Charlie Beck's Los Angeles

Coming soon to Chicago?

• A California woman claims she was assaulted by a homeless man who pulled her out of her car, dragged her into the middle of the street and poured a bucket of hot feces on her head.
  
  Heidi Van Tassell described the disgusting incident to Fox News on Tuesday.
  
  She said she was getting into her car after grabbing dinner with some friends near the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles when a 6'2" man, who appeared to be homeless, attacked her a few months ago.

Some of the poop must have penetrated her brain though - get this:

• The man who attacked her was identified in court records as Jere Blessings, a transient with "schizophrenia and psychotic disorders." Blessings was charged with battery and taken to jail.
  
  Van Tassell, though, said Blessings would be better off under psychiatric care.
  
  "He doesn't need jail time," she said. "He needs mental-health care. I have empathy for him because he needs help."  Blessings was found unfit to stand trial and released back on the streets, she said.

So he's out walking around, saving up more shit-in-a-bucket no doubt, ready to pour it over another lib-tarded victim in the near future.

Falling Behind

This Department hasn't operated efficiently in forty of fifty years. They expect miracles now?

• Chicago police officials in charge of implementing an array of court-ordered reforms in the department admit their first progress report, due to be released this month, will likely leave something to be desired.
  
  Their response: We’re committed to the process and we’re working on it.

Might this be part of the reason Groot doesn't trust the current crop of exempts to implement the Decree?

• The report will examine the department’s progress in the development of a new use of force policy, its work to engage the community in the reform process and in training for officers as part of reforms the consent decree orders, among others.

Well, the Department is about to finish training each and every supervisor in which pronouns to use in today's politically charged atmosphere. At least, that what it says on paper. That's certainly an effective use of police resources, right?

Chopping Block?

Call us when it's written down on paper:

• Anonymous said.... I’m hearing from my little moles at HQ that they are seriously thinking of moving 025 commander for life Escamerit to 016 as captain. The thought process here is they will ding him a little with the demotion but they will also bring “experience” of a 4 year commander who, not of his own doing mind you, over saw steady crime reductions each year.

Every hour this ass stays in his spot is a slap to everyone who plays by the rules. Escamerit ought to have been in jail on at least two occasions and to our knowledge, remains

• the only exempt who was taken out of a District in handcuffs as a PO, yet still got three different "merit" promotions;
• and the only exempt who, after being recommended for firing, kept his spot.

We don't know what dirt he's got on the politicians, but it must be extra dirty.

Breathing?

We're going to do what now?

• Anonymous said...
  
  New York is done. Now it’s the west coast. These clowns will come in, make money, bring in their friends, screw CPD up even more, then leave. Wait until you have to take the stupid 4 hour breathing class next year. It’s in development right now, some asshat from L.A. is using CPD for her thesis.

We've been compelled to complete surveys for outside entities and we don't doubt that some person used them to write a doctoral thesis of some sort. For that reason, we always answer these things as poorly and sarcastically as possible. If we don't have to use our PC number to log in.....well, let your imagination run wild.

We're also hearing rumblings of some sort of "pursuit training" that's on someone's desk in an effort to reduce or even eliminate city liability for chases that go bad. In that case, the blog and its readers have been light years ahead of the curve telling everyone to knock it off, because guess who is going to paying out of pocket if the city can show an officer disregarded training?

016 Again

Beware of a man with a knife who knows how to use it:

• Four men were stabbed, one fatally, and another man beaten Monday after an argument over a damaged car in Portage Park on the Northwest Side.
  
  They were walking to their parked car about 2:04 a.m. in the 5300 block of West Irving Park Avenue when another vehicle struck it, according to preliminary information from Chicago police. The men got into an argument with the male who hit the car.
  
  The male, who had a knife, got out of his vehicle possibly with another male, police said. The fight turned physical, and four men were stabbed. A fifth man who was with the group was punched in the face.

Four-versus-one (maybe two). Three critical, one dead, most with torso/chest wounds.

That is a dangerous person. That is also why we shoot people with knives.

(don't mention 011, don't mention 011. Last time we did that.....)

Start 'em Early

This isn't exactly a new thing - gypsies were doing it long ago:

• Organized shoplifting teams, some taking advantage of children who appeared to be no more than 10-years-old, struck retailers repeatedly this weekend in the Loop, Magnificent Mile, and Lincoln Park, according to police reports.
  
