Ramsey Article
The changes began in 1998 with a Washington Post series on DC police that described “a pattern of reckless and indiscriminate gunplay.” Chief Charles Ramsey had just taken over the department. Shocked by the newspaper series, he became the first police chief in the nation to invite the Justice Department in to review the police department’s use of force. In 2001 Justice drew up a memorandum of agreement with the DC police revising the regulations governing the use of force. The result put in place a system for controlling and disciplining cops, including the creation of special divisions and an outside monitor to investigate police behavior.
The apparatus seems to investigate cops with more rigor than it investigates criminals. What started in 2001 as a system to monitor cops who used their weapons too often has developed into a blunt instrument that punishes some of DC’s best and brightest and allows criminals to use the system against officers trying to make streets safe.
Labels: new super
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
27 Comments:
Well, Daley made a deal with the Fed's himself. Instead of the Federal Oversight over the CPD, he made a deal to hire J-Fled instead. J-Fled ran this department into the ground, including dumping many veteran exempts with street smarts and promoting tools like Henny Penny, Masters, Masters, Masters, etc.
Any Superintendent hired to run the CPD will be first and foremost loyal to the mayor (ugh), and will always say he is tough on "rogue" coppers. Unfortunately, the mainstream definition of rogue is really our definition of a good copper doing his job and doing it well.
Reading that article in the Washingtonian, I couldn't help but see parallels with Ramsey's sweeping new order (at that time) in DC regarding shooting at moving vehicles, and Hillard's own attempt to quash that here during his original tenure at the helm of the CPD. Hillard's changing of the rules regarding that here made a lot of Chicago cops nervous at the time. People who implement changes in departmental policy, whether here, DC, or any other municipality, should always remember that there are no sure 'cookie cutter' rules for police shootings....circumstances are different in every single one...a minor incident suddenly becomes a major one, officers on a 'routine' assignment or call suddenly realize the stakes have been raised significantly in mere seconds...and they have to make judgments based upon really quick threats to their well being, or the well being/safety of their co-workers.
I can recall a shooting I was involved in many years ago, in South Chicago. A man in a stolen pickup truck had deliberately driven into two squad cars, and had attempted to drive directly into me as I dragged my sgt.(who had been injured) from his smashed up squad. I fired in defense of our safety. The watch commander arrived on the scene and immediately walked up to me and stated that I was wrong for having fired at the offender, who was slightly injured (and survived). 'You can't shoot at auto thieves!" he shouted at me. Since this Lt. asked me no questions whatsoever as to what led to the shooting, I decided to remain mute until the Street Deputy arrived. I walked the street deputy through the scene, relaying what had occurred from beginning to end. the street deputy told me, "good shooting. Should have killed the fucker." My Sgt. told the street deputy that he was glad that someone
"did the right thing and saved my fucking life." That Lt. was red faced as the street deputy instructed him as to how and what he was going to write in his report. I never forgot that idiot Lt., and I lost all respect for the man after that incident. Many other supervisors in that district tried to make excuses for the man as time passed, claiming "he just isn't comfortable doing paper, he didn't mean anything," but the damage was done, and I never spoke to that man again. While I don't think Ramsey would be a bad choice, there are better choices, and all from current CPD members, to run this Dept. Personally, I feel Ramsey is too old. He's run two major metropolitan Depts. already, and he's almost 63 years old; I think we need a younger man at the helm, experienced, for sure, but younger. With minimal interference from City Hall, the CPD can return to a reputation as an innovative but tough-on-crime Dept. that we once had. It's definitely doable, and anything worth doing is worth taking the time to put the right people in place who can and will do what needs to be done, and hopefully do it well. Our Dept. is certainly in need of nothing short of a complete overhaul after the past 3 years of what can be best described as "management by idiots."
OT: some chatter that Tobias is being considered instead of Ramsey.
Ahhhh the Chicago Poison
SCC, im so tuned off by the conservative/republican media (talk radio). Listened to some duche bag tonight crying about NY first responders suing and getting paid for the illnesses contracted from 9/11. Have they no heart?
Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-god-knows-what-now....
Who has our back???
Why do this shit????
As I have said before, anyone who wants this idiot to be superintendent has to be on crack.
hee hee hee... SCC said your bailiwick!
If I were Rahm, I'd hire ME to run this Department. Then you'd really see something!
No way. That article left me with the feeling that having Ramsey as Supt. would be worse than the mess we just got out of. Everyone needs to read the article. Ramsey of today is not the guy you remember from the 80's.
My cop friend in Philly (an old USMC buddy)says we can have Ramsey back anytime and they would have a party that would beat the "Willie Williams going to LA party" of 1992.
some laws and ideas seem right at the time. some ''morf'' and over grab their original intentions. divorce laws,civil rights,social security.just like those traffic study stickers...a witch hunt without a witch.
Maybe JPUD was reading Ramz' playbook when he took over...look how far it got him. Another "straighten out those outta control polices, it's election time" stategies.
The Chicago Way will soon become a nationwide disease.
Ramsey's a bum, period.
People should worry less about rogue cops and concern themselves with rogue, criminal politicians.
The police didn't put this city in the bind it's in, the pols did, don't forget it. City workers in general are a convenient diversion.
I've been to Washington numerous times over the years for the annual police memorial, and have spoken to a number of D.C. police officers about Ramsey - and never found one that liked him. Most ask that we bring him back to Chicago when we leave. I always thought he wasn't a bad guy (with the exception of CAPS) but D.C. thought of him like we think of Weis....
"The apparatus seems to investigate cops with more rigor than it investigates criminals. What started in 2001 as a system to monitor cops who used their weapons too often has developed into a blunt instrument that punishes some of DC’s best and brightest and allows criminals to use the system against officers trying to make streets safe."
God damn it, that's what I was afraid of. He fits the standard East Coast mold.
As I said in the first thread on this, "we don't need to import burnouts from the dying cities of the East."
I said that "reduce police-involved shootings" sounded to me like Ramsey would give your gun a remote-controlled safety that could only be unlocked "by 'administrative decision' from a pod room full of obese, hostile, politically appointed facilitators with ties to the "'reverends.'"
I guess I was right. If he could do it, he would.
All that, and the energy of a Roland Burris. You can see it in his face. Tired, doesn't much care about Chicago or any other damned place by now, but will condescend to accept a big salary, a good cigar in the Gentlemen's Lounge after a heavy lunch...
Zzzz...
I worked for Ramsey twice. The man definately had our back. He was good police and Chicago lost out when he left. He took over the Washington DC police that was rampant with corruption, that made ours pale in comparison. Over 100 officers who could not hit the street or make arrests because of what we call rule 14 violations. They could not tesify in court. During Ramsey's tenure, he restored some of the pride that working officers there had in their department. Most officers there will say he did a good job. On to Philly: I have a friend who is a veteran Philly officer who is not a big Ramsey fan. He does admit however that when Ramsey took over his hands were tied because their Command postions of captain were civil service positions(equal to out district commander) and Ramsey could not demote incompetant commanders. He was limited to three spots I believe. That has expanded since. Ramsey was not given the Supe's job here for two reasons. The main one was that Daley viewed him as a mayoral threat and of course the Barb McDonald rumor. He is a quality boss and if he only stayed on for three years it would help set the table for the next guy. It does not matter who the Supe is, we will always have to live with Command picks by the reverands, alderman, and other influential people. This is true here, as well as Philly and Washington. I can only say welcome home Chuck ... wish you would have never left.
The article was written in 2007, immediately after Ramsey left DC for Philly. While we realize Washington is a hotbed of all sorts of political intrigue, is inviting the Justice Department into your bailiwick when your city was vying with Detroit for Murder Capital of the USA to second guess your police shootings really a good idea?
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DC is an unusual case though. It is a creature of the federal government afterall. There really is no where else to go for outside help in DC.
