14 YEAR OLD DETAILED TO 003

What can I say that hasn't already been said over at SCC? At last glance the original post was at 469 comments. That's a lot of opinions, some are sarcastic and some are right on, while others are just plain hilarious. In the end its an embarrassment for the second largest police department in the United States. The officer that rode with the habitual impostor will be second guessed from top to bottom. She is definitely the easy target but lets not forget that the desk called her in to work with him. Will the sergeant who had the traffic car on his log be crucified? Where does the watch commander on 2nd watch fit in all this? What does this say about the quality of recruits that the academy has been producing when this kid can't even raise suspicion because he is no worse than past recruits sent to 3. Better yet how about the culture of our department that allows people to freely flow in and out of the station to conduct all sorts of business from bust out shoe shiners to Streets and San workers to swipe out. Security is nonexistent. In the suburbs 4 inches of bullet proof glass and key cards separate the police from the citizens but not here in Chicago.
There will definitely be a knee jerk reaction to this incident. I am not even going to guess on the discipline, if any, that will be taken. I only hope that a lone patrolmen and or a street level supervisor (sergeant) not be made the scapegoat in what can only be described as a monumentally embarrassing lapse in security.
Back in 1968 they chanted "The whole world is watching", and now in 2009 the whole world media from Australia, Germany. UK, Canada, Ireland and the rest of the US are reporting on this story. Does this put into question our ability to have a safe and secure Olympics? The 3rd District will never live this down.

By the way, this story made the Drudge Report, with its nearly 18 million hits a day.

GUEST POST

A letter from a reader

Hey SCS,
We all know that the state of policing in this city/country is bleak and deteriorating fast, but I’ve been bothered by several observations lately. The police on the ghetto streets are unprepared. I’m not sure who to blame for that - my list of suspects is long. Regardless, these young guys and girls need to step up their game. Too many times have I seen officers taking a load of shit from street trash that have no business handing it out. I’m not saying they should kick ass every time. Obviously those days have long since passed. However, we have books filled with remedies for just such situations. All it takes is a little time, a little typing and a little thought. Lock these people up! It is critical now, more than ever, to hold our ground.
This is a simple fact that has been true forever and bears repeating: if he gets away with m-fing you and your partner then he will surely up his attack with the next coppers he encounters. If he runs from you and is caught and set free because he ditched some unknown contraband, he has won. He will run every time, there has been no consequence. If he shoves you out of the way in order to run, come on. That’s an easy one. If he threatens to beef or sue and is subsequently let go, then whatever your reasoning was for not making the arrest, he will think it’s because he scared you with his threats. You’ve got good intentions, we know, but you are doing a disservice to the rest of us.
If you need to make a ‘pimpy’ arrest, so be it. These blogs can be our worst enemy. No one wants to be called ‘the hair-gel police’ or ‘the two-year wonder’ or ‘the pissing/drinking/crack-pipe police’. There are a lot of heroes sitting behind their keyboards making it sound like the only arrests that should be made are the ones that result in a prison sentence. Not so. Sometimes you just need to house ‘em for a little while to prove a point. You have a great power. Restrict their freedom for just a little while and you remind them of that. Take their shit when you have the authority to do so. You don’t need to be heavy-handed or use ‘creative writing’ or to use any other measure that would compromise your integrity or your job. Use what is at your disposal. You should be hard pressed to drive by any vehicle traveling in the ghetto, any person standing on a corner or any group of thugs walking down the street and be unable to find a handful of laws being broken or ordinances being violated. If during an encounter with them, they seem to be begging you to set them straight, by all means, comply.
Obviously this doesn’t just apply to street trash. Perfect point is the Alderwoman that attempted to bully the coppers on the north side. Sounds to me like she pushed, and thankfully, they pushed back. It needs to be done. We cannot send the message that we lose. Ever.
So thanks for allowing me to ramble. I just wonder where are the supervisors sending these officers out on the streets every day. Why aren’t they insisting on smarter police work from their officers? These coppers are smart, brave and professional and I personally expect a lot from them. What I don’t expect from them is that they become punching bags for anyone. That includes the mutts on the street, business owners or politicians, ASAs or even other cops or supervisors. Come on guys, stand up for your people and remind them that it’s ok to be the police. That they can be ‘modern’ police and still be effective. If you can’t guide them or advise them when they need it then maybe you need a little reminder of your mission, too.
And before anyone begins with the litany of criticisms, no, I’m not a company guy. I could give a rats ass about Jody or the mayor or anyone else that far out of my loop. It’s not about making numbers to make someone look good. It’s about holding our ground and doing our part to send the message that the police will not be stepped on or around. It’s about trying to keep a few coppers from getting their asses kicked or worse.

I couldn't agree with you more sarge.

