Another Lawsuit (UPDATE)

The Rahm-Times is at it again:

• Three people who claim Chicago Police strip-searched them in public and falsely accused them of carrying heroin during a traffic stop last year are suing the city, calling the officers’ actions “exceeding all bounds of human decency.”
  
  Caprice Halley, Tevin Ford and a representative for the estate of Robert Douglas filed the suit in U.S. District Court Wednesday.

"...the estate of...?" That's entertaining.

Does anyone have an actual count of how many nuisance suits are filed against the City and Department on an annual basis? It has to be thousands. And does anyone know how much the City spends to settle these suits, without ever "admitting blame" or actually putting on a case? Millions we're sure.

The only (and we mean ONLY) good thing J-Fled ever did was encourage City Hall to fight these suits. Because the City actually started winning them. And winning them handily. Once plaintiff attorneys began to realize they'd have to work for their money with shitty cases, they stopped taking them.

As soon as Rahm took over, he announced that the previous policy of fighting cases would be dropped - because you know, plaintiff attorneys make largish contributions to democratic political reelection campaigns. And here's the result.

UPDATE: To the obviously delusional commentator who claims, "J-Fled gave us rifles, too," we weep for your poor uninformed brain. J-Feld did not "give" us anything. Daley needed to have a few hundred officers qualified on rifles as part of the Olympic package bid. Therefore, the idea of "patrol rifles," which had been proposed dozens of times over the course of our careers (and utilized by thousands of departments nationwide) was finally brought into being. J-Fled had about as much to do with it as you do making the sun rise in the east every morning.

UPDATE: Another mistaken commentator:

• i don't agree with your assessment of "the only good thing" Jodi Weis did....He got us Rifles (no Chicago guy would have ever done that, EVER)Oh and the Striker fire pistols like Springfield XD & Glock. we also got a 4 day work week under his tenure. (remember 6 days in a row?) We got tasers , the Chevy Tahoe , extra training , and thats off the top of my head. Most importantly he LEFT US ALONE. no compost meetings, pressure for #'s etc. Shit id trade McEgo or Cline and day for Weis.

We already explained the rifles. The pistols were part of a long failing effort to modernize sidearms. Daley's anti-gun bias kept it in the closet for years. The four-day work week had been proposed in every contract since the late 80's - early 90's. The FOP had studies that showed the 6th day led to more accidents, more CR numbers and more disciplinary issues, yet hte city did nothing about it for years. Tasers were here before J-Fled. Tahoes suck (2-wheel drive?) and where's all the equipment we were supposed to be carrying in the Tahoes? Extra videos at roll call doesn't count as extra training - classroom and hands-on and walk-through scenarios is training.

Left us alone? Did you forget the "town hall" style meeting he held citywide while Aunt Bea took notes and names of those complaining? And the vengeance that was taken against those foolish enough to speak out? Or Cozzi? And the accountability meetings (precursor to CompStat)? J-Fled was an egotistical asshole who took credit because he happened to be in the big chair when the logjam broke because Shortshanks needed the Olympics to conceal the massive financial mismanagement that was coming into view and that we see today.