Again, Never Ever Chase
- A Cook County jury has awarded $2.1 million in damages to the family of a 78-year-old woman killed when her vehicle was struck by a sport-utility vehicle the family's attorneys said was fleeing Chicago police in 2008, according to a news release and court records.
Tommye Ruth Freeman was driving east at the 7600 block of South State Street on July 3, 2008, when her vehicle was struck by a white SUV that ran a red light, according to a statement from attorneys representing Freeman’s family. She died of injuries suffered during the crash hours later. On Thursday, a jury awarded her family $2.1 million in damages in a lawsuit filed in 2009.
Freeman’s family’s attorneys said police investigating a nonviolent residential burglary in the 7700 block of South Langley Avenue were chasing the SUV when it collided with Freeman’s vehicle.
The driver was another one of those altar boys we hear so much about:
- Byron Brown, 30, who was driving the SUV, was convicted of murder in Freeman’s death in 2012, and is serving a 25-year prison sentence in that case, according to court and state records. He also pleaded guilty in 2014 in a separate federal murder-conspiracy case, admitting that he committed three murders and was present at two others while a member of the Hobo street gang.
But the police are to blame, regardless:
- Attorneys representing Freeman’s family argued they were “willful and wanton” and violated police procedures in speeding behind the SUV against the flow of traffic on a one-way street in a residential area.
So, let us get this straight:
- The deceased was struck by the offender's car, which blew a red light;
- the plaintiff's attorney claims police were "willful and wanton" speeding behind the SUV against the flow of traffic on a one-way street - which means the officers were following a law breaker;
- again, the striking SUV "blew a red light." Most intersections with a one way street don't have a red light facing the on-coming traffic because...get this....it's the WRONG WAY;
- again, the police vehicle never touched the deceased's vehicle. All of the lawbreaking was done by the now guilty offender - guilty of murder....and a number of other murders besides.
So when burglary offenders decide to burgle, and then break all sorts of traffic laws and endanger the public in their efforts to continue their badly chosen lives of crime, will cost the city over $2 million at a time.
We hear you loud and clear Cook County Juries.
We hear you loud and clear Cook County Juries.
Labels: un-fucking-believable
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
48 Comments:
Bottom line is vehicle pursuits are not worth the risk. So what if a burglar or car thief gets away. Unless the guy injured or killed a policeman, who gives a shit if he gets away? Today's society hates the police anyway, why should we endanger ourselves chasing some asshole?
besides the risk of what happened in this case there is no way to safely stop a fleeing automobile using an automobile, particularly in an urban environment Therefore car chases are a bad idea
Chase ONLY if a Copper or a Copper's immediate family
has been harmed.
For all others?
1. Get the vehicle identifiers and offender descriptions and notify
the dispatchers.
2. Submit the appropriate reports and notifications with as much
information as you can.
3. If anyone subsequently impedes your forward motion or darkens your doorway
about any such report you submit, ascertain as to whether English is their native
language then direct them to said report.
"I personally don't recall shit...
Everything worth anything is in the report."
Here comes that bland, flavorless,
un-exciting, by-the-numbers Police Service
everybody is unsure about wanting.
Fuck It...
Give it to 'em anyway.
Yes , fuck you if your house gets burglarized .
Buy a gun , asshole .
High speed traffic chases just are not worth all the trouble they cause. An innocent bystander (driver) died because of this one. Give it up, the police can always apprehend later.
How many more times does it have to be stated:
99 percent right is 100 percent wrong!
There was a chase beginning near the Chicago River downtown that resulted in the death or an Asian woman some years back. Theft of a purse from a restaurant ended with the death of an innocent civilian. A day or so later all commanders were called to HQ for a meeting on the instant new policy on chases.
When the commander returned he said simply not to chase anyone unless Maggie Daley was hostage in the trunk and her legs were sticking out. Good advice. Do not chase. No one cares if you arrest the offender. No jury will award millions if you succeed in arresting some mope burglar or thief. Like my old partner used to say, if you don't get them today, you will get another chance tomorrow. It isn't like they will decide to go back to divinity school overnight. Once a shithead, always a shithead. They will do something else worthy of arrest soon enough. Make arrest without putting lives at risk.
