Lt’s Promotion Exam:

UPDATE 20 September 07
One year ago on 16 September 2006 the first part (written qualifying portion) of the Lt’s exam was administered. This upcoming 23 September 07 will mark three months since the Re-Test was conducted. As of this date the City has not issued any results or provided any information as to the status of the examination despite our inquiries. Through our attorneys we have brought this to the attention of the Federal Court appointed overseer. In addition, I have recently spoken with some Aldermen and requested that they make an inquiry into the status of this examination. We intend to stay focused on this situation and demand that the City, either issue the results or at the very least provide factual information as to the reason for the delay and the status of the examination.

This so-called testing process is not only an insult to our members that have put forth the effort in preparing for this examination, but further serves to demoralize our sergeants who serve as the first line of supervision for the Department.

John Pallohusky
President
Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association

ATTEMPT MURDER OF A POLICEMEN

Suspect shot after cop is hit by car

A Chicago police officer shot a man several times Thursday afternoon in Oak Park after the officer was struck by the man's vehicle as the suspect tried to flee, authorities said.

The officer was chasing the suspect's car on foot when he was hit and thrown onto the hood, police said. After yelling at the man to stop, "the officer, fearing for his life, discharged into the car, striking the offender several times," according to Chicago Police Deputy Supt. Patrick McNulty.

The unidentified suspect was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he was undergoing surgery Thursday afternoon, McNulty said. The officer, whom police did not identify, was transported to an undisclosed hospital, where he was in stable condition.



The incident began when Chicago police executed a search warrant around 10 a.m. at a residence in the 1000 block of Washington Boulevard in Oak Park, where they found a small amount of cocaine and two semiautomatic handguns, McNulty said.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery of the officer.

SERGEANTS ASSOCIATION

General Membership & Pizza Meeting
20 September 07 @ 1900hrs.
NEW LOCATION
Home Run Inn Pizzeria
6221 S. Archer Avenue
Chicago, IL 60638
773-581-9696

Guest Speaker – Steve Lux
City of Chicago Comptroller and
Pension Board Trustee

Go have some pizza and a couple of beers and find out whats happening. If you got any gripes this would be the perfect time to get involved.

AR-15

From the Drudge Report. The department recently changed the weapons order to now include the Glock and Springfield Arms XD among others. The Miami Police Department under the guidance of Chief John Timoney has decided its time to really arm its police.

Years ago, law enforcement specialists like SWAT teams were the only officers to carry assault weapons, but now even small town police agencies are expanding access to the AR-15, a civilian version of the military M-16 rifle.

Patrol officers in Danbury, Conn., have been allowed to carry the weapons since 2003. Police departments in Merced, Calif., and Waterloo, Iowa, have deployed them in all patrol vehicles for several years. In Stillwater, Okla., about 70 miles west of Tulsa, every police patrol officer is issued an AR-15.

Officers in Los Angeles have been equipped with the weapons even longer, soon after a 1997 gunfight outside a bank where police faced a man armed with an AK-47. Officers in that situation had to go to a nearby gun store to get high-velocity weapons.

Timoney said it has become apparent over the last year that Miami officers need the option of more powerful weapons.

At this time the department doesn't have the money to equip everyone but if an officer wants it now he has the option to purchase his own.

SCC AND THE SOUTHTOWN

Kudos to SCC
Read the article about Second City Cop in Sunday's Southtown
I was glad to see that the site was treated fairly. SCC had some issues about how it was handle but they too were pleased for the most part.
By the way SCC I didn't take issue nor was I insulted with the description of my site and the others as a "less successful imitators". When I started you folks were more than supportive of my new found hobby.

Great Job Sir/Madam, Guys/Gals

HOME INVADER SHOT BY HOMEOWNER

TRIBUNE

Off-duty copper is at home when he hears a noise and discovers his back door open. The copper finds a home invader. The home invader is at Christ Hospital recovering from a gun shot wound.

OFFICER SHOT

The shooting occurred about 10:30 a.m. in the 500 block of East Browning Avenue, in the Chicago Housing Authority's Ida B. Wells complex, police said.

The officer was at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition this afternoon, Starks said in a news conference outside the hospital.

"The officer is in stable condition and it looks like he's going to be OK," he said.

Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said the 55-year-old veteran officer has served the last five years in the police Public Housing Unit. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and his star at the time of the shooting.

Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery to the officers.

ROT IN HELL

Killer of 3 boys in '55 dies

Kenneth Hansen, a former horseman serving a 200-year sentence for the 1955 slayings of three young boys, a crime often blamed for ending a more innocent era in Chicago, died in prison on Wednesday.

