Sunday, November 18, 2007

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH



This is the last time you will be able to link to the Sun-Times from this site! As a matter of fact I will never pick up that rag sheet ever again. Today Frank Main and Annie Sweeney do another hatchet job on the men and women of the Chicago Police Department. In their front page headline grabber titled "Mistakes cost city, not cops" these two equate settlements with wrongdoing.
• • Twenty-five lawsuits stemming from shootings cost taxpayers $27 million between 2002 and 2007. The figure includes a 2003 award of $9.6 million in the shooting of Northwestern University student Robert Russ, but not a 2001 settlement of $18 million in the shooting of LaTanya Haggerty.

• • None of those 25 shootings led to an officer's firing or a suspension of a year or more, according to Chicago Police Board records. Twelve of the shootings happened in the 1990s and the rest were in the last six years.

• • Of about 200 Chicago Police shootings between 2002 and 2006, the Office of Professional Standards recommended firings in at least five cases and lesser discipline in at least nine. OPS -- now operating under a new name to reflect reforms being made within the agency -- reviews police shootings and recommends discipline.

• • Of those, no on-duty shootings cost an officer his or her job. Only one officer was fired -- for shooting his girlfriend in the foot while off-duty, according to OPS records.

• • One officer remains on the job despite his involvement in two shootings that resulted in settlements, records show.



The funny thing is Frank is relying on Second City Cop for how "officers" are feeling about the new OPS procedures in the shooting of an offender in 15th district the other night.
Already, officers are privately complaining about how OPS investigators aggressively grilled the officers involved in the rapper's shooting, treating the officers like "offenders."


If Frank really wants to use SCC as a source for his writing then maybe he should go back and see how most officers feel about the city settling lawsuits. We see these settlements all the time and it is demoralizing because it gives the impression that what transpired was wrong. I on the other hand understand the cities logic for settling these suits but they have given rise to the John Loevys of the world.
Frank grabs a line from SCC and assigns it as the prevailing opinion of the rank and file. I talked to two sergeants that were on scene and in the area for the investigation and never were the officers treated like offenders.
There obviously are times that scandals occur and the press has a duty to report it but the day to day vilification of the Chicago Police Department and the men and women who work it has got to stop.

Boycott the Sun- Times!!!!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, thats right. Give the shooting victims family the cops house and car! Throw the coppers family into the projects. Have every officer march thru the westside to apologize to them for their crimes against humanity!

Anonymous said...

You made a decision on a dark night in the rain when you were outnumbered and in unfreindly territory.
No matter what happened in that blink of an eye, everyone reviewing the situation will have years in a bright office to look at what happened. Witnesses will get paid off or see stories in the media.
If the political winds start blowing, forget it. You could be Sgt. York and still get indicted.

Someone mentioned Haggarty & Russ. If that circus doesn't show just how screwed up things are than you have lived in a cave for too long.
The Russ case went to trial, all the way to a jury. Even a Crook Cty jury blamed Russ in part. But the city had to find scapegoats. Two P.O.'s got a sustained CR#'s after the charges were changed 3X!!

I can't even criicize anyone that only shows up on the 1st & 16th.
Just be careful till all this settles down.
Be safe!

Anonymous said...

how about we sue every asshole that hurts us? Every IOD means we contact a lawyer for our pain and suffering!

Anonymous said...

..."attorney Kevin Rogers, former Chicago Police Officer...?


Ambulance chaser scum trying to get credibility on a short lived CPD career- what's the story on him?

BurbCopsChicago said...

Every copper in the U.S. should call in sick on a pre-determined day...
let everyone fend for themselves...
Call it National Night Off
After 24 hours of no police they'll be begging us to shoot people...

Anonymous said...

i have alaways said the police never had a friend in the states attorneys office in my carrer the worst egotisical sarcastic bastard i ever ran into was a asshole named Bernie Murray i saw him chew a copper out in front of other police and office staff on a case the stae screwed up a homicide if i recall they are real cute cutting each others ties off on a conviction etc but if they didnt have a clout or wired family member they would be writing wills in the projects for social workers great site pour the coals to them retired from 007

Anonymous said...

actually the photo of the guy laying in the stairwell is a ohoto of a 007th district tact guy taken after a watch party over on ashland ave

Please keep in mind that this is an open blog
that can and is read by people other than Chicago Police Officers.