.
We couldn't agree more. We would love to see that implemented but taken a step further.
We recall an incident that occurred this summer where two members from SWAT had arrived about a half hour after a barricade incident was resolved. Here is where the problem lies. The first members may arrive within a half hour but for the entire team to be assembled and equipment in place may be up to 1 ½ hours after the first call for their assistance. We feel that the police officers of this department deserve a quicker response from those who are trained in SWAT.
We feel that dedicated SWAT teams should be stationed throughout the city. A possibility could be that each Area have its own team. The response times for a HBT situation would be reduced drastically. We think the city could learn from New York and implement teams much like NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit. These teams are used for high risk entries, SWAT and other emergencies that could confront a street copper in unusual situations.
We shouldn’t have to rely on a team who has the training to respond to a special emergency but is instead patrolling in various parts of the city trying to make a gun/dope pinch. The citizens of this city and the officers of this department deserve a team that can respond in a matter of minutes to our request for help when we are up against an ugly situation.

Cops detail shootout with gang 'hit men'

TRIBUNE

Read all about the shootout between Gang Intelligence and New Breed "Hitmen"

SHUT YOUR MOUTH KERRY!

“Yesterday Democrat Senator John Kerry was speaking to a group of young people in California, and gave them this advice, quote: “You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t you get stuck in Iraq.”

“The Senator’s suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful. Our troops did not enlist because they did not study hard in school or do their homework. The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer Armed Forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots – and Senator Kerry owes them an apology.”
-President George Bush-