Free Republic

Nearly 33,000 juveniles arrested over about the last two decades have been labeled by Chicago police as gang members.. The records, released as a result of an open records fight by the Chicago Tribune, provide the first look at gang data kept by the Police Department for those 17 or younger, most of whom were African-Americans and Hispanics from historically violent neighborhoods such as Lawndale and Back of the Yards. At the time of their arrest, 13 of the juveniles were just 10 years old. About 60 were 11. And more than 300 were 12. ... juveniles were affiliated with...

Chicago police released body camera video on Sunday of the fatal police shooting of 37-year-old Harith Augustus, which sparked a night of protests in the South Shore neighborhood. Supt. Eddie Johnson said he made the decision to release the video "because the community needs some answers and they need it now." He said he wanted to clear up misinformation about the shooting. After the shooting, crowds gathered near where the shooting occurred Saturday evening at 71st Street and Clyde Avenue. Four police officers injured and four protesters arrested. Protesters threw rocks and bottles at police officers and jumped on squad...

Chicago Police have only charged a suspect in 12 percent of homicide cases in 2017, meaning city residents had an 88 percent chance of getting away with murder last year. Chicago suffered 604 fatal shootings in 2017, 570 that have yet to be solved, ... Joining the homicide clearance rate on the bad side of 2017 was the carjacking rate, that was the highest in a decade. The Chicago Police Department reported 967 carjackings in 2017 through Dec. 27, a sharp 30 percent increase over 2016’s 682 total. The past three years have shown a stark upward trend in car...

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch announces findings of investigation into policy and practice of Chicago Police

In 2013 the Chicago Police Department began a predictive policing program for the expressed purpose of reducing the amount of gun violence in the city. The principal component of the program was the Strategic Subjects List (SSL), a “…list of individuals who are either prone to be shot, to being a shooter, or having some sort of inclination toward violent crime.” The list was created by city employees via the use of an algorithm designed to predict “…who is most likely to be involved in a shooting – either as the shooter or victim – by analyzing data such as...

Leaders from three West Side gang factions allegedly met last week to discuss plans to shoot members of the Chicago Police Department in response to the fatal police shooting of Paul O’Neal. The meeting took place Thursday between higher-ups from the Vice Lords, Black Disciples and Four Corner Hustlers, according to an alert issued to department members the day after the meeting. The Four Corner Hustlers “provided guns” and have “a sniper in place” though authorities do not know where, according to the alert. The Four Corner Hustlers also are supplying the other two gangs with automatic weapons, which all...

Thursday, July 14, 2016 Bye Bye Shotguns? An interesting missive out of the Chief of Patrol's Office this week: Commencing the week of 18 July 2016 through 22 July 2016, there will be a District shotgun and ammunition turn-in. The purpose of this weapon turn-in is to collect the shotguns, reconcile the inventory and later repurpose the weapons if necessary. [emphasis added - SCC] There's an attached matrix for every district and unit to bring the shotguns in - and the Districts may not get them back. One of the more versatile weapons in the Department inventory is being removed...

<p>Radio host and former police officer John Cardillo, who has a large police audience, says 90% of Chicago police officers support Donald Trump after Friday’s UIC rally was canceled.</p> <p>Donald Trump canceled his massive rally at the UIC auditorium on Friday night due to security threats. Trump prevented what possibly could have been a very violent situation. The local police officers appreciated this.</p>

Dennis Farina -- who starred as Det. Joe Fontana on "Law & Order" -- died today in Scottsdale, Arizona after suffering a blood clot in his lung. He was 69. Farina is a Hollywood legend -- who appeared in tons of classic films and TV shows including "Get Shorty," "Snatch" and "Midnight Run." He also appeared in HBO's series "Luck."

Chicago Police Officer Richard A. Rizzo has been arrested four times in the past seven years, but that’s not enough to get him fired from the department. Rizzo has been arrested for domestic battery, child endangerment and aggravated assault with a gun. Yet while members of the general public are expected to pay fines or go to jail, prosecutors have dropped charges against Rizzo each and every time.

Starting this week, Chicago police are changing their responses to 911 calls. They’ll no longer come right away to reports of things like criminal damage to property, vehicle thefts, garage burglaries, or other crimes in which the suspect is no longer on the scene, and the victim isn’t in immediate danger. The move will free up the equivalent of 44 police officers a day for patrol duties. CBS 2