The Schuessler brothers and Robert Peterson disappeared Oct. 16, 1955, after taking the train to the Loop to see a movie. Their naked and battered bodies turned up two days later in a ditch near a Northwest Side bridle path.

"I think he died too soon. He should have lingered," said John Rotunno, an ATF special agent who, with his partner James Grady, helped put together the case that led to Hansen's conviction. "I know one thing, he's not with those boys. I just can't talk about those kids anymore."

JUSTICE

Cop Killer Shawn Labeet


CUTLER BAY, Fla. — A gunman opened fire on four Miami-Dade County police officers during a traffic stop Thursday, killing one and injuring the other three. Police killed the suspect hours later, authorities said.

How refreshing, the word alleged isn't used.

HAPPY 25th

Friday, 21 Sep @ 0915 hrs
Wrigley Square at Millennium Park
Recognition Ceremony
Presenting our band and the NY bands with awards
45 minutes long

Friday, 21 Sep
Welcoming Party @ Excalibur 2nd flr
$25 per person in advance & $30 at the door
Open bar from 8p-11p
Call (773) 803-7262 for tix

Here's the biggee!!!!
Saturday, 22 Sep @ 7pm
25th Anniversary Tattoo (concert)
Orchestra Hall - 220 S. Michigan
Performances by NYPD Pipes & Drums, the Police P&D of Bergen County NJ, Mullane Irish Dancers, the Larkin & Moran Bros, Catherine O'Connell and, of course, us.
Tix are $25 & seating is General Admission. Buy tix at www.cso.org

COP KILLER MANHUNT IN FLORIDA

Manhunt Under Way After Gunman Shoots 4 Florida Police Officers, Killing 1

CUTLER BAY, Fla. — A gunman shot and killed a Florida police officer and injured three others Thursday, prompting a massive manhunt and a lockdown of several Miami-area schools, officials said.

Kevin Wehner, 30, fired a high-powered weapon and fled the scene after officers approached his vehicle for a traffic stop, according to police.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, a former police officer, said the "extremely violent" suspect "assassinated" a police officer.

"We need to find him as soon as possible and make sure that he's behind bars, where he belongs," Alvarez said.

The three injured officers are in serious condition, but expected to survive, said a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Police described Wehner as a black heavy-set male with a full beard and short hair, wearing a blue shirt. Authorities said he left his Honda near a canal.

Our thoughts and prayers with the officers and their families.

IT'S ABOUT TIME

Cop sues family of slain driver

A man hit a Chicago police officer with his car in 2005 and dragged him for 10 feet under the car's bumper, the police officer alleged in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

Officer Brian Rovano filed the suit against the family of the driver, Emmanuel Lopez, 23, who was shot to death by police during the incident on Sept. 16, 2005, near 37th Place and Kedzie Avenue.

But the Lopez family disputes that account, saying in their own lawsuit filed last year that police shot Lopez in the back and then conspired to cover up the incident.

This needed to happen a long time ago. These families have produce off-spring that would have never been able to produce an honest days living. The criminal offspring have become a source of a windfall for the families and lawyers at the expense of the tax paying citizens. This reminds me of the North Hollwood shootout where the family of bank robber,Emil Matasareanu, filed a lawsuit against the LAPD, officer James Vojtecky, and officer John Futrell [retired], in a wrongful death/civil rights violation lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges the police let him bleed to death.
Officer Martin Whitfield was one of the police officers seriously wounded early in the gun battle when an armor piercing round shattered 4-6 inches of his femur bone. He lay wounded and bleeding for most of the battle and lost 40% of his blood. Officer Martin Whitfield was forced to retire. Whitfield has since filed a lawsuit against Matasareanu's estate and the gun manufacturer. The lawsuit filed by the family of Matasareanu was declared a mistrial since the jury was hopelessly deadlocked 9-3. The children of Emil Matasareanu said they are willing to drop their civil rights lawsuit against the city and two police officers provided the officers are barred from counter suing for malicious prosecution. This is why this has been a long time coming.

FOP & PBPA WIN COMP TIME LAWSUIT

From the update section of FOP Lodge 7 website.

In 2004 , nearly two-thousand Chicago Police officers joined together in a Federal lawsuit against the City of Chicago regarding the use of compensatory time. The officers want to be able to use their compensatory time on dates of their choosing. Lawyers from the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge # 7, handled the case and alleged that the City was consistently violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) whenever requests to use compensatory time were denied. The City typically uses “manpower” as an excuse for refusing to grant compensatory time off. This is all going to change.

