Two cops have filed a libel suit against the Chicago Police Superintendent, Jody Weis, because they were investigated for beating a handcuffed teenager.
Though Weis never identified Meuris and Vanna by name to the news media, he published their names in an internal communication sent to others in the Police Department, said their attorney, Daniel Herbert.
How is an investigation of officers to take place if no one is allowed to mention their names in any internal communications? This would be a laughable, frivolous suit if it weren’t for the message being sent by the officers.
Don’t investigate us, under any circumstances, for anything. Or else.
The cops here have been getting bolder in their reaction to being investigated for breaking the law themselves. Many have been threatening the citizens saying that they will not do their jobs, and will leave the city to the criminals if the investigations don’t stop. These are the cops who protested for their right to beat up people handcuffed to wheelchairs. Now they are suing the superintendent for nothing more than investigating brutality accusations.
No longer are they satisfied with simple cover ups and whitewashes. They never want an investigation to begin at all.
These are armed thugs, holding our city hostage, and I’m sick of it.
Rahm Emanuel has been running around Chicago asking people about issues for the mayoral election. He’s going to make education a key issue. I think he should make police reform a priority. If you happen to catch Rahm at an event, tell him you are sick of the Chicago police holding the citizens hostage. Tell him you want to see some real reform in the department for once.
There have been plenty of studies over the decades with good ideas, so it’s not hard to find out what needs to be done. There are two things I would like to see done right away to help.
All officers need to wear cameras that record any interaction with citizens. Richard II loves to go to Europe to find new ideas for Chicago. He liked all of the cameras in London watching the citizens there (despite the fact they were found not to be cost effective) yet never managed the courage to suggest we mount cameras on police officers as they now do in the UK.
I guess he was afraid of what the cops would do to him if he suggested such a thing. If every interaction was recorded by the police, the city could potentially save millions of dollars now spent in lawsuits over false abuse claims. As it is now, who wouldn’t believe a citizen who claimed they were abused by a Chicago cop? Apparently it’s hard for city attorneys to find twelve people at a time not willing to believe such claims.
Head-cams would quickly pay for themselves many times over, helping to balance the city budget. False claims would be minimized and bad cops would be more reticent to abuse their powers.
Another reform that often appears in independent studies is a requirement that all police have a bachelor’s degree. On one level, the systems used by modern police forces are complex and require a better educated person. Better educated police officers should be more effective police officers. Beyond this obvious advantage, though, are the studies showing that better educated officers are less likely to abuse their authority.
Other reforms would be welcome and needed, but, as a first step, these two changes would go a long way towards a better police force in Chicago.
Chicago citizens are being held hostage. I guess we need a hostage negotiator. I wonder who that could be?
T says
Liberal tree hugging putz. Lets see you police the streets of chicago.
Ken Gibson says
You have to love it when someone uses a well reasoned and supported argument to counter a viewpoint on a complex issue.
Give me the budget for the Chicago Police Department and a few years of reforms and I’ll do a good job policing the streets of Chicago. Now, what does that have to do with allegations that I enthusiastically encircle trees with my arms? I assume you have pictures to support your accusation.
Big City Detective says
You are a moron. Obviously you live in a bubble.
Ken Gibson says
I do appreciate when a police officer leaves a comment that supports one of my arguments about law enforcement. There is a serious need for higher education, with an emphasis on critical thinking skills, in the CPD.
What we don’t need is more grammar school-level name-calling bullies. Hopefully the upcoming exams will produce better candidates. The emphasis on attracting minority recruits may help since they have been on the receiving end of the abuses to a greater extent. Hopefully this will result in officers with greater respect for the authorities granted to them. The danger is that it will attract people who now want to reverse the tables and do some bullying of their own.
Cameras and education. Is there anyone who can tell me why those two reforms would be bad? (I mean bad for anyone but crooked cops and the FOP.)
Or you could just keep calling me names and flaunting ignorance. That actually works quite well supporting my position.
Mark Draughn says
Yeah, really, how is Ken in a bubble? What gritty realities of the street does he not comprehend? We’re reasonable people, explain it to us. Keep in mind that if you say we wouldn’t understand because we’re not cops, that’s just an admission that YOU are the one who’s in a bubble. In fact, that’s pretty much the definition of being in the bubble.
ELois Poole-Clayton says
Those JERKS, have TO much nerve!
PS: An “internal Investigation”, needs to be doone on 37th Ward, Emma Mitts, for this Corrupt Cop, who own property at Leclaire & Concord, has had Mitts COVERING his intimidations for TOO long!
My landlord, was beaten, in an attempt from him, to take over his building.
Since I’ve been living at 1613 N. Leclaire, one of this cops workers(whom my landlord gave a place to live, because he was homeless), has THREATENED to KILL him.
He went through the courts and had him REMOVED(evicted), YET, I have seen him since, on his property.
He had ANOTHER(Nate who lives across the hall from I(I live 3N), has brought MUCH trouble into this building.
The landlord had him removed, but somehow, he’s BACK in here.
There’s NO WAY, that ANY judge could FORCE I, to allow such jerks to live in/on MY property;NO WAY, would I allow it!
He spends his OWN money, to protect the respectful tenants, but someone is DELIBERATELY leaving the door OPEN, allowing whomever to get in, when they want.
Mitts told he AND I, that before she can do anything, she has to have some 911 calls!
Mitts know DAMN WELL, that 911 isn’t going to call her and tell her ANYTHING!
My landlord asked her(even before I moved here), about getting a camera put up at North & Leclaire, because this corrupt cops workers, busted into his office and destroyed his monitor that he had mounted so that he can SEE activity going on around his building.
This corrupt cop on this block, MUST be STOPPED!
Commissioner WEIS, I’ll NEVER forgive you, if you allow these JERKS, to take over this city!
This city belongs to the residences/taxpayers and we have a right to live in peace, just as the mayor has the right to live in peace and have it, on his block!
Children has been BULLIED in neighborhood, by such people, for TOO long, by corrupt cops and their goon stupid workers, who are TOO stupid to realize that when REAL cops get them, they will be on their OWN!
Their BOSSES(most of them) don’t/won’t even bond them out of jail.
This DOPE, has completely messed their entire understanding up, about how life is supose to be and they are really confused about who runs things.
NO ONE, has the right to control others(children included), in their neighborhoods!
Everyone should be able to play and work in their neighborhood WITHOUT being afraid to come in and out of their homes!
THIS MUST BE STOPPED!
PPS: This westside junk, is perptrated by this Katie Harris(pedophile family), at 639 N. Lockwood and this Barbara IS an accomplice to ANOTHER corrupted cop, named BRENDA JONES!
I have gone on the ARKANSAS F.B.I. website and seen the name of Brenda Jones.
I’m almost CERTAIN, that it’s the SAME Jones who MURDERED my brother and another person, on May 17, 1980.
It’s CLEAR, that she put in for a transfer and has somehow gotten herself promoted to Arkansas Police Chief!
She needs to be investigated, ASAP, for this Barbara KNOWS MORE, than she is being prosecuted for.
These people are getting away withmurder and much more and it must be STOPPED!
CAPS, is ALSO a CROCK, for children are being kidnapped/raped/ prostituted out and everything else!
IT MUST be STOPPED, in this AUSTIN AREA!