Still Failing
- The city and Police Department must do more to help Chicago police officers suffering from trauma suffered on the job after the Department of Justice investigation found that officers here commit suicide 60 percent more often than those in other departments, aldermen agreed Monday.
Barbara West, the chief of the department's Bureau of Organizational Development, said officials are considering requiring officers to seek assistance from counselors after being involved in a "significant event" such as a shooting.
However, West acknowledged that the Department of Justice investigation found that the department's employee assistance program was "understaffed and under-resourced" with just three clinicians to serve the Department’s roughly 13,500 sworn and unsworn personnel.
By comparison, the Los Angeles Police Department, which is smaller than Chicago's force, has 11 clinicians, according Ald. Ed Burke (14th), the chairman of the council's Finance Committee.
EAP does a great job with what little support and resources they have, but like everything else in this town, running it on the cheap doesn't produce good long-term results. Keep this at the forefront.
Labels: info for the police
posted by SCC at 12:07 AM
106 Comments:
Burke has more drivers than the city has shrinks to help police.
Wow... and I was under the impression the aldermorons thought we are all just a bunch of trigger-happy racist.
Please if you feel the need to talk, are overwhelmed with what you believe a situation to be no way out, open up to a friend, either on or off the job, close family member or counselor, either private or department. Believe it or not there are people who love you and want to help.
Alderman Burke don't even make a suggestion, cause seeing everything you are involved in, has turned to shit--- nice job with the aviation Poleec there Burke....
This job definitely takes a toll especially with the massive exposure to violence and stress. Then you add in the constant threat of Chicago politicians destroying the pension that we worked so hard for and contribute to every pay check. The same pension promise that they told us we'd get if we took this job. Same pension that we signed paper work agreeing to on our first day. The city has money for every pet project to help keep them in power but nothing for the pension. The politicians could care less about us and sure don't care about hiring extra support services to help cops in need.
Well when you have an ungrateful public, asshole politicians using us as a punching bag, a county States Attorney more concerned for shit birds than the police, and dealing with bosses like Tempur Pedic West, we're lucky the number isn't higher.
And where do you go when the help doesn't work? Just because you go see a clinician / counselor doesn't mean your problems will be solved. If you hate your job but have to show up for a source of income your problems won't go away and quitting and starting over isn't easy.
Not that I don't think the people who are committing suicide are ones that have been involved in "traumatic shootings" but is there any numbers out there on how many cpd suicide that actually were involved in such instances as opposed to how many weren't? I just feel that this department hires such a large amount of people and the amount that are actually qualified for such a position are no where near the actual hiring numbers. Many people who commit suicide on this job have done so for reasons that have very little to do with the job itself and may not have passed the psych evaluation that other departments use. Maybe we should stop blaming the understanding and start blaming the law hiring process. Police officer isn't a job for everyone.. but in Chicago it seems it hardly matters
Hey Barb, there already is a provision in place to require officers to go to EAP after a significant event......Maybe if you didn't bring a pillow to work you would have known that or remembered that
Rahm runs a lot of important things on the cheap.
Rahm and the Alderthieves will feign concern but nothing of substance will be done about this.
Rahm only "finds" money for projects and things he wants. Rahm can act concerned all he wants but we know of his deep seeded disdain for us.
Fund the pension.
Stop fucking retirees out of insurance.
Mental health and attitudes will improve significantly.
Until then, get fucked.
They do make you see a professional after a shooting, as well as an informal class with others that were involved in shootings as well. You'll take time for not going every time your notified and fail to go so I don't know where that non support idea came from
Depression can develop from incompetent leadership, unfair treatment and stress. With this in mind the hacks will still be promoted.
Wow
Barb West is or was concerned over what happened to a officer?
The West I knew was more concerned with climbing over others to make
superintendent
I am happily retired now from the CPD but still have occasional nightmares about the dead kids & other dead bodies, fights with offenders, etc. from the job ~ it doesn't ever go away and always tucked away in the back of your mind that haunts you forever....
You can go to therapist, pay out of pocket and no one has to know....
It also doesn't help when you have mentality abusive inept supervisors such as in the 6th district. I may not know much with 6 yrs, but I'm not your child. I can say this though. I went to a real university unlike you.
Anonymous said...
Hey Barb, there already is a provision in place to require officers to go to EAP after a significant event......Maybe if you didn't bring a pillow to work you would have known that or remembered that
She didn't bring a pillow when she worked with me, but she did sleep all night while I drove.
Any idea what a clinicians is?
Is recovering a dead baby traumatic?
How about when your partner drives too fast and crashes could that make your day seem blue?
Can being sent to summer mobile for 90 day lead to some stress???
Thanks Alderman i have insurance which covers all this...