With minimal interference from City Hall, the CPD can return to a reputation as an innovative but tough-on-crime Dept. that we once had
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When has CPD ever had minimal interference from city hall or the kind of reputation you are describing? You are dreaming of a time that never actually existed.
Don't get your panties wet Ramsey supporters! He wants nothing more than to come to Shitcago and fuck with the coppers over here. If he was a leader and the real police, he would lead a department and retire. He can't stay too long in one place because he's just an asshole stuck on himself. We don't need him in Shitcago after that asshole J-Fled.
'With minimal interference from City Hall, the CPD can return to a reputation as an innovative but tough-on-crime Dept. that we once had
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When has CPD ever had minimal interference from city hall or the kind of reputation you are describing? You are dreaming of a time that never actually existed.'
Uh, I think I said "WITH minimal interference!" True, there has been and always will be political wrangling going on between govt. and the police...it can't be helped. I certainly hope that Emanuel will select a
real SUPT. to turn things around, and then empower the man (or woman) to do just that, keeping the City Hall civilian drop ins to an absolute minimum. If Rahm should even approach the level of interference we've seen during the J-Fled years (which from now on I will refer to as THE LOST YEARS), then we as a Dept. won't gain anything. I didn't vote for him, but I'm hopeful he'll be better than the man he's replacing on May 16th. It certainly can't get much worse. I also hope Emanuel launches 3M out of City Hall as well; Masters has proven himself to be nothing more than an over educated buffoon who should have never been allowed the power he wielded over a major police dept.
Help, I don't know the man. What did he do in Chicago that was so great, why was it a loss here when he went to DC?
Anonymous said...
OT: some chatter that Tobias is being considered instead of Ramsey.
3/26/2011 01:03:00 AM
Good lord help us all!
Anonymous said...
I worked for Ramsey twice. The man definately had our back. He was good police and Chicago lost out when he left. He took over the Washington DC police that was rampant with corruption, that made ours pale in comparison. Over 100 officers who could not hit the street or make arrests because of what we call rule 14 violations. They could not tesify in court. During Ramsey's tenure, he restored some of the pride that working officers there had in their department. Most officers there will say he did a good job. On to Philly: I have a friend who is a veteran Philly officer who is not a big Ramsey fan. He does admit however that when Ramsey took over his hands were tied because their Command postions of captain were civil service positions(equal to out district commander) and Ramsey could not demote incompetant commanders. He was limited to three spots I believe. That has expanded since. Ramsey was not given the Supe's job here for two reasons. The main one was that Daley viewed him as a mayoral threat and of course the Barb McDonald rumor. He is a quality boss and if he only stayed on for three years it would help set the table for the next guy. It does not matter who the Supe is, we will always have to live with Command picks by the reverands, alderman, and other influential people. This is true here, as well as Philly and Washington. I can only say welcome home Chuck ... wish you would have never left.
3/26/2011 05:39:00 PM
Funny, you must have been talking to some of Chuck's house mice. I have yet to find one policeman in either DC or Philadelphia that has had anything positive to say about Ramsey.
As to Barbara McDonald, bringing her to a function, with high profile politicians present, while he was still married probably wasn't the best idea. But it is now a rumor? No, it is a FACT.
Now go get "Chuck's" car detailed. Don't forget the cream and sugar in the coffee this time, handjob.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HijUTGJsCkc&feature=related
Evidently its a great idea.....He go the top job in Philly and now looks like a front runner to come back to Chicago and pick up where he and Barb McDonald left off.
Looks like inviting the feds in to hamstring your department and go after your rank and file is a great career move.
As to Barbara McDonald, bringing her to a function, with high profile politicians present, while he was still married probably wasn't the best idea. But it is now a rumor? No, it is a FACT.
3/27/2011 12:32:00 PM
True. It is a fact. And they communicate to this day. She is a twisted bitch and Ramsey is a lumbering dope. Pray he does not return.
Ramsey is not a good idea. When in doubt call the feds.
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