The New Policing

This made us shake our heads:

It reminds us, forcibly, of this:

Who would have thought that a Stallone flick would be indicative of the future and not just a bit of entertaining fluff?

Deferred Comp Seminar

From an e-mail:

• I'm a retired Chicago Fireman and Member of Local 2. I am currently a Certified Financial Planner, and many of my clients are current or retired CPD and CFD. My firm puts on complimentary luncheons exclusively for CPD and CFD retirees and those within one year of retirement.
  
  Next week, we are hosting an educational lunch focused on Deferred Compensation Options upon retirement.
  
  The lunch is Thursday, October 20th from 11:30am – 1:30pm at Gibson's Steakhouse in Rosemont. There are a few spots left and interested participants can RSVP ... on our website http://gaughancapitalmanagement.com/RSVP.aspx

More info:

Informational post - comments closed here.

Special Ed's Memo

So this came out in the Tribune the other day:

• The Chicago Police Department, pressured by a U.S. Justice Department investigation and public outrage over police misconduct, has unveiled proposed policy changes aimed at cutting down on the kinds of controversial uses of force that have plagued the city.
  
  The draft policies released Friday would further limit when officers can shoot fleeing people, restrict the number of times officers can Taser arrestees and compel officers to use the lightest force possible in any situation. The draft rules would expand on guidelines now in effect, some of which are comparatively vague.

And the Sun Times had this:

• The Chicago Police Department for the first time will seek the public’s input on proposed changes to how officers use force — proposals that already are worrying some cops, such as restrictions on when to draw a weapon.
  
  “We’re going to use less-lethal alternatives as much as we can,” police Supt. Eddie Johnson said at a news conference Friday.

All on a Friday afternoon....of a holiday weekend. Is this Department completely predictable or what?

Then you had Special Ed's "memo" outlining what was to come:

• Let me be very clear, I understand the concerns you may have regarding use of force encounters. I have worked the very same streets as you. I understand the challenges and the scrutiny under which we operate. These policies were drafted to clarify response options that can be used while making split second decisions and contain information, most of which should already be familiar to you.

Really Ed? When was the last time you actually worked these streets? Three years ago? Five years ago? Ten years ago? Let's face reality here - you haven't worked these streets. It's changed Ed. We know what we did decades ago and we're pretty sure we know what you did decades ago, and it ain't happening now. So you haven't worked diddly-squat Ed. You're a politician now.

What worries us is that last sentence:

• These policies were drafted to clarify response options that can be used while making split second decisions....

So you're going to take a relatively simple Order....and complicate it? You admit that these are "split second decisions" but your brain trust is going to add more information. Golly, won't that result in more hesitation? More second guessing? More coppers getting hurt and (God forbid) possibly killed?

Some other highlights from Special Ed:

• Sanctity of life – In all aspects of their conduct, Department members will act with the foremost regard for human life and safety of all persons involved. This includes the requirement that officers comport themselves in a manner that conveys the gravity of any use of force, offering medical aid to those injured in use of force incidents, and intervening and reporting on a subject’s behalf when observing force being used in violation of Department policy.

Sanctity of life? What, the "preservation of life" policy was too godless? "Comport themselves"? So no high-fives and touchdown dances? Already there. Summoning medical help? We do that. "...intervening...on a subject's behalf when observing force being used in violation of Department policy." So....officers have to tackle another officer using what they determine to be inappropriate force? Or shooting other coppers now? What two-bit lawyer wrote this crap?

• Ethical behavior - The Department remains committed to prohibiting and preventing the use of unwarranted or excessive physical force and expects its members to demonstrate the highest degree of ethical behavior and professional conduct at all times. Officers will engage the public with professionalism and respect the dignity of every person in carrying out their law enforcement duties, while ensuring that gender, race, ethnicity, or any other protected characteristic does not influence any decision on the use of force.

More about that pesky "ethics" from a guy who covered up a cheating scandal involving his betrothed and the wives/girlfriends/side pieces of how many bosses? And has anyone asked that copper in 015 if "race" played any role in her decision to take a beating rather than shooting the felon beating her unconscious?