  One crew pepper-sprayed a retail worker. Last Wednesday, another theft team slammed a store employee’s head into a glass merchandise case.
  
  Retailers are dealing with a wave of organized shoplifting teams that frequently use juveniles to do their dirty work. North Side locations of Forever 21, H&M, Ulta Beauty, DSW, Patagonia, and Burlington have been struck repeatedly — sometimes twice within hours.

And guess who isn't prosecuting shoplifting cases unless it's something like "greater than $1,000" and "ten previous convictions"?

Veterans Day

Thank you to all who have, are or will serve.

Does This Mean Anything?

This is the State FOP. Does it apply to Chicago?

• When Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced his support for a plan for the state to combine roughly 650 suburban and Downstate police and fire pension funds last month, the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police criticized the state for having the “worst in the nation” track record of managing public pensions.
  
  On Friday, the police union — which represents more than 34,000 active duty and retired police officers — changed its tune, signaling that lawmakers can get the ball rolling on the plan next week during the final days of the fall veto session.
  
  House Deputy Majority Leader Greg Harris, D-Chicago, on Friday said he anticipates movement on the pension consolidation measure, pointing out that there have been good discussions with police groups who had initially opposed the proposal. One of their main concerns was about the composition of the governing boards.
  
  The plan would combine the pension funds to try to increase efficiency and lower costs — while also increasing pension benefits.
  
  The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police on Friday said the group now agrees in principle on proposed amendments that they requested to address some of their concerns.

Is FOP 7 along for the ride or what? The State Lodge has some authority over local lodges, yes?

"Community" Pushback?

Guess who isn't happy?

• An activist warned newly announced Interim Police Superintendent Charlie Beck to expect “strong protests” from community members concerned about his previous tenure in Los Angeles as officials toured a number of police districts Saturday.
  
  [...]
  
  But as Beck begins to familiarize himself with the city, Black Lives Matter activists in Los Angeles have warned: “Take it from us, you don’t want him.”
  
  “Under Chief Beck, the Los Angeles Police Department became the most murderous police department in the nation with 45 officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths in 2017. A title they continue to proudly hold,” the group wrote earlier this week.
  
  Local community activist Mark Carter, who spoke with reporters outside the Englewood District station, said he was opposed Beck’s appointment as interim police superintendent. “You mean to tell me you had to reach all the way to California and nobody here was good enough to be interim superintendent?” Carter said.

Well, to answer your question Mr. Carter, decades of so-called "merit" picks have lead to brain-drain and institutional stupidity as dumbasses nominate other dumbasses, corruptocrats and pin cushions, and you end up with quite possibly the least intelligent supervisory staff ever assembled.

It's not that they weren't good enough - they're just all dumb fucks.

But Beck making enemies of the #blm crowd makes us want to give him a chance. But it's a narrow window Charlie.

As an aside, we can't believe we're going to be allowed to murder people again - it's been so long!

No Kidding Doc

Shouldn't this have been addressed by the Legislature back when everyone saw dollar signs?

• Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Friday she’s concerned about a surge in marijuana use among young people when recreational weed becomes legal on Jan. 1 — and the time to start preparing for it is now.
  
  “All substances — marijuana included — have major impacts on brains that are still developing. And brains are still developing up until ... the age of 25,” Arwady said.
  
  “Our big focus, as it’s been for tobacco, is going to be on youth and making sure that kids, their families, their teachers, their pediatricians understand some of the risks.”
  
  Arwady said she was on a call with the Chicago Public Schools this week about education campaigns and school services that must be put in place in case there’s a surge of CPS students showing up at school high — or, even worse, driving after smoking or ingesting marijuana products.

The more scientists test and monitor long term weed usage, the worse it seems to be, especially among the younger segments of society. Hopefully, the studies showing weed smokers end up sterile have some truth to them.

Quotas Again?

Some people just shouldn't be promoted:

• A certain [011 District] 3rd watch LT BUTT-ler is demanding we produce activity on fixed post (our clueless commanders favorite), demanding activity for officers who have seniority and are seasoned and have assigned beat cars, and if anyone who wants to keep their partners better start bringing in numbers.
  