Not that I don't think the people who are committing suicide are ones that have been involved in "traumatic shootings" but is there any numbers out there on how many cpd suicide that actually were involved in such instances as opposed to how many weren't? I just feel that this department hires such a large amount of people and the amount that are actually qualified for such a position are no where near the actual hiring numbers. Many people who commit suicide on this job have done so for reasons that have very little to do with the job itself and may not have passed the psych evaluation that other departments use. Maybe we should stop blaming the understanding and start blaming the law hiring process. Police officer isn't a job for everyone.. but in Chicago it seems it hardly matters
BINGO! I've been saying this for last few years. This is only going to get worse. Within the last ten years I've seen quite a few unstable looking kids our there.
13,500 Officers in the department? Really?
Anonymous said...
Well when you have an ungrateful public, asshole politicians using us as a punching bag, a county States Attorney more concerned for shit birds than the police, and dealing with bosses like Tempur Pedic West, we're lucky the number isn't higher.
5/02/2017 01:12:00 AM
She really outta do a commercial for My Pillow...
west is the problem, not the solution
Recently read a couple different articles about cops suffering from cumulative ptsd. It's not just experiencing a single significant event , but the day to day stress takes a horrible toll
Badge of Life Police Suicide Prevention is a nonprofit organization serving the US and Canada and provides all its services for free.
http://www.badgeoflife.com/
Isn't that the city's motto?
"Do More With Less".
Anonymous said...
Burke has more drivers than the city has shrinks to help police.
5/02/2017 12:08:00 AM
'True dat' (sic)
Whoever used the 13,500 number sworn and unsworn is an asshole and pulling the party line for Rahm, as we used to have 13,500 sworn officers. We are talking about police officers here period , end of story, Brainwashing works by repeating something all day every day, a practice the media uses to bullshit and brainwash the public.
Toxic management and civil litigation are additional sources also serious mental health issues.
From my own experience the medical section sucks. Having been shot on duty I know. The initial treatment at Northwestern was outstanding. Follow up treatment was performed by the incompetent quacks provided by the medical section. All follow up treatment is geared to push you back to work. A mandatory meeting with the shrink was confusing. The shrink relating that any problems I may have are related to my war time experiences. Once home and on the mend I was visited by a sgt doing a medical check. Recurring medical problems from the wound were always denied. Retired for almost ten years I see nothing has changed. The department is run by a corrupt politican and the superintendent is a hack. Stay safe and above all stick together.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
And where do you go when the help doesn't work? Just because you go see a clinician / counselor doesn't mean your problems will be solved. If you hate your job but have to show up for a source of income your problems won't go away and quitting and starting over isn't easy.
5/02/2017 01:29:00 AM
There is no common sense or logic in the above post. Of course there is no magic pill or magic therapy that will solve all of your problems but you need to start somewhere. EAP is a good place to start. Despite what some may say about EAP it is a terrific resource and at a minimum can offer you tools to deal with daily stress.l
I'm still laughing at the "nearly 13,500 police force" number they threw out. That's why they only have three people assigned to EAP, the total number of PO's is much less!
I have volunteered to work there I am peer support certified and taken all levels of training only to be shut down by the powers that be because a connected person wanted the job. To my brothers in blue they ( the powers that be) will never take away my integrity and my desire to help a fellow brother.
The department has always had the mindset that if you admit you have a problem you are going to be labeled a nut job with medical section, HR and your unit. Coworkers talk behind your back and bosses give you the crappest assignmsnts no chance of promotion with nut job in your file. The department sucks when it comes to helping our own out. You think. For a
Second this department or the politicians care about us-- ha! You reach out for help and you will find yourself jobless. The department will find a way to take away your gun and badge. It's not just shootings that cause officers problems, family having to work two jobs making you exhausted, high taxes not being able to move out of the city to affordable housing and a union that do not do shit to protect our rights or pension- they don't do shit for its members and it is a huge problem
Not most officers. I know I am one of those officers that made the mistake of reaching out for help. They rather see us dead or self medicating than alive. Glad I only have a few years to get the hell away from this job and finally live my life outside of Chicago crook county. Ask any officer if he or she is dumb enough to reach out for help through the department. What a joke-- barb west should stop pretending like she actually gives a shit about our mental health. She only cares about climbing the ladder.
Anonymous said...
Hey Barb, there already is a provision in place to require officers to go to EAP after a significant event......Maybe if you didn't bring a pillow to work you would have known that or remembered that
5/02/2017 02:24:00 AM
Read between the lines.............she is positioning herself to be the next supt.
To the elder statesman of the city council,
If you are really serious about reducing the number of police sucicides you need to identify the problems that cause the stress.
Here's a start of the list.
Police officers are servants to the king because they are forced to live in the kingdom and pay every tax increase the king dictates with paultry raises that further diminishes their ability to provide for their family.