Im sorry... But I will say it again. If you do police work. Then it's your own fault when this shit happens. Unless its another Police Officer or my family. Nuh Uh.. Not going to do it. 1st and 16th. Just think if we all stood together and just answered our calls.
I agree SCC. I terminated virtually every single chase my guys became involved in when I was working unless it involved a crime against the Police. Not because I was afraid of chases, a problem with the higher ups or doing paperwork. I did it to protect my guys from something like this especially when it involved a non-violent crime. I didn't like doing it but society doesn't want us chasing people or being the Police (unless THEY are the victim) and will turn the Police into the culprit in these kind of cases.
You made your bed Cook County juries, now lay down in it. But don't wonder why or ask me why the criminal element in this city has become so bold. YOU and YOU alone are responsible for that. You have done more damage to effective law enforcement in Cook County/Chicago than all the incompetent memebers of the CPD Command Staff combined could ever do.
Un-fucking Believeable!
Manipulating Lawyers and a Jury pool consisting of clueless naïve idiots. This would not happen in the Suburbs. In most, if not all, of these cases, it's about making money. Real Justice has NOTHING to do with it.
I hear them loud and clear
Who was the plaintiff atty? Alderman's kid?
How much will the politically connected law firm get before the family sees anything?
It's fine the burglary was non violent. People who commit non violent crimes shouldn't be prosecuted. So feel free to commit burglaries, bank fraud, theft, possession of child pornography and any kind lewd conduct. In fact break into someone's house, take their stuff, get nude, smoke a rock and go to town on yourself in front of them...it's all good, carry sir.
That should have been a 19-Paul! Fuck it!
Fleeing in a vehicle is, basically, resisting arrest. The law says you cannot resist arrest. Yet, fleeing in a vehicle is the only form of resistance that we are often not allowed to overcome. Taken to its extreme, there is really no reason for anyone to pull over for us when we put on our emergency equipment. Continue disobeying two traffic signals and you get out of a ticket or jail.
Somehow the lawyers have convinced people that when some bystander gets hurt because a criminal resists arrest by the police, then that bystander's injuries are the fault of the police officers.
Sounds like a made-up story if it wasn't true.
In all cases but one, resisting arrest is a Class A misdemeanor. The one difference is when the resistance results in injury to a police officer, firefighter, or correctional officer (http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=072000050HArt%2E+31&ActID=1876&ChapterID=53&SeqStart=80100000&SeqEnd=81200000) then it is a Class 4 felony.
There is essentially, to a career criminal, no punishment whatsoever to resisting arrest.
If resisting arrest were a Class 1 or Class X felony in all cases, there might be less resistance to arrest. If fleeing in a vehicle from a police officer were a Class X felony, based on the fact that one should know that fleeing could result in the death of innocent bystanders, would less people flee in vehicles? People resist arrest often because there is often little to no punishment for doing so.
The only time I go above the speed limit is when an Officer is calling for help or to hit the shitter. Other then that I will get there when I get there.
If a perp runs away on foot and punches a line of senior citizens waiting for the bus, is that the fault of the police as well?
Bizarro land
I wake up everyday waiting to see if today is the day.
Is to today the day I see one of those types crying on the news?
(We all know the type; a journalist, a politician, a judge, a lawyer.)
Crying that one his or her loved one has been killed by violence.
And then I hope to hear them say in their despair the cops did nothing?
They didn't chase?
They didn't fight to put the cuffs on the asshole.
They didn't do anything?
We did something much better. We avoided endless sleepless nights worrying about a lawsuit, and inaccurate news stories. We went home on time and enjoyed our family or friends as yours was destroyed. In the end, WE did exactly what we had to do. We handed you a piece of paper with an RD number.
Wear that proudly around your neck. Hang it on your office wall. Let all to see how your police served you.
don't let the city law department off the hook on this one. lower rung connected law school graduates caused this nonsense in the first place. not actually fighting frivolous lawsuits opened the floodgate of precedence. thanks shortshanks.
When a Sgt calls off your vehicle pursuit, thank him. Don't criticize him then.
Anonymous Sgt. Saunders (ret) said...
I agree SCC. I terminated virtually every single chase my guys became involved in when I was working unless it involved a crime against the Police. Not because I was afraid of chases, a problem with the higher ups or doing paperwork. I did it to protect my guys from something like this especially when it involved a non-violent crime. I didn't like doing it but society doesn't want us chasing people or being the Police (unless THEY are the victim) and will turn the Police into the culprit in these kind of cases.
6/27/2015 06:05:00 AM
You are correct Sgt. And you probably got cursed out by the PO's but really you were saving their asses.
Pvt. Littlejohn
Tell the dead girl in the suburbs if she hadn't walked in on the "nonviolent residential burglary she would still be alive. It was her fault the "nonviolent residential" burglar had to kill her.
They give a lot higher rewards to criminals that sue and win.
Give it up, the police can always apprehend later.
6/27/2015 01:33:00 AM
No. No they can't. If you were a police officer you would know that, so don't put that in the civilian's head. If they get away, chances are pretty good that they will GET AWAY. look at our clearance rate. The percentage of clearances in crimes where the offender is not immediately caught by responding officers is minuscule.
Why not RICO this "Hobo" bunch and take every penny you can find, if you need money to hand out? Some of these crews own buildings, etc.
Naw. Makes too much sense...
There was a chase beginning near the Chicago River downtown that resulted in the death or an Asian woman some years back. Theft of a purse from a restaurant ended with the death of an innocent civilian. A day or so later all commanders were called to HQ for a meeting on the instant new policy on chases.
When the commander returned he said simply not to chase anyone unless Maggie Daley was hostage in the trunk and her legs were sticking out. Good advice. Do not chase. No one cares if you arrest the offender. No jury will award millions if you succeed in arresting some mope burglar or thief. Like my old partner used to say, if you don't get them today, you will get another chance tomorrow. It isn't like they will decide to go back to divinity school overnight. Once a shithead, always a shithead. They will do something else worthy of arrest soon enough. Make arrest without putting lives at risk.
I remember that well. A Sgt. tried to terminate and the chasing vehicle was a Sgt. who was heard on the air saying he was a Sgt. and kept going. The result: she's dead, her immigrant family received millions of American money, we no longer chase, and the Sgt. in question was promoted to lieutenant of a unit and is now a commander. Isn't that right P.B. The 11th ward is powerful force.
I don't blame any supv for terminating every chase out there. The people ask for it you got it assholes
"A society that makes or visits war upon it's Police had better make other considerations for it's own Peace and safety...."
Unknown
SCC, here is an interesting article :
Is 'Ferguson effect' behind jump in big-city violence?
http://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/7/71/723804/ferguson-effect-behind-jump-big-city-violence
wonder how many would think like that if it was one of their family member injured or killed????
"It's fine the burglary was non violent."
6/27/2015 07:59:00 AM
Property crime/crime against person is f__ed up in this case. As a buddy says, "Your property is a big chunk of your life, in that you invested the hours of your life working to get it."
...and doesn't "tumultuous entry of an occupied premises" = "home invasion?"
Have seen this downgraded to "criminal damage to property" 'cause I was dumb enough to yell a warning after a rear door window was smashed out and an arm came in, feeling around only to discover the (lifesaving, but illegal in Chicago) double-cylinder Segal.
Oh -- in re. the life sentencing of Timothy Herring for double murder of CPD ET Michael Flisk and retired CHA Ofc. Stephen Peters -- Anita Alvarez expressed sympathy not only for Flisk and Peters families, but for Herring fambly as well, laying the whole assassination off on some nebulous "gun crime."
*
"Yes , fuck you if your house gets burglarized .
Buy a gun , asshole ."
6/27/2015 01:03:00 AM
Can't sit home with the thing in your lap waiting, 24/7...
Money, Money, the root of all evil. Can't get a penny from the real killer so sue the city. Same crap another day,
Here's some real easy to understand advice concerning vehicle chases I gave my guys & gals:
Unless you're justified in using deadly force like shooting the fleeing subject (highly unlikely) don't chase ever!
These are dark times to be a Law Enforcement Officer.
Take the POTUS's example, simply enforce the laws you want to......
Hmmmm that won't be too many....... If any......
Instead of to "Serve & Protect" it's now to "Stay Alive to 55" (50 is even better if you can.....) That might make a good t-shirt!
You sound like everyone else, it's always someone else's fault.. I just got done with a federal trial and we won.. They were all very professional and gave us some outstanding preparation leading up to the trial. This was just a bad set of circumstances all around. And it's been said over and over, if something bad happens during a chase someone is going to pay for it. Is it right? No it's not but don't blame the attorney's just because the trial was lost. It was lost the minute that person died.
How many WONT listen?
Two words: Densey Cole. It's why I literally haven't turned on my blue lights nor sirens in about three years.
Anonymous stash the polski guy said...
don't let the city law department off the hook on this one. lower rung connected law school graduates caused this nonsense in the first place. not actually fighting frivolous lawsuits opened the floodgate of precedence. thanks shortshanks.
6/27/2015 10:06:00 AM
I got sued in Federal Court. The City hired me a good lawyer from a big law firm. The lawyer did good. We won. They appealed. City handled the appeal. We won again. That was that, no appeal to SCOTUS. The lawyer was from Loevy and Loevy. He got -0-, zilch, nada, nothing at all. And he foot the bill for his asshole client. I am OK with how it was all handled. Believe me, I have zero clout. That was when Jody ordered that all suits be fought aggressively. It was getting around that a suit would not bring in a quick $5k or $25k like before. Then McDouchebag got here with Rahmfather, Mayor Murder. It is much worse now. I tell you, other than the Bill Cozzi debacle, Jody was OK.
There is where the pension money goes... Very nice!!!! Yay
2.1 million - 78 years old. HMMM...at 85000/year I'd have to work over
24 years to make that much money(gross, not net). So 78+24=102 Grandma was going to be an active member of the work force until age 102 ??? Somehow I don't think so. Not to say that every life isn't worth some amount of money, but 78 and 2.1 million? And not to her, but her estate, tax free? Seems just a little excessive to me.
Here is your report lady.
Personally, I object even to the (media) term, "Police Chase."
The description alone conveys immediate culpability on behalf of the police even when the 'fleeing offender' is the striking vehicle.
How about a better description such as, "reckless driver, ruthless offender, crazed rapist, uncontrollable parolee, fleeing armed robber etc. dangerously fleeing a responding police presence ended in crash, death etc."
Never happen.
The attorneys have their own slogan, "Green ($$) Lives Matter."
Bottom line is vehicle pursuits are not worth the risk. So what if a burglar or car thief gets away. Unless the guy injured or killed a policeman, who gives a shit if he gets away? Today's society hates the police anyway, why should we endanger ourselves chasing some asshole?
Society hates their dentist, too however, we still go.
Back when I first came on, I didn't understand those officers who didn't blue light it to every foot chase, car chase. They were dog-asses to me.
Being young and inexperienced , I just didn't get it.
Fast forward 20 + years. It takes an extraordinary circumstance for me to blue light it to any chase. I watch units fly from one end of the district to the opposite end, just to join in some tact guys PCS foot pursuit. You fuckin kidding me? Take that kind of risk for a fuckin dope pinch?
I listen to units join in car chases that end up on 290. All because some asswipe took off on our traffic guy. This kinda shit happens with regularity in 011.
To me, it's beyond stupid to involve yourself in pretty much any chase, these days.
So, unless a PO's well-being is involved, I aint doing it. But that's just me.
Anonymous said...
How many WONT listen?
As many as needs stats for their VRI.
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