  The punishment will be partners broken up, officers pulled from their beats (some have handled the same ones for years), and moved about where needed despite some having the same start times since Evans was commander.
  
  Meanwhile the commander wants certain areas patrolled more than others with numbers produced.....and its suprising these areas seem to have some relatives of his owning property, or some individual with aldermanic pull.

You have all these cops working in what is the biggest shithole in Chicago. Literally. You would have a hard time making the argument that anywhere else is worse in terms of crime for the past fifty years.

• Why in God's name would you alienate these officers if you want any sort of numbers and activity from them? You fuck with their start times and partners they trust and guess where your numbers are headed?

Perhaps the lieutenant is a failure at inspiring the troops? Perchance the Commander is too focused on his next bump and protecting properties that he purchased under questionable circumstances during the Officer Next Door program?

Regardless, if the Lieutenant is demanding numbers and threatening punishment for failing to meet those numbers, he is certainly going to put these demands on paper so everyone knows exactly what is expected of the officers.

POWERFUL

The following is the family statement at the 04 November re-sentencing of Officer Brian Strouse's killer as read by his sister. This will be the only post tonight. Click the link at the bottom for the full statement - it is extensive. Take your time and read it all:

FAMILY STATEMENT

12,082 That’s the number of days Brian was alive. Most of those days were spent trying to make this world a better place.

1,583 days of being a decorated war veteran in the United States Marine Corp. Protecting the freedoms, rights, and safety of every United States citizen.

15806 His badge number for the 2,370 days that he spent as Chicago Police Officer saving others, and doing whatever he could to make this city safer. Making it a better place than it was the day before.

2 the number of bullets that you fired into him, that ended his life, and what started a new number for us.

6,701 days that we have had to live without him. Days replaced with the pain, and anger that brings us here, to this courtroom, again.

There isn’t a number that I could give you for the days we haven’t been able to share with him

Read more »

The Real Reason Beck is Here

Groot doesn't need a fill-in super. She needs a hatchet man who will follow orders:

• LL is going with an outsider who has no connections to the Alder-thieves or Rev’s as interim Sup. He’s gonna do all the chopping at the top without any discussions, back door dealing or nepotism EXCEPT LL’s.
  
  Watch for two chiefs to be demoted or put in their papers tomorrow (Friday). One Chief to 1st Deputy in the coming weeks and another two retiring by the end of the year. We’ll have a new Chief of Patrol, BOD, OCD and D unit by 01 January 2020.
  
  Also, look for another former LAPD big wig that’s been working with CPD to be next Sup.

That would be the Malinowski character who's been setting up the Strategic Decision Support Centers (aka camera rooms) and working with the U of Chicago eggheads. He was Chief of Detectives in LA, so perhaps concentrating on the D-unit will be his big thing?

Certainly interesting times are approaching.

Free Water!

When the city spends money on construction, it gets bottom of the barrel results:

That's not a leak. That's a downpour inside the Annex at 18th and State.

CPS Misstep

After a contentious strike, CPS makes a concerted effort to alienate the last of their supporters:

Christmas break and summer vacations are (in many cases) already planned and set. Airline tickets are purchased and hotel reservations made.

But it was "for the children" remember?

Lost Comments

We had a computer crash overnight and lost about 40 comments between 1800 and 2100 hours. If you don't see your comments, it's gone to the big internet graveyard in the sky. Sorry about that.

(comments closed here)

Our Offer, Once Again

Back in December of 2015, while Rahm was plotting to draft Special Ed into a spot he didn't apply for, we made an offer that would have (A) saved Rahm a shitload of money, (B) brought a level of professionalism to the Department unseen in decades and (C) been a bunch of fun for everyone:

We humbly offer our services to the Chicago Police Department as Superintendent of Police.

• We have an opinion on just about everything (see our written works);
• We support the rule of law, the Rights of all, and the Constitution;
• We're pretty damn smart;
• We use words like "integrity" and "diversity" and actually know what they mean;
• We don't tolerate fools.