Police Officers are forced to police and support, thru welfare programs, every ablebodied man and women in this city who refuse to work.
Police Officers are forced to support illegal aliens thru welfare programs, many of them criminals and not allowed to notify ICE.
Police Officers are forced to watch while their wages and benefits are eroded while every single fee and tax is increased to pay for sanctuary city illegals and welfare programs.
Police Officers are forced to police without continued training through their careers.
Police Officers are forced to watch officers who are not even qualified to be police officers become their supervisors.
Police Officers are forced to accept a promotional process where cheaters, scammers and those with clout rise to the top.
Police Officers are forced to accept no police service or police presence where they live to protect their family while they are policing those who do not want to be policed.
Police Officers want to do their job by enforcing the law while every other entity of the judicial branch as well as the politicians and the media promote lawlessness and minimilize criminal activity.
Police Officers do not have the support of the Police Department, the mayor or the aldermen because supporting police in a liberal democratic city cost elections and promotions.
Police Officers are forced to perform their jobs with unsafe vehicles and outdated equipment.
Police Officers are forced to accept fellow officers that were once criminals, gang members or both because of relaxed hiring standards.
Police Officers are forced to contribute 9% of their wages into a pension system that is failing miserably with an employer that refuses to properly correct the problem and places much doubt that they will receive their pension benefit.
Retirees constantly have their healthcare benefits eroded with no recourse.
Police Officers who believe they are keeping the devil at bay are forced to watch the devil flee in a vehicle or on foot and not allowed to pursue, allowing the criminal an unfair advantage in the fight to hold all accountable for criminal behavior and in direct conflict with the job they were hired to complete.
This is just a small fraction of the problems that police officers are conflicted with each and every day in a job that used to be respected and rewarding and Is now denigrated and condemned, while criminals are vilified and emboldened. Try comparing these obstacles and restrictions with the private sector. These conflicts do not even mention the obvious, that being each and every day a police officer may loose his life and never see his family again.
WeeZee crashed a rental car in Boston
A lot of retiree suicides are not computed in the totals. Retirees suffer. When you retire, you will have to ask yourself, what did I really do? If you spent your career being a dog, or a clerk with a gun, it will bother you. If you spent 25 years in a job you didnt want from day one, it will bother you. The full checks stop coming,you are old, maybe sick, and you wonder, what the hell did I really do?
Its just another way the liberal democrats in charge can say I hate you and don't care about you.
Look at yesterdays map guys. There is a lot of America shaded red that want law and order. A Police Officer from Chicago with X number of years of experience would be hired in a heartbeat. There are people and places that want you and want the skills you bring with you. No problem is forever, don't decide on a permanent solution.
J.J.
Yeah the job is ass deep in assholery. Were it I that needed help I'd never go to the Dept. . I would trust this outfit as far as I could piss and at my age I only dribble. Go to your own private shrink, DONT do this to your family. Not just eating your gun but turning to booze, drugs or whatever.
I'm lucky I found a good girl when I first came on. She and my kids became my life not this asshole job.
Seek outside help if you need to. It's worth it.
U.S. Veterans: 22/day X 365.
Remember the V.A. Suicide Hotline:
Call and you get a recording!
High stress, high responsibility, held to
Unrealistic perfection standards. The Medical
Profession has the same dirty secret. Physicians
About 3x more likely than general population.
Female physicians more likely than male.
See website: KevinMD
The truly sad thing is that if there were 11 aldermen with Psychologists in their family, the CPD would have 11 clinicians as well.
I am long retired now but it seems that the city still treats the police department on the cheap. Inferior equipment and buildings, inferior mental health and medical treatment, corrupt patronage promotion and assignment system, poor pay and benefits as compared to similar departments. Will this ever improve? How can the city leaders expect things to change when they will not change?
I could use a laugh.
Please publish that photo of Jesse Jackson
With greasy, wavy hair.
(I'll take the Bobby Rush stop as a second choice)
And Rahm wants to give millions to help illegals with legal fees?
Hey Ed Burke, show us you really care and divert the needed funds NOW to implement a program to save the lives of officers and their families. Not sure how hard you and Rahm need to be hit in the head with statistics to give a shit. I've heard you mention your were a policeman prior to being an alderman 100's of times. Now prove that you were and get it rolling. No blue ribbon panel needed here to look into the matter for next 18 months and end up with bullshit. First off, get the right people who understand the profession of policing and the stressors on officers and families. Hire counselors, psychologists, therapists and other paraprofessionals who specialize in our culture to serve and to save us. Get the ratio of officer to therapist etc... to the levels recommended by the AMA and other medical associations.
This isn't going to get any better and has only been sliding downward for the last two years due to increase pressure and invalid grievances against policing nationwide.