• Use of Force – While the legal standard remains that an officer's use of force must be objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional to the threat faced by the officer, the new Department policy is more demanding than the law requires. Department members will now be expected to use the least amount of force necessary based on the totality of the circumstances and will only resort to physical force when no reasonably effective alternative appears to exist

So forget existing law and court decisions. You will be fired for a policy violation committed in a "split second" decision that you have almost no control over - the actions of another person. You know what a "reasonably effective alternative" would seem to be? Roll slow and/or retreat from confrontation. Brilliant.

• Deadly Force – The use of deadly force (which now also includes striking a subject's head with an impact weapon or into a hard, fixed object) is only authorized to prevent an immediate threat of death or great bodily harm posed to officers or another person. The draft policy generally prohibits officers from firing into crowds, into buildings or through doors and windows, and at or into a moving vehicle, except in extraordinary circumstances. Additionally, officers may only draw and display their firearms when there is reasonable belief that such action is necessary for the officer’s safety or the safety of others.

You mean like if an officer is being strangled (threat of death or GBH), head stunning is authorized? We know of an officer who'd like to hear that one again. As for the firing into crowds, unseen targets, etc, no shit there Ed. As for the "draw and display," it seems someone has forgotten the "act, react" scenarios. Tactically, you act far faster than an opponent can react. Having your weapon handy cuts down on the reaction time and enables officers to more easily save their life, their partner's life and an innocent bystander's life.

Then it goes into "de-escalation," the new buzz-word that is going to get officers maimed and killed. It's a pile of crap and pretty much an order to avoid contact with the public, an end to proactive police work, slow roll to jobs, and retreat in the face of resistance. Dumb dumb dumb.

Making that Money

Off taxpayers of course:

• Over the past nine years, two nephews of former Mayor Richard M. Daley have been involved in separate plans to redevelop a rundown warehouse on 15 acres of polluted land in Little Village just north of the Stevenson Expressway.
  
  It hasn’t turned out well for Chicago taxpayers.
  
  First, taxpayers have to make up for $4.2 million in city pension money invested on behalf of teachers, police officers and other city workers that ended up squandered on failed development plans involving Daley’s oldest nephew, Robert G. Vanecko.
  
  Now, taxpayers stand to lose another $4.1 million on the same property at 3348 S. Pulaski Rd. That’s the amount of a property-tax break given to a second redevelopment deal for the site.

Amazing how that happens - a magical last name and everything you touch turns to millions of dollars while we have to sweat even getting a pension and losing all medical coverage.

Light Holiday Posting

We're taking it easy tonight. Nothing too heavy. We're digesting the Use of Farce order, all 41 pages, and figuring out exactly what changed. So much of it is a rehash of previous orders and much of it is stuff the Department is doing already. The actual changes are subtle and the waffling to insulate brass (who don't work the street) and burn coppers (who do work the street) are pretty obvious.

Open post for various interpretations of the order.

How's the Dog???

Someone got shot in "West" Englewood - no surprise there. But a dog caught a round, too:

• A man and a dog were shot Sunday afternoon in the West Englewood neighborhood on the South Side.
  
  The 23-year-old man was in the 1500 block of West Marquette at 12:35 p.m. when a group of males ran through a nearby gangway and one of the males opened fire, according to Chicago Police.
  
  The man was shot in the buttocks and thigh and taken in good condition to Stroger Hospital, police said.
  
  The dog was also struck in the leg in the bullet.

Word is the "gangster dog-ciples" are suspected in the shooting and additional gun play may be expected in areas frequented by the "new breed pups" which the victim has an association with.

#blm - black labs matter!

Trib Loses Its Mind

First they endorse Garry Johnson.

Then they spend this entire editorial blaming Machine democrats (specifically Anita) for crime numbers rising:

• From policing to prosecution to trial to incarceration to parole, citizens are demanding better of their criminal justice system. There's heightened public scrutiny of street stops, arrests, charging decisions, judges who slow-walk cases, and insufficient state penalties for repeat gun offenders — the list goes on.
  
  But as violent crime rates rise, citizens, too, will have to do more — especially to help police and prosecutors find perpetrators and put them away. That will mean building connections and trust between people in law enforcement and the impoverished communities where criminals prey on innocents.