If you have a topic you wish to be posted please drop me a line at cpdsarge@gmail.com

MORE GOOD MONEY WASTED

City OKs $2.25M to home invader's kin

by Fran Spielman

SunTimes

Ald. Bernard Stone (50th) voted against the settlement, declaring, “I cannot see giving taxpayer money to the family of a home invader. It encourages lawlessness.”

Are you kidding me? Alderman that cats been out of the bag for some time now. Law firms like Loevy and Loevy boast on their website that they have earned "$80 million in jury verdicts for our clients". A great deal of that money coming from settlements with the City of Chicago.
These "civil rights" attorneys hold press conferences and make statements that distort the facts of the case. They minimize their clients intent or even disregard it entirely. They grandstand and are given a public forum to do so via the mainstream Chicago media. The public never hears the side of the involved officer. All the public hears is the tragic outcome.

Attorney Don Shapiro, who represents the Salazar family, has called $2.25 million a “great settlement” for Chicago taxpayers.

“They were tucking tail, running away as fast as they could. There was no reason to shoot and kill this young boy. Police officers are supposed to arrest people. They’re not supposed to be judge, jury and executioner,” he said last month.

Here are the facts. The "boy" was only 14 but he was accompanied with his 26 year old accomplice. They were armed with a pellet gun, wore yellow ponchos and their faces were covered with a mask. These two misguided youths knocked on the door of an off duty policeman's parents house. They forced their way into the house and the officer's elderly mother began screaming that they have a gun. The off duty P.O. was in the basement and gave chase and fired his weapon striking both the offender and his own father.
720 ILCS 5/7‑5{a}.....he is justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm only when he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or such other person, or when he reasonably believes both that:
(1) Such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape; and
(2) The person to be arrested has committed or attempted a forcible felony which involves the infliction or threatened infliction of great bodily harm or is attempting to escape by use of a deadly weapon, or otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict great bodily harm unless arrested without delay.

The officer had every reason to believe that the two home invaders had committed a forcible felony which involved the infliction or threatened infliction of great bodily harm and that their escape would further endanger human life. My question for Mr. Shapiro would be, what if Juan Salazar was running from the officer and made good his escape by entering your home? Oh that's right, it was only a pellet gun.
Can you tell the difference in a split second?

SHE HAS EVERY RIGHT "update"

I received an email from one of my readers that I would like to share with you.

Dear SCS,
I think that maybe you should let the rest of your readers in on the nonsense that is going on in the comments of an old post. I stumbled across it by accident, looking for some old information. I doubt very much that any other readers will see it and I think they ought to. I’m sure that many of our colleagues, as well as other right thinking people may have something to say about this. Even if not, I think it’s worth sharing.
Brief description of what’s going on: On November 12th you posted about a murder victim’s mother and her reaction to the subsequent murder of her son’s killer. You titled it, very appropriately if you ask me, SHE HAS EVERY RIGHT. At the time of the post, there were very few comments, certainly nothing surprising. Then, on December 30th there appears some off-the-wall comment that has led to a little back and forth amongst SCS, this constant reader and a couple of morons that obviously support gangster life (and death). I just thought you might consider reprinting it and exposing these fools as what they are. (I have yet another response to the latest comments posted by these silly bitches, it is forthcoming).
Just a suggestion. Thanks

I agree with you and if anyone has not seen this post you can read it here.

PB&PA

Via PB&PA website:

Update: 04 January 2009
Previously we had presented a counter proposal to the City addressing the below captioned points. On 18 December 2008 we were scheduled to meet with the City’s negotiating team to discuss these issues. Shortly before this meeting the City notified our attorneys that they were still reviewing our counter proposal and requested additional time to respond. Since the City did not flat out reject our proposal we felt this was a reasonable request and a positive step in moving these contract negotiations forward.

Issues addressed in our counter proposal.

5 year contract
Inadequate wage & benefit package.
No increase in Watch Bids within District Law Enforcement (currently 5 per watch)
Changes to section 8.4 of the current contract.
Maintain sustained C.R. numbers for the entire career of the officer.
Inclusion of on-duty random alcohol testing
Mandatory alcohol and drug testing for any off-duty incident involving the discharge of a firearm.
Audio recording of all statements given by officers to I.P.R.A. and I.A.D.
We expect the next contract negotiating session will be in late January, but as of yet have not set a date due to scheduling conflicts on both sides. It is our intention, as well as the City’s to keep these negotiating sessions moving forward.

Since we already had scheduled a meeting with the City for 18 Dec 08, we suggested that we utilize the time to discuss the status of establishing a retirement health savings plan or VEBA (Voluntary Employee Benefit Association). This plan, if approved by the membership would allow for members to contribute pre-tax dollars to a health savings account to be utilized for health related costs during retirement. These plans have strict IRS guidelines which dictate how any plan is designed. The City is in the process of reviewing vendors and proposals for establishing a plan. Once we have the final proposal we will disseminate the information to our members for their review and approval. No plan will be agreed to or implemented until our members have had time to review it and vote on it.

Sincerely,

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association