And for you Supervisor Eddie, you want to throw some positive percentages around that really matter, save some officers lives and then you can run around TOUTING the positive percentages. 60 percent greater suicides in CPD. You like big numbers.. 30 plus years my friend and have never seen it so bad. Sending an all department email out after an officer commits suicide is insensitive and ignorant. Increasing spotshotter and cameras in our busy districts and claiming victory is nice. Did you report to those districts with the media and discuss it or just email the numbers to media like you did the letter re officer suicide? Show the men and women you really care Ed and Eddie... Get it done in 60 days.. I'm seeing the effects on every watch in the district.. Do something about it..Or just sit by and watch another poor soul pass through the blue..
An uncle who reads this blog is a retired Homicide Detective from the old Area Two Murder Squad (as he calls the unit). He came on the job in the late 60's and when he reads the Second City Cop, which gets his blood boiling on occasion, he calls me and beats me up verbally. He understands things have changed for us who are on the job, but he can't understand someone doing their job who is involved in a shooting of a shithead, would even consider suicide. He told me when conducting investigations of an officer involved shooting, most of the time the involved officers friends would take him out after work and he would drink for free. It was a celebration, the bad guy was gone and the officer went home safe to fight another day. He feels the high suicide rate is not connected to killing some litte asshole who needs killing. He thinks the department by attracting people to this job in the last 15yrs., recruited people that should not have come on the job. In that time period, the department went out of their way to stop family members who had police officers on the job and any M/2 that was some how in their minds to aggressive. It's an interesting point, and to add to his theory just look at how they recruited the present bunch coming on the job. He said, instead of weeding out the snow flakes, the department went out of their way to recruit these types and now everyone is wondering why the high rate of suicide. What the people in charge have to do with this problem first, is look in the fucking mirror. Democrat, liberal media, sanitary city, and a Mayor and Sup. making up policies with the ACLU; that's what is driving the suicide rate, and all of the above. Be safe and fetal and shoot to kill if you have too.
I am a police officer. I need help. Not because of the death and carnage that I see on the streets but the death of this department that is now run by incompetent supervisors.
There is no substitute for friends and family. No, government can not do that for ya too. Even then, with all our best efforts, we can not stop someone who is determined to make this particular choice. This is no different than the claims about mentoring kids so they don't become criminals when they grow up. Sure, it SOUNDS good, but the truth is, friends and family are far and away more successful than any government program - and even then, we can't win em all.
What we CAN do though is make DAMN sure that when this strikes a family left behind to grieve....the kids not suffer one bit more than is the lack of perfection. Let them want for nothing, let them be pushed to make the most of their lives, let them know that no MATTER HOW BAD IT GETS, that YOUR door and YOUR door and YOUR door and YOUR phone and YOUR home is ALWAYS open to them and most of all that the love you held for their parent fallen is ALWAYS there for them as if their parent was still there.
Some of us have been through this, this ugly reality called suicide. And some of us have also made the mistake of letting that responsibility we were supposed to bear as a burden slip away to daily life....and the kids are the ones who suffered as a result. Don't make that mistake, for it is a worse burden than the grief and trust me in this...it is more painful that anyone realizes until it is too late.
Love the kids. Nerve Forget your Partner, your friend, your homie. Pour alittle out for em once in while too. It matters.
Hey Ed Burke, show us you really care and divert the needed funds NOW to implement a program to save the lives of officers and their families. Not sure how hard you and Rahm need to be hit in the head with statistics to give a shit. I've heard you mention your were a policeman prior to being an alderman 100's of times. Now prove that you were and get it rolling. No blue ribbon panel needed here to look into the matter for next 18 months and end up with bullshit. First off, get the right people who understand the profession of policing and the stressors on officers and families. Hire counselors, psychologists, therapists and other paraprofessionals who specialize in our culture to serve and to save us. Get the ratio of officer to therapist etc... to the levels recommended by the AMA and other medical associations.
This isn't going to get any better and has only been sliding downward for the last two years due to increase pressure and invalid grievances against policing nationwide.
And for you Supervisor Eddie, you want to throw some positive percentages around that really matter, save some officers lives and then you can run around TOUTING the positive percentages. 60 percent greater suicides in CPD. You like big numbers.. 30 plus years my friend and have never seen it so bad. Sending an all department email out after an officer commits suicide is insensitive and ignorant. Increasing spotshotter and cameras in our busy districts and claiming victory is nice. Did you report to those districts with the media and discuss it or just email the numbers to media like you did the letter re officer suicide? Show the men and women you really care Ed and Eddie... Get it done in 60 days.. I'm seeing the effects on every watch in the district.. Do something about it..Or just sit by and watch another poor soul pass through the blue..