And the Tribune endorses - the Machine politician, hand-picked by Toni Prickwrinkle, who's busy building her own Machine, to straighten out a system broken by.....Machine politicians. Makes perfect sense.

Retire Healthcare

Just got this in an e-mail. It will be mailed to retirees next week and should answer a lot of questions:

Final Pull Out on Scribd

Click to read full sized. Again, this was e-mailed to us from a retiree. We have no answers available other than what was provided to the original recipient.

Dunphy on De-escalating

Very timely in light of the "Use of Farce" order:

• Among the challenges faced by today’s police officers is trying to stay abreast of the latest fashions in law enforcement training. The challenge is all the greater when those fashions are dictated by politics, and greater still when adhering to them can get you killed.
  
  Witness the latest fashion in police work: “de-escalation.” This is supposedly a novel concept that encourages officers to be more circumspect in their use of force against resisting suspects, even those who are armed with weapons. “Slow it down,” begins a recent Los Angeles Times story on the topic. “Police haven’t always been trained to think that way. They’re supposed to take immediate control of a situation, resolve the problem and move on to the next call. There are always more calls.”
  
  The story goes on to cite last week’s killing of Alfred Olongo by a police officer in El Cajon, Calif., a suburb of San Diego. The shooting engendered several days of protests in the area, some of them violent. The clear implication of the story is that if police had but employed these de-escalation tactics with Olongo, the use of deadly force might have been averted.

Remember, this is the guy who pulled this classic move:

Even liberal bleeding-heart media-types who have gone through "shoot, don't shoot" scenario training shoot this type of assailant 100 times out of 100. The instinct to protect one's own life is the overriding factor, let alone your typical copper's desire to actually protect innocent people, too.

But you know and we know, everyone else is an expert at police work nowadays. In the meantime, go read the entire article at the link.

Editorial

An e-mailer sent this our way. They relate that it wasn't written by them, but it was sent to both major papers as a "Letter to the Editor." We doubt it will see the light of day, so we're printing it here:

• Today, my car was acting up. I took it to the mechanic. Then, having no experience in auto repair, I proceeded to tell him what was wrong and how to fix it.
  
  Then, I headed to the doctor for a surgical consultation. Having never been to medical school or studied medicine I then proceeded to tell him what surgery to do and how to do it.
  
  On my way home, I stopped by the courthouse. Having never been to law school, I met with a few lawyers and judges and told them how to try, defend, and judge cases.
  
  If this all sounds asinine, it's because it absolutely is. Why would anyone attempt to speak about something that they themselves know nothing about?
  
  Then why are we letting the public dictate police policy, having no experience in law enforcement? All police have been civilians. Not many civilians have been the police.
  
  Everything written in the past is of a fluid dynamic. There's lots of grey, and with good reason. These proposed changes are foolish and only serve to appease certain parties or groups of individuals.
  
  It is not only dangerous to officers, but also to the public they serve. Restricting police action restricts police work. And that empowers and emboldens criminals.

With the recently released draft of the new "Use of Force" order, and solicitation of public input, while excluding the FOP and PBPA - the very people who will be living (and dying) with the order, is asinine. Special Ed is proving minute by minute that he is nothing but a tool for Rahm and he has no one's back but Rahm's.

Time to Remove the Posters

Does every station still have those "Earned, not Given" inspirational posters on the walls near the locker rooms and other places.

Anyone feeling inspired lately?

Granny Clampett certainly didn't "earn" that uniform. Neither did J-fled or McCompStat. It's obvious the Department is handing it out to any carpetbagger that serves the political order.

Lambert Tree Winners

Congratulations to two officers from Harrison who saved two women from a psycho:

• Domestic violence calls are the kind that police officers universally dread. Emotions are running high. They can turn deadly in an instant.
  
  That’s what happened on Oct. 4, 2015, when Police Officers Justin Raether and Jacek Leja rescued two women being held hostage at gunpoint by a boyfriend of one of the women.
  
