Undercover Officer Speaks

Rather than let this languish in the comments section, we decided to give it its own thread. It is from John Northern and an undercover officer who successfully infiltrated the black panthers during its violent heyday. For obvious reasons, he maintains his anonymity to this day.

Perhaps the most exasperating aspect of this media-generated controversy is the fact that the convicted Englewood arsonist son of the late Fred Hampton and most of the others who seek to memorialize a leader of cop killers were not even alive at a time when Panther violence was at its peak. Indeed, most active members of the CPD had yet to be born. The facts are available for research. Panther sympathizers and "historical revisionists" can not alter these facts.

Tyrone emphasizes that in striking out against "the establishment" or "the man", the Panthers target was BLUE--police officers, regardless of race. Nationwide, both white and black police officers were murdered in cold blood by the Panthers and black militant splinter groups.

Second Ward Ald. Madeline Haithcock is nothing more than a clueless tool for the widely-despised instigator of this brouhaha, Bobby Rush, the former "Minister of Defense" for the Illinois Chapter of the BPP and currently a congressman. Haithcock's preposterous proposal is both divisive and obscene. It denigrates the efforts of heroic civil rights leaders like Dr. King who advocated a strategy of non-violence in instituting long overdue sociopolitical reforms. It only reopens old wounds.

In the late 1960's, Tyrone was selected from his class at the CPD training academy to infiltrate the Panthers. Shortly thereafter, he "joined" the BPP and met Fred Hampton and others at their headquarters, 2350 W. Madison St.

According to Tyrone, in our conversations as recently as this afternoon, the Panthers were a group of extremely dangerous and "rotten gangbangers". They hated the police, brainwashing and inciting their members to "kill cops, break into cops' homes and autos" to steal "pig" weapons. They were "thugs, dopies, stick-up men and extortionists", constantly badgering struggling merchants along Madison Street. Their nominal "free breakfasts program for kids" was nothing more than a propaganda smoke screen for their criminal activities including the murders and attempted murders of police officers.

Hampton, Rush and the Panther braintrust would "play dress-up" with their trademark black berets and leather jackets, a primary benefit being widespread access to physically attractive, yet gullible young women who were seduced by the notoriety of the Panthers. They would also appear at Panther rallies, invariably being introduced by white activists. Then, they would incessantly incite those in attendance, including dull-witted fanatics to "OFF THE PIGS!" and "liberate the black community from the occupying pig armies." As documented history bears out, their incendiary words went far beyond mere "Maoist rhetoric".

Tyrone also bought guns from "mules" who brought the weapons up from the South, the sole reason: "to kill pigs!"

Both Tyrone and I agree that the eerie silence of both the Mayor and police brass on this issue is reprehensible and hypocritical.

After reading this, it's kind of depressing that no politician and no police brass has the guts to stand up and say this is wrong - aside from Alderman Tom Allen.