Rip Craig
5/02/2017 01:39:00 AM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Hey Barb, there already is a provision in place to require officers to go to EAP after a significant event......Maybe if you didn't bring a pillow to work you would have known that or remembered that
5/02/2017 02:24:00 AM
Bab's is extremely incompetent.
They shouldn't let her loose in public nor ever let her speak in public or to the media.
Anonymous said...
And where do you go when the help doesn't work? Just because you go see a clinician / counselor doesn't mean your problems will be solved. If you hate your job but have to show up for a source of income your problems won't go away and quitting and starting over isn't easy.
5/02/2017 01:29:00 AM
===
If it's that bad, you have a tough decision to make. Good luck!
Heh...
Some of the very same peoples an' folkses at City Hall
are now feigning concern when they gladly jumped on the
dicks of #bl(a)m and local MSM during the opening days of the
"War Against The Police" going nuclear?
"Imma leave one pant leg on just in case
so I can jump off real quick..."
>Hump-Humppety-Hump-Hump!<
"We don't understand why you Coppers
call yourselves being so pissed off
about everything! Aren't there rules
against you guys being that way?"
Well... A concerted effort has been made
to walk Policemen and the common sense ideal,
if not expectations, of law abiding society
for the fearless Policing and Public Safety
to a stand-still.
All in the name of some nebulous,
yet to be clearly defined progressive and
perpetual grievant ideal called "accountability."
Casting aside the very real need for such
Policing to serve as some semblance of a check
to the out loud savagery and the accompanying
love and worship of death and destruction for
the sake of destruction and death.
Dude Inc. says:
"Yeah... Y'all scared of US now?"
Can't speak for the contentedly grazing
sheeple in this town, but...
Individually and in street level numbers?
Fuck no. Never have been and never will be.
(Got the scars and left some spent .45 +P
shell casings to prove it)
...Give any upright man just cause to abandon
the vehicle of civility and see how truly
ugly shit can be.
"WAAHH! Y'all gots RULES an' shit
against THAT!"
As a fully politically empowered, protected
and weaponized self perpetuating entity
with a City Hall and MSM propaganda
apparatus? Yeah... THAT SHIT IS concerning.
Heh... Intentionally tying The Police
and Actual Policing in knots to prop up
a badly failed narration that states that
The Police, in and of themselves are the
predominant causative of the eye-watering
violence in Chicago.
Said violence that has set Rahm Emanuel's
political vehicle ablaze.
Pity... And Rahm is pinned behind the wheel
and burning to a blackened skeleton.
By his own wittle hands...
Chicago tough guy, right?
Smartest m/fer in the room, right?
The only thing Rahm now has is the
continued "re-allocation" of resources
away from CPD to spend on relentless
courting and grooming of new constituencies
that will serve as a counter-weight
to the law-abiding taxpaying citizens
EVER regaining proper traction
and taking their city back.
Rahm blames The Police for his plan
to use Chicago as a springboard for
bigger and better things.
Typical narcissist. He blew into town
back in 2010 and his first order of
business was to pick a fight with The
Police and other first responders.
Telling Firemen, "You're gonna have to
learn to bleed..."
Telling Policemen, "We're gonna stick
it in the Cops ear..."
We imagine Rahm only has carnival
mirrors in his house.
No genuine self reflection.
...Police Like You Have No Friends.
Hung out to dry by politicians and prosecutors.. Robert Campbell 08 Jul 2014......
OT: To Any 009th District Guys & Gals From the 60's, 70's and 80's.
If you were there, you remember Warren's Tavern and you remember where it was located.
The old building met with the bulldozer some years back, but this very day, they are pouring a foundation for a residence(?) on the same site.
Warren was a good man and RB was a great bartender! I miss that place and all the good men and women who yesteryear had the occasion to toss back a few at Warren's. Those were the days and time marches on.
Wait until the DOJ looks at the Cook County Sheriffs Department. Much higher in the Sheriffs Department. How many employees you think are going to ask the 3 revrunds for help?
12,175 officers from the superintendent to the last recruit as of todays count.
(side note) almost 1,000 are in a ppo status.
By keeping it on the cheap the brass clearly send a message that they are not concerned about your mental health/well being. What a shocker.
He understands things have changed for us who are on the job, but he can't understand someone doing their job who is involved in a shooting of a shithead, would even consider suicide.
----------------------------------------
The big difference between now and when your uncle worked is we have a states attorney ready to charge an officer with MURDER or get sued and losing even when an officer shoots a stone cold jag off piece of shit with a gun or a weapon in his hand.
5/02/2017 02:01:00 PM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
OT: To Any 009th District Guys & Gals From the 60's, 70's and 80's.
If you were there, you remember Warren's Tavern and you remember where it was located.
