Cop admits lying in special-unit probe

If I limited this blog to "bad cop" posts, it would practically write itself.

The Special Operations Section of the Chicago Police Department was supposed to be the good guys. Instead, as this Chicago Tribune article reveals, one officer after another is pleading guilty to lying to Internal Affairs Division investigators about breaking the law and covering up by filing false police reports.

How do you know? How do you know this couldn't happen to you?

The cop behind you sees your nice ride, runs your tags and decides to pull you over. In the story, this happened to someone driving a Cadillac with upgraded rims--despite the fact he had not committed a traffic violation. This is a violation of the driver's constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure. If a cop wants to pull over someone who is driving legally, then he must set up a roadblock and stop everyone.

So the cop pulls you over. (As any cop can tell you, if he had followed you for a few blocks, he probably could have come up with a traffic violation anyway.) He gives no reason for the "traffic stop" and insists on a complete search of your vehicle. He takes what he wants, intimidates you in case you might want to report the incident, and lets you go on your way. Or he forces you to let him into your residence and takes more stuff. According to the article, that's exactly what happened. Then the cop files a false police report.

Except that one of the officers was female. Since she did not profit financially and is cooperating, her sentence was 60 days in jail.

Cops take advantage in ways big and small. Free coffee at convenience stores. Free passes at the movies. (Working at Golf Mill Theatres, I was instructed to comp Niles cops.) I don't have a problem with that.

Free off-duty metered parking by putting the checkered hat on the dash? Not (officially) permitted. And now, as we see, they freely take advantage of their badges and guns to take the law into their own hands by helping themselves. We are at their mercy.

CPD accepts text messages

Ever wanted to call the cops and be subtle about it? At least twice I've been on cta when I really needed this service. Once it was my friend Jason and me on the #36 Broadway when a guy sneaked on through the back door--no fare. Someone looked at him funny, and he lost his temper and yelled at the woman, "Don't mess with me! I just got off parole!" We were terrified. We quickly exited one or two blocks later.

The other time I was on my own, riding the Red Line home from an Evanston-New Trier basketball game in Evanston on a Friday night. (Long time ago.) Two or three guys entered the car through one of the end doors while the train was still at Howard Street or just departing. They announced their gang affiliation, and then one said he felt like "kicking some white ass." Well, there were only six white people in the car. Again, this didn't look good. Changing cars would appear too obvious. I just sat there and managed to escape unscathed, thank G-d. And BTW where's my .22 when I need it!

So now one can quietly text a message to CPD by sending to CRIMES and beginning the text with "CPD." As in "CPD WM 6'1 205 walking EB on 2900 bl Estes with unleashed pit bull."

24th District allows gang shrines to stay 48 hours

This just in, from this neighborhood blog, which apparently pays much closer attention to neighborhood issues than I do: it is the policy of the 24th District of Chicago Police (Rogers Park) to allow shrines to deceased gang members on public property, including graffiti, to remain in place for 48 hours. The shrine can include teddy bears (litter in the public way) candles (fire safety and child safety hazard), graffiti (illegal and a neighborhood scourge), and various other items.

This is a shocking concession to gang activity in the 24th District--an area that includes large sections, if not all, of the 49th and 50th Wards. Community members have been engaged in an extended debate with 24th District Commander David Sobczyk over this issue.

Sitting shiva would be too private, I guess.

How much for valet parking?

There’s a certain cachet for valet parking—drop off the car right in front, have it waiting when leaving. If there’s no velvet rope line, there’s no need even to bring one’s coat inside. My friends were extolling the virtues of valet parking at Zella Saturday night, on Clybourn near Armitage Avenue. I parked on the street a block away and braved the cold for all of two minutes. Is it really worth $10 plus tip? For me it depends on how bad the parking situation is. In a downtown or heavily congested entertainment district, it’s likely there is no nearby parking. So valet means paying the guy to park one’s car illegally, which he gets away with since he’s the valet. Does that involve "tipping" police? Sounds like a great scam to me. Has anyone had good or bad experiences with valet parking he or she would like to share? And is there valet in Chicago under $10?

Could an armed citizenry stop a terrorist AK-47 attack?

I’m not sure we’ll ever find out.
I would have been very interested if Mayor Richard M. “No Guns” Daley had a security meeting with Chief of Police Jody Weis after the Mumbai attacks last week. “How can we protect the people of Chicago from such an attack?” One or two years ago, I read a magazine article that suggested several inexpensive soft-target attacks in the U.S. One was launching a heat-seeking missile from a Southern California beach at a passenger aircraft on its takeoff path. Another was the kidnap and murder of a congressman. Two more were detonating bombs aboard approaching ships near New York Harbor and the Houston refineries. The fifth was an automatic-weapon attack by multiple terrorists at a crowded shopping mall in December, with a bomb timed to detonate at the loading dock right about the time the SWAT team would show up.
It’s the last one that most concerns me. Unlike another terrorism-prone country, we don’t have metal detectors at shopping-mall entrances. (They would come after an attack.) How to stop an attack once it is in progress? It only takes a few minutes—often less time than emergency response takes to show up—to inflict high numbers of casualties. A terrorist group would be far less likely to plan an attack on civilians whom they know are likely to be armed, and vice versa. That increases the probability of an attack within the City of Chicago. In Texas, where law-abiding citizens can legally pack heat, I imagine terrorists would be concerned about being shot and take their murderous plans elsewhere.
I never thought I’d say anything complimentary about Texas.