Yesterday, the plaintiffs obtained a judgment in their favor and against the City. The City will no longer be able to use the “manpower” excuse for denying compensatory time requests. Rather, the City will be made to follow FLSA requirements and prove that granting a compensatory time off request would result in an “undue disruption” of service. In the future, a system will have to be constructed wherein officers can replace each other when compensatory time is used. Additionally, the Federal Judge ruled that the City’s policy of refusing to pay overtime to a replacement worker is flatly contrary to Department of Labor standards and cannot cause an “undue disruption.”

The Federal Court got it right when it stated that the FLSA does not authorize the City balancing its budgetary and public safety concerns on the backs of police personnel. The Judge has directed our lawyers to meet with the City’s lawyers before the end of the month in order to discuss changes that the City must make in order to bring it into compliance with the FLSA. The Lodge’s intent in this case was to provide its members with the right to use their compensatory time when they desire to use it. Yesterday’s decision should not only allow members to do this, it should result in additional overtime opportunities as well. We will keep you posted with all future developments.

9-11-01

FROM THE SAVAGE NATION

I was listening to Michael Savage today and he refered to a story about the Marines not allowed to film on the Golden Gate Bridge.

SAN FRAN WON'T PERMIT U.S. MARINES TO FILM RECRUITMENT MOVIE ON STREETS OR GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE!

Today I personally spoke to Larry Kelly who is the Location Manager for USMC Television Commercial project. He told me that:



1. He had been in conversation with Stefanie Coyote, Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Commission for the last two weeks. The Marine Corps wanted to film a recriting commercial on California Street. Stefanie Coyote refused to give the Marine Corps permission to film the commercial if there were going to be Marines on California Street.



2. The Marince Corps had hoped to film a commercial with Marines on the pedestrian walkway on the Golden Gate Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge District Director of Public Affairs, Mary Currie, told Larry Kelly, "Not on my bridge are you going to put your Marines."



With our men and women of the Marine Corps and every other branch of the military currently serving our country in harm's way, the statements and conduct of these petty bureaucrats is especially egregious.



I have written letters to all nineteen members of the Golden Gate Bridge District Board and every member of the Board of Supervisors. I urge you to do the same.



The San Francisco Film Commission meets on the fourth Monday of every month (September 24th) at 1400 hours, room 416 of City Hall. Let's fill the meeting with veterans and those that respect the young heroes that are serving our country. Lets inform the Film Commission how we feel about their outrageous and shabby treatment of members of the USMC!

OPEN LETTER FROM THE LT's ASSOC.

For the New Boss
As a police department we do a great job of supervising and managing but
I think that we forgot what leadership is all about. Think about it. The past
administration's goal was to reduce murders through the strategy of addressing gangs,
guns and drugs. In the meantime many Districts saw increases in the crimes of robbery,
burglary and theft. But many of these trends were pushed aside for missions in the DOC.
Missions – now there's a concept that's overdone. Everything we do is a mission of some
type. And make sure an event number is assigned. Does anyone really believe that these
missions are accomplishing anything? Really?
Many districts had their manpower depleted to increase the size of various
citywide units like TRU. Many officers were worn thin by having to be detailed
throughout the city on weekends and to suffer numerous cancellations to their days off
whether they wanted to work or not. Is this leadership? I think not. Sure there was a
reduction to murders, but at what cost?
In my quarter of a century on the job I can't remember morale being lower.
No one wants to police anymore. Everyone wants to just get through their day as easily
as they can. Ask any cop why and he will tell you without hesitation that he fears the
department will sell him out. And the public despises us. Everything we do, right or
wrong, is questioned by the community groups and the media. Who's standing up for us?
Where are our leaders? I would be thrilled to have just one top boss stand up in the
limelight and make the following statement: "Folks, here's how we can prevent all these
people from being shot: obey the law! Let's also remember, please, that a police officer
has the right to defend himself, his partners and anyone whose life may be in jeopardy. If
people would obey the law; not carry guns and sell drugs; not run or fight the police, then
these shootings would not be happening. Period. End of story." That's a leader.
We also need to reinstall discipline. We have gone from a paramilitary
organization to a fraternity. Just attend a roll call and look at all the uniforms present.
Ties, no ties, dickies; baseball hats, police hats, knit skullcaps; dress pants, field pants,
cargo pants and shorts; 3 or 4 different types of jackets; sweaters; various colors of
outside vest covers…my God we look just like a roll call out of Hill Street Blues! How
can you be the police when you don't look like the police? Sometimes it seems that no
one cares what they look like anymore. Nail polish, earrings, long hair, goatees and
unshaven faces are all covered in an order. But is it ever enforced anymore? Now IAD
tells you that a male can have hair of any length as long as he can pin it up above his
collar like the females? What? If you don't care about yourself, how can you care for
others? Also, I'm sure that every white shirt out there has the horror story about telling
someone to perform a task and getting back the infamous retort: Why? Why? Because
it's your job, that's why. This department is not, nor should ever be like a college
fraternity.
I also hope that whoever takes over the reins of CPD reads the article
about San Diego Police Chief Williams Lansdowne in the Police Executive Research
Forum where he says:

"The most difficult, dangerous, complex job in the police department is
the patrol officer that answers calls every day. Everybody else is support to that patrol
person. What we have traditionally done in law enforcement is we've overspecialized.
We have SWAT teams, negotiator teams, robbery teams, homicide teams, sexual assault
teams, and there's a belief that we need more investigative teams, we need more task
forces, fugitive task forces – and we've always drained patrol….
I've reversed that. I've taken people out of specialized units and put them
in patrol, so we have enough people to be over the minimum staffing levels…" *
Wow! What a concept!
Whoever takes over, I hope that he or she takes the time to sit down and
look back to where we have been, where we are now, and where we can go in the future.
I hope he or she brings us true leadership, builds morale and discipline, and supports the
cop on the street who needs it most. After all, that person will become the
Superintendent of the finest police department in the United States.
Robert H. Stasch
Area 3 Representative
* PERF Newsletter, Vol.21, No.8 August 2007

ONE YEAR AGO

In the last year the police community of the Chicago area has had to endure the murders of three brother officers (2 on duty & 1 off) without anybody being brought to justice.

On September 27, 2006 Metra Police Officer Thomas Cook was murdered. To this date his killer/killers have yet to be brought to justice. From America's Most Wanted:

A Rough Part Of Town
On Wednesday, September 27, 2006, Officer Thomas Cook of Chicago's Metra Police Department was working overtime to help pay for the new house he had just bought for his family. Officer Cook parked his vehicle at the Metra Electric District line station at 147th and Clinton Streets in south suburban Harvey -- an area known for its criminal activity. Officer Cook usually patrolled the Blue Island branch of the Electric Line, but he never complained about drawing overtime in the tough Harvey area.

Around 9 pm that night neighbors report hearing shots. A short time later, neighborhood teens noticed Officer Cook slumped over in his car and called 911.

A Heartbroken Goodbye
Officer Cook was shot at least twice -- one bullet was fired from behind directly into the officer's head; he was pronounced dead on the scene.

Cook County Deputy Sheriff Robert Cook heard of his brother's murder and raced to the train stop. He arrived in time to kiss his younger brother and say goodbye as his lifeless body was loaded into an ambulance.

Officer Cook was the first officer killed in the 43-year history of the Metra Police Force -- the agency responsible for patroling the Chicago area commuter train service.

Law Enforcement ran in 43-year-old Thomas Cook's family. His brother, Robert Cook is a Cook County Deputy Sheriff. His father Charles spent 35 years as the police chief in Riverdale, Illinois. After serving in the Army Thomas Cook himself spent 10 years on the Riverdale force. Ironicaly, he switched to the Metra Police force because he wanted a safer job.

Search For Officer's Gun And A Suspect
When police reached Officer Cook in his cruiser his SIG-Sauer service handgun was missing. An intense serach is underway for that weapon and any clues to the identity of the officer's killer.

A thought left to Tom from his wife:

Tom,
Today is a sad day for me. You know this. The day the kids go back to school. Help them have a better year. Than last. Jimmy needs his confidence back that he can do good in school again, I will try to give him all the help he needs. Jessica is so happy to get back to her friends. She has the same teacher that Jimmy had in 2nd. She is nervous that it will be harder. Help them to realize that they can do anything they set their hearts to do just as you did with the Army. I will go back to work again. Help me get through the day. I will miss our phone calls when I get off to tell you about my day. Help us all to get through these rough days ahead. We miss you so much. You will allways be our Hero. Love us.

Pamela Cook
Wife of Thomas Cook
2007-08-20

Almost a month later Maywood Police Officer Thomas Wood was murdered in the same cowardly way and still no one brought to justice.
From PoliceOne.com

MAYWOOD, Ill. - A 37-year-old police officer was shot and killed while sitting in his patrol car in the suburban village of Maywood, and authorities said Tuesday that they've interviewed several "persons of interest."

Maywood Police Officer Thomas Wood, a seven-year department veteran and a K-9 officer, was shot several times late Monday night and pronounced dead at 11:43 p.m. at the nearby Loyola University Medical Center.