  They tried to talk the boyfriend down using de-escalation tactics now being reinforced by the Chicago Police Department. A gun battle ensued. The offender was killed. The officers were unhurt.
  
  “He came out, charging us with a gun. We had to engage him. As soon as that was over — it lasted only a couple seconds — we managed to make our way into the apartment and found his girlfriend with serious injuries from being shot and stabbed. But we got her to a hospital, and she survived,” Raether said.

A job very well done Officers. Congratulations.

Run Away!!!

The new "Use of (no) Force" is being presented for public comment this weekend.

The initial reading makes this an obvious "Run Away!!!" order.

If you cannot "create safe space" you will be disciplined. This is the "Baltimore Provision," i.e. "Room to Destroy"

If you use any amount of force when other options were available, you will be disciplined.

If you don't render aid after using force, you will be disciplined.

If you display your gun, you will be disciplined.

All of this will be judged by civilians, politicians, lawyers, fake "priests" and assorted activist assholes with 20/20 hindsight and hundreds of hours to dissect your actions that were taken in mere tenths of seconds.

We will dismantle this insanity overnight. But suffice it to say, if you don't think that your life and job is in jeopardy from this second forward, you're dreaming.

Worse and Worse

Word that the injured officer suffered serious concussion and breaks to some bones. Her partner isn't much better off:

• The female officer, who was taken to Lutheran General Hospital, suffered a concussion and multiple lacerations and bruises to her face and head, Santini said. She also was treated for a bone chip to the wrist and shoulder and had a neck injury.
  
  Her partner also was taken to the hospital with a concussion and had cuts, bruises, a torn quad and a broken thumb, Santini said.

That might explain while neither officer was able to get a handgun into play - one was unconscious and one had a broken thumb, rendering him unable to unsnap and draw.

The PCP sodden felon fought through three different Taser hits, pulling the prongs out at one point. He also has four previous arrests for resisting - any word from Anita's office why a few of these hadn't resulted in extensive prison time?

Nice Gesture

In the Department AdMin faxes, a death notification appeared. It was for the father of Judge Peggy Chiampas, who has been a singular voice of reason and steady police support.

Our sympathies to the Judge on her loss and we extend the sincere hope that the support of her family and friends gets her through this difficult time.

Informational post only - comments closed here.

What Hath They Wrought?

And here we are.

The logical extreme of a biased media narrative, political support for a racist terror organization, a "community" that has been catered to for any outrageous behavior and the complete lack of leadership throughout the upper echoelon of the Department:

• Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been trying desperately to coax Chicago Police officers out of their defensive crouch.
  
  Their reluctance is believed to have contributed, in part, to a 50 percent surge in homicides and shootings.
  
  But coaxing is not working, according a story Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson told at Thursday’s annual police and fire awards ceremony in the City Council chambers.
  
  Johnson talked about something that happened Wednesday after officers responded to what he called a “simple traffic accident” that turned ugly.
  
  “A subject who was under the influence of PCP attacked a female officer. Viciously pounded her head into the street as her partner was trying to get him off of her. This attack went on for several minutes,” Johnson told the assembled dignitaries.
  
  “As I was at the hospital last night visiting with her, she looked at me and said she thought she was gonna die. And she knew that she should shoot this guy. But, she chose not to because she didn’t want her family or the department to have to go through the scrutiny the next day on national news.”

There you have it - an officer knowing she could legally use deadly force, but consciously choosing great bodily harm - or death - to herself over having to go through the manufactured outrage of a criminal community out or control. And this is a 17-year veteran.

What kind of service does the "community" think it's going to get when this is the first thought going through an officer's head?

We'll tell you exactly what they'll get - nothing. It's simpler to disengage and clean up the aftermath of a "community" with zero impulse control, zero pride, zero sense of personal responsibility. A "community" that has accounted for 80% of the shootings and homicides this year and nearly 85% over the past decade.

UPDATE: Hey Special Ed? You've got everyone's back? Any word on our co-worker who justifiably and appropriately, gave the offender that was strangling another officer on the ground, a single well-deserved and completely legal stun to the head? Until you resolve that one, shut the hell up about "changing the narrative." You already changed it.....and you chose the other side to save your job and your girlfriend's job.