And rather than waste everyone's time pretending the Police Board actually "reads" the massive amounts of essays and such that will be submitted, we offer the following:

• We will take the job for a guaranteed 3 years time frame - no ifs ands or buts. An option for an additional two years upon mutual agreement. All money will be paid in advance because we don't trust Rahm's accounting practices. This will be in contract form, vetted by legal experts of our choosing from out-of-state.
• We shall accept a salary of $1 less than the mayor, because you shouldn't make more than your boss.
• We will receive in writing, signed by the Police Board and mayor, a blanket exoneration of all CR's from the beginning of our term of office and retroactively backward regarding any and all complaints about the blog. We know there are a few, including IAD's illegal First Amendment investigation into Constitutionally guaranteed Free Speech during our off-duty hours. The former lieutenant (now commander) who initiated will be publicly caned with a rod made out of rolled-up facsimiles of the Constitution. This item is non-negotiable.
• We will guarantee a first-year savings in operational costs of no less than $15 million dollars.
• Carte Blanche in appointing our command staff - that means no input from the mayor, the aldercreatures, the Machine (city or county or Springfield), the "revrunds," the media, the ACLU (and other legal entities) or the feds. We will vouch for their ability and integrity. And believe us, our picks will be far superior to anything currently serving in an exempt capacity.

It's the only solution. You have our e-mail. We await your letter.

Seriously Groot - what have you got to lose? And caning Barb West with rolled up copies of the Constitution would still be awesome.

Wow. Just Wow (Rumor)

Someone asked why the Department kept extending the deadline to pay the fee for hte Sergeant's Exam. This would appear to answer that question:

• SCC, you know who in years past, we'd have tens of thousands of people signing up for the entrance exam, and how it fell off to less than 2,000 people per test three or four times a year?
  
  Well, after weeks to register and two separate deadlines to pay your fee, a grand total of 875 (+/- a few) people are properly registered for the upcoming sergeant exam.
  
  That's it. They've made the spot so undesirable that no one wants it.

875? And the lists usually last until around 450 people get promoted.

Someone has to track this one down, because this is a disaster if true.

Bad Idea Groot

Not that she cares, but that she cares so little and isn't even bothering to hide it:

• Former Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck will be announced as the interim Chicago police superintendent on Friday, sources said. Beck is flying into Chicago and will be introduced at a press conference Friday, sources said.
  
  Beck only plans to serve in the role for as long as needed while officials undertake a nationwide search for a new permanent chief. The search is expected to take three to six months, sources said.

So why do we even have an exempt command staff if Groot can just summon in a 66-year-old former LAPD Chief with questionable material in his background such as:

• promoting relatives, 
• harassing subordinates, 
• "forgetting" he signed a Contract purchasing at least one horse (at a profit) from his own daughter for the LAPD Mounted Unit?

We don't have enough corrupt CPD backgrounds, Groot has to import it now? He can't even serve in a sworn capacity being outside the age limit. Why even come here for a temp-job and have no one to trust or work with? What political fuckery is this?

Did everyone see the Sun Times list of potential replacements for Special Ed?

• Melissa Staples - with the lowest homicide clearance rate in recorded history;
• Eugene Williams - whose name appeared on all those e-mails Ferguson couldn't find regarding the Lie-tenant scandal;
• Al Wysinger - who won a medal for shooting at (and missing) a fleeing suspect in the middle of a block party and whose wife went from "merit" pick in the low 1,000s to scoring #1 on the Lie-tenant test. Not just #1, but supposedly with a perfect 100% score;
• Barb West - nicknamed "Pillows" for the sleeping device she brought to her midnight shift and former IAD head who ran at least one illegal First Amendment investigations regarding the blog involving extensive surveillance of an innocent party;

And that's just the CPD insiders.

Buh Bye Now

Some amazing quotes in this article from Special Ed:

• “Rahm Emanuel saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself,” Johnson said Thursday.

Yeah, a patsy and someone willing to sell out his reputation.

• “My glass is always three-fourths full. I choose to focus on the positive things,” he said. “I’m so at peace with things, mentally.”

Bad word choice there Ed - we have to ask, what was the glass full of?

And this wasn't in the article, but at the presser, Ed said he retires with his "integrity intact" while:

• his wife, who cheated more qualified people out of lieutenant bars via the Eugene Williams study group, stands next to him;
• and the suspension of all Power Testing at the Academy while his son went through;
• and the current whereabouts of CD after she fell out of a chair;

That's some great "integrity."