Police Chief Elvia Williams called the shooting, near 6th Avenue and Erie Street, a "horrendous crime."

Authorities said investigators were speaking with three men, none of whom were considered suspects. A phone message left by The Associated Press Tuesday with a police department spokesman was not immediately returned.

Wood, a movie buff and father of five, also worked as a part-time security officer at Proviso East High School in Maywood and at a Target store in Broadview, family members said.

"He was awesome. You can ask anybody," his wife, Helene, 36, told the Chicago Tribune. "He treated me like a queen."

Before joining the Maywood Police Department, Wood also worked as an officer in Schiller Park and Stone Park, his wife said.

Wood's canine partner, a malinois shepherd, was in the police car during the shooting but was not injured.

On February 12 2007 a few months later off duty Chicago Police Officer Jose Vazquez was murdered outside his residence and the third Police Officer in less then 5 months was gunned down and no one in custody.

José Vazquez was remembered Friday as a stalwart and friendly Chicago police officer whose heroism came in small, daily doses of courage and kindness.

Vazquez was buried Friday after his murder early Monday in the parking area behind his West Side home.

In a Northwest Side Catholic church packed with family, police officers, federal agents and officials such as Mayor Richard Daley, eulogists praised the 34-year-old officer.

An emotional Daley thanked the Vazquez family for their sacrifice, calling them "a Chicago family." The death of any police officer is tragic, the mayor said.

"It's especially heartbreaking when it happens to someone so young, with so much promise," Daley said.

"His life was one of service," he continued, choking up. "He will never be forgotten here in the city of Chicago. He will be considered a hero."

Vazquez was the first Chicago officer slain since 2002. The special operations section officer was found fatally shot in an apparent robbery in a gated area behind his West Side condominium. He was returning from work as a security guard for a gas company.

His funeral mass, said in English and Spanish, was held Friday at Resurrection Catholic Church, 2840 W. Nelson St.

In his eulogy, police Supt. Philip Cline said, "Our city has one less noble guardian to watch over our often mean streets."

Cline said Vazquez was a generous and ambitious cop, who had earned bachelor's and master's degrees and was considering law school, while working one of the most harrowing assignments in the Police Department.

Special operations "is a role that is inherently dangerous, and he had the courage to handle it," he said.

Vazquez's older brother, Raul, thanked the department at the end of the mass, and said "We will find who did this to our brother."

After the funeral, Cline announced that a retired Chicago officer, who wishes to remain anonymous, has added $5,000 of his own money to the reward being offered for information leading to the capture of Vazquez's killer. The total now stands at $26,000.

Anybody with information about the killing can call 311, the city's information line; or Crimestoppers at 1-800-535-7867.

Keep these fine men and their families in your thoughts and prayers.
Remember keep safe!

Since you asked

Michael Mette Defense Fund
Northwest Community Credit Union
7400 N. Waukegan Road
Niles, IL 60714

OUTRAGE

Anonymous said...
Who cares? Where are are the Lieutenant's test results? Where is our union's outrage on this issue?

Sat Sep 08, 11:46:00 AM

I can't tell you where the results are and I can only guess that it won't matter. This debacle was either an elaborate scheme to undermine the testing process or ineptitude on a massive level. Take your pick. In the end I think this will be settled in the courts.
If you want to express your outrage then go to the next PB&PA meeting,

General Membership & Pizza Meeting
20 September 07 @ 1900hrs.
NEW LOCATION
Home Run Inn Pizzeria
6221 S. Archer Avenue
Chicago, IL 60638
773-581-9696

We are the union it is up to us to attend general meetings and let the board know our concerns.

On the West Side, three men were taken to local hospitals about 11:15 p.m. Thursday with wounds from shotgun blasts at Adams Street and Springfield Avenue, said Harrison District Capt. John Kupczyk. The men, ages 23, 24 and another in his 30s, were on the street when they were fired on near an alley.

The 24-year-old was in critical condition with bullet wounds to his back, Kupczyk said. The others suffered leg wounds and were in good condition, he said.

"Five expended shell casings" from what appeared to be the same shotgun were found at the scene, Kupczyk said.

Also on the West Side, a 37-year-old man was shot multiple times and critically injured, police said.

At about 10:40 p.m., the man was walking in the 1500 block of South Washtenaw Avenue, near Mt. Sinai Hospital, when someone opened fire and fled. The victim was being treated at Mt. Sinai.

No one was in custody this morning in any of the incidents, police said.

The Tribune writer failed to mention that there weren't any near-riots nor outrage expressed any fat-mouth ministers.