More Money Located!

So Rahm decides to spend it on.....junkies!

• Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to boost spending to combat opioid and heroin abuse — and license pharmaceutical representatives to prevent the over-prescription of opioids.
  
  A $700,000 investment in drug-treatment programs — a 50 percent increase over current funding — will be directed first to “opioid treatment deserts,” which have a disproportionate level of addiction and are largely concentrated on the West Side.

Seriously? "Opioid treatment deserts"? Who the fuck came up with that phrase? Working VRI, we've seen countless ambulances saving junkies with Narcan or similar injections. We've seen shooting galleries where the syringe is taped to the wall. Among the Medical District hospitals within a five mile radius of 012, they go through enough "opioid treatments" to float a boat.

All this money to save people who poison themselves and create massive crime and disorder issues.

Tell you what (and we've said this a dozen times here and elsewhere), it's a self solving problem if you leave it be - junkies OD, junkies die, property crime in these communities heads downward, and the dope trade dries up. And for the bleeding hearts who decry our cold-hearted attitude, we've personally known junkies and the havoc they wreak upon their families and friends is indescribable.

Sat Teams to Wrigley

An "increased presence" for the playoffs today:

• Don’t expect to see numerous street closings in Lakeview or a phalanx of cops outside Wrigley Field for Game 1 of the Cubs’ National League divisional playoff game Friday night against the San Francisco Giants.
  
  Instead, look for Addison and Clark streets to have regular parking restrictions and possibly be blocked off next to the ballpark for the safety of the sellout crowd.
  
  Also look for a marginal boost in the presence of uniformed police officers.
  
  The Chicago Police Department plans to increase the number of uniformed cops outside Wrigley Field from the typical complement of 40 officers to about 70 on Friday, a police source said.
  
  Officers on so-called “saturation teams” will be moved from other parts of the city to the neighborhood surrounding the ballpark. As usual, you’ll see officers on horseback. And more plainclothes cops will be assigned to look for people selling counterfeit tickets and merchandise.

So they won't be saturating the west and south side killing fields. Also, the Department recently stripped PPO's from the Districts and created an open ended "Detail Unit" that they can deploy citywide, switching hours and days off according to the progress of the post season.

In the meantime, be careful this weekend as the band-aid teams are redeployed to watch millionaires and their fans attempt to break the world's longest losing streak.

Cops Attacked at Crash Scene - VIDEO

Just a fender bender, and three cops get attacked:

• Three Chicago police officers were injured, one seriously, in an incident on Chicago's West Side Wednesday morning, according to police.
  
  Around 10 a.m., officers in the 15th District were on patrol when they came across a traffic accident near the intersection of South Cicero Avenue and West Roosevelt Road, authorities said.
  
  They approached the crash to see if anyone was injured and a male subject became combative and struck an officer, according to police.
  
  Two other officers were injured while putting the offender in custody, officials said.

There's video at the link. This asshole was probably high as a kite, but if he had been justifiably shot after manhandling and body-slamming the one copper, you can bet we'd be hearing about it for weeks, because there's no such thing as "personal responsibility" in Austin.

Best wishes to the injured for a speedy recovery.

UPDATE: Video over at WGN. No idea where the other one went.

They Have Time for This?

The city is in crisis, the streets are red with blood, the rent-collectors are at the door, and the City Council has time for this?

• Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) moved Wednesday to punish Donald Trump for using a 50 percent spike in homicides and shootings to paint a “distorted caricature” of Chicago as a “decimated, war-torn country.”
  
  If the full City Council goes along with the idea, the Republican presidential nominee would be stripped of a recognition he covets: “Trump Plaza,” the honorary designation approved for the east side of Wabash Avenue between Illinois Street and the main branch of the Chicago River.

When Trump was building his tower, the aldercreatures were lined up to take photos and more than willing to name a street after the guy. After all, he was probably greasing some palms along with the photo-ops. They had plenty of time for that.

But hey, let's check the tape:

Golly, Trump told the truth, and for this he must be punished? Makes perfect sense. If Trump actually wins the election, how soon will these idiots be lining up to beg for D.C. money for assorted bailouts?