The old building met with the bulldozer some years back, but this very day, they are pouring a foundation for a residence(?) on the same site.
Warren was a good man and RB was a great bartender! I miss that place and all the good men and women who yesteryear had the occasion to toss back a few at Warren's. Those were the days and time marches on.
5/02/2017 02:19:00 PM
I've been there and done that and have great memories of Warren's and Bobby and Ricky.
Actually it didn't meet with a bulldozer years back... it was very recently that it was bulldozed but it hasn't been Warrens in a longtime.
They have recently started pouring a foundation on the site.
Those were the days huh?
A good number of these suicides are not related directly to police work. The vast majority are domestic related. Marital issues, divorce etc. EAP will greatly help with these issues. Our insurance also covers it. I was paying $13 per visit every week. Big deal. Both were a great help. Get off the macho bullshit and talk to somebody.
This is just a small fraction of the problems that police officers are conflicted with each and every day in a job that used to be respected and rewarding and Is now denigrated and condemned, while criminals are vilified and emboldened. Try comparing these obstacles and restrictions with the private sector. These conflicts do not even mention the obvious, that being each and every day a police officer may loose his life and never see his family again.
5/02/2017 08:43:00 AM
Now add a gun into the equation and you have a recipe for disaster waiting to explode!!!
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Not that I don't think the people who are committing suicide are ones that have been involved in "traumatic shootings" but is there any numbers out there on how many cpd suicide that actually were involved in such instances as opposed to how many weren't? I just feel that this department hires such a large amount of people and the amount that are actually qualified for such a position are no where near the actual hiring numbers. Many people who commit suicide on this job have done so for reasons that have very little to do with the job itself and may not have passed the psych evaluation that other departments use. Maybe we should stop blaming the understanding and start blaming the law hiring process. Police officer isn't a job for everyone.. but in Chicago it seems it hardly matters
BINGO! I've been saying this for last few years. This is only going to get worse. Within the last ten years I've seen quite a few unstable looking kids our there.
5/02/2017 06:44:00 AM
Keep in mind a lot of people coming on the job now are millennials and won't be able to deal with the high stress and BS that this job brings every day. Some of the new hires will be quitting and taking other jobs after realizing what kind of a mess this job is. It's a mindfuck every day. The younger people will not be able to take it.
They will always be looking for ways to fuck you but they will never EVER look for ways to help you.
I am happily retired now from the CPD but still have occasional nightmares about the dead kids & other dead bodies, fights with offenders, etc. from the job ~ it doesn't ever go away and always tucked away in the back of your mind that haunts you forever....
5/02/2017 06:09:00 AM
Long retired. I concur.
I spent many days there. His burgers were great; about 37th and Lithuanica, if I recall. Lots of gambling too.
If you're intimidated by EAP, call Fr. Dan or Rabbi Wolfe, regardless of your religious beliefs. Both are good men and they KNOW!
I've lost a lot of friends on this job, to sickness and to Suicide. 3 to Suicide from my homeroom alone. Winter months are extra tough for those that inclination. Miller Lite does NOT help your thought processes, trust me. Talk to someone. Ask that Senior officer.
ASK ANYONE!
FOP board voted to give Dean Angelo his FOP car. Really? Do i get to keep my unmarked when I retire? Hell can I even take it home from time to time. This just goes to show how entitled these guys are. Does he get to use the FOP credit card for a few more steak dinners for himself and ten of his closest friends. Hey Cap, how about publishing the FOP credit card statements from the past four years? It's our fricken money.
Police work doesn't cause enough stress to cause suicidal thoughts, let alone the follow through. Some extreme incidents may be a bit more stressful than others but thats just a process to go through to mentally work through them. What does cause that action, or at least the thought is the constant threat of lawsuits, firing, incarceration, loss of income from discipline and the continued berating by political groups, anarchists and others who feel they don't want to be policed. We are the world's disciplinarian and some in society do not like people who have more power and maintain the ability to control and punish them for their actions and deeds. Those individuals seek the means through any and all avenues to thwart that ability and it is that action that causes to most stress and most (usually unwarranted) trouble for law enforcement. I'd face any gunman in an alley and sleep well that night. The insessent headaches these corrupt politicians and activist dogs cause is mist troubling, and some guys and girls cave to that stress. Its not the work, it's the side effects.
CPD officers are treated like crap. We risk our lives and we don't pay into Social Security. We have a depleted broke pension. When we get injured at work the city fails to pay medical bills then acts like it never happened . We have no worksman comp which saves city millions of dollars. Now they strip retirees health and act like they never made the commitment . Human Resources needs to be trained in treating officers with dignity and patience . Spend money on sending Don O'Neill to a workshop on how to respect the work we do .
The biggest stressor is the quality of supervision on this job. A direct result of promoting hacks, nerds and Ass kissers that can't figure out why no one respects them.
RIP Quinn.
RIP Healy.
Is recovering a dead baby traumatic?
It's been twenty years and I will always remember baby Diamond Dixon.
Baby dean is now on the mayor detail. Probably the prize for screwing us on the contract. Nice
Thanks dean
Officer shot at with rifles at 43/Ashland
This is the price for noaction on these stolen cars we can thank the mayor Ed and media for this
She didn't bring a pillow when she worked with me, but she did sleep all night while I drove.
And that's why this police department has zero credibility. You allowed that behavior from a fellow officer. You are just as guilty as her sleeping. Good for you Asshat.
TD 9.5 and Special Ed are on the way to Stroger.
Save it Rahmmie and Ed. We do not want you there.
This is the price for noaction on these stolen cars we can thank the mayor Ed and media for this
What does the stolen cars have to do with anything dummy. How about this is the direct correlation of coppers not doing a dam things cause of these slimey media scum and no bosses having our backs. These animals know what's they can get away with now..
I think about my first dead baby all the time. Its been 26 years and I still can't shake it. I think the bigger problem is I'm probably the only person in that infant's life that thinks about him.
"A good number of these suicides are not related directly to police work. The vast majority are domestic related. Marital issues, divorce etc. EAP will greatly help with these issues."
You don't police work is directly related to domestic problems? You must not be married.
Phil Cline started a anti depression/suicide program and we were working to partner with Adler College. It was looking great till Phil got bounced and Jody came in an scrubbed the whole program
"Its just another way the liberal democrats in charge can say I hate you and don't care about you.
Look at yesterdays map guys. There is a lot of America shaded red that want law and order. A Police Officer from Chicago with X number of years of experience would be hired in a heartbeat. There are people and places that want you and want the skills you bring with you. No problem is forever, don't decide on a permanent solution.
J.J."
Newsflash Just a Jerk Red States have Officers offing themselves at the same rate as the rest of the country. Do us all a favor and save the politically motivated bullshit for somewhere else.
Why be bothered about things you never had control over? Death, bodies, violence, and other mayhem happened long before you took the job, and will still happen long after you're retired. Were you bothered about murders before the job? If the answer is no, then you shouldn't care now. I'm like the morgue people. Nothing bothers me, aside from the smell of death. The blood and gore, I don't even blink. Look at the world today. Hundreds of thousands have been slaughtered over the years, and everybody is oblivious. Nothing will change. Humans are violent creatures. It's a job. Do something else if it bothers you.
I've got 22yrs on with 1.5 to go.
Anonymous Its not police work said...
Police work doesn't cause enough stress to cause suicidal thoughts, let alone the follow through. Some extreme incidents may be a bit more stressful than others but thats just a process to go through to mentally work through them. What does cause that action, or at least the thought is the constant threat of lawsuits, firing, incarceration, loss of income from discipline and the continued berating by political groups, anarchists and others who feel they don't want to be policed. We are the world's disciplinarian and some in society do not like people who have more power and maintain the ability to control and punish them for their actions and deeds. Those individuals seek the means through any and all avenues to thwart that ability and it is that action that causes to most stress and most (usually unwarranted) trouble for law enforcement. I'd face any gunman in an alley and sleep well that night. The insessent headaches these corrupt politicians and activist dogs cause is mist troubling, and some guys and girls cave to that stress. Its not the work, it's the side effects.
+++++
Take it easy, Rambo. Believe it or not, some people ARE affected by shit they see, whether it's an officer shot or fucked up in a car accident, a child injured, shot or dead, a person badly mangled. I've seen infants and kids destroyed and dead and the images are haunting. I would have an incredibly hard time seeing someone expired by their own hand as a PO. I'm proud of my resume and what I've done and I have the balls to admit that some of the shit we see on this job is not normal. It's your condescending assumptions that makes people feel like they can't vent about stuff affecting them without some fake ass tough guy saying some stupid shit like you did. If anyone asks, I'm sure you're the baddest motherfucker you ever met.
To any struggling officer: please reach out to the good people on the job. There is always someone in the district or your team, usually multiple, that would do anything to help you.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
I spent many days there. His burgers were great; about 37th and Lithuanica, if I recall. Lots of gambling too.
5/02/2017 05:28:00 PM
37th Pl and Sangamon.
"significant event"
Like day in day out shoveling shit against the tide trying to bring civilization to those who hate you and are incapable of functioning in the modern world?
Living and working in the midst of third world savagery, savagery the likes of which you'd find in some unexplored jungle?
It's beyond me how or even why you guys do it for even a week without throwing yourself of a bridge, much less for long enough to get a pension. There's simply no way you could deal with the endless parade of degeneracy for any length of time and not become permanently scarred. I'd pray for you, but I don't know if even God could sort out Chicago's problems short of a meteor strike.
To: Nothing bothers me. . .
Listen tough guy, it's not about the amount of murders that occur out there. It's about what each individual officer experiences. Sure, every officer gets callous after seeing the never-ending gore. But after decades of seeing that, it gets buried into the depths of your subconscious. Years from not when you are awakened by nightmares, and then lying there awake, the faces of death and innocent victims will haunt you. Unless you have become a monster as well. It's the lifeless bodies of children, microwaved babies, decapitated wives, baby rapes and the faces of child torture that will test your sanity. Good luck tough guy.
Chitown is now like Mexico
Judges murdered , police ambushed , political corruption
Pay to play
Trump has to hold mayor responsible for allowing illegals and providing them with assistance with tax $$$$'
how about this. make it easier for cops to move on if the job gets to be too much.
make retirement benefits easier to take with if you leave so there is less reason to stay on a job that is literally killing you.
no reason to stick it out if it is going to suck the life out of you.
department that is now run by incompetent supervisors.
============
it is not as if this is anything new. the department has been run by hacks selected for political reliability over anything else for at least 100 years.
So did Dean get to keep the car or not?
TO: 5/02/2017 08:43:00 AM
You have done an eloquent job of explaining it all.
Retired
What the hell is wrong with the idiot with 22 years on the job that says nothing on this job bothers him?! Did you spend most of your career on the desk?! Maybe you never dealt with the crack whore who gave her baby to a pedophile or the crack whore who sold her handicapped daughter in the back of a van in an alley to anyone that would pay her so she could buy more drugs or the motorcyclist whose bike & body were on one side of the road while his head was on the other side or the poor dog with a machete cut down the front of his head and still wagging his tail when he saw you or the poor cats with firecrackers tied around their necks in the projects ~ I can go on & on and trust me, it stays with you FOREVER! To this day, I can honestly say that I haven't had a good nights sleep and I have been retired for 6 years now.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
how about this. make it easier for cops to move on if the job gets to be too much.
make retirement benefits easier to take with if you leave so there is less reason to stay on a job that is literally killing you.
no reason to stick it out if it is going to suck the life out of you.
5/03/2017 10:47:00 AM
Exactly. You should be able to do your 20, retire and immediately start collecting your pension. Then take some time off, pick up a part time gig if you want one and move on.
I spent many days there. His burgers were great; about 37th and Lithuanica, if I recall. Lots of gambling too.
5/02/2017 05:28:00 PM
37th Pl and Sangamon.
5/03/2017 03:09:00 AM
Northwest corner.
You never forget,or forgive.
Maybe they need Saldana back at EAP??? Just ask him he'll tell ya
CPD is useless when it comes to helping Cops and retired Cops. All Talk, No Action. Typical Democrat Politics.
I am not a police officer but I read somewhere, maybe here, if an officer needs help and requests help, they get terminated.
"What the hell is wrong with the idiot with 22 years on the job that says nothing on this job bothers him?! Did you spend most of your career on the desk?! Maybe you never dealt with the crack whore who gave her baby to a pedophile or the crack whore who sold her handicapped daughter in the back of a van in an alley to anyone that would pay her so she could buy more drugs or the motorcyclist whose bike & body were on one side of the road while his head was on the other side or the poor dog with a machete cut down the front of his head and still wagging his tail when he saw you or the poor cats with firecrackers tied around their necks in the projects ~ I can go on & on and trust me, it stays with you FOREVER! To this day, I can honestly say that I haven't had a good nights sleep and I have been retired for 6 years now."
Detective actually. As I said, violence happened before you, and will happen after you're retired. Apparently I'm callous and numb to it, because I don't dream of work or what I've seen at work. Policing as I stated isn't for everybody. Obviously it didn't jibe well with you if you're still having dreams 6 yrs after retirement. I care about family and friends, and not things I see at work which I have ZERO control over. Officers need to learn that reality.
Detective, I personally look up to you sir and the toughness that you displayed on your keyboard. Yes not everyone is right for this job, and not everyone who IS right for this job possesses the mental toughness that you expressed so eloquently. I'm sure you have tons of time throughout the day to let people know what a hard tough guy you are, but did you think for a second that this is not the place for you to play tough guy? I know I know nothing bothers you but maybe some young copper is reading this blog and reads your bullshit and decides not to seek help. Great way to support your brothers and sisters. I have known and met alot "tougher" men and women on this job who had issues related to PTSD. Are you saying military veterans should also "get over it?" After all there has been war before and will be after. Wait....who are you trying to convince? Us? Or yourself? Seek help brother, it's ok.
We are human and not robots like you, DETECTIVE ~ your so lucky you run on hot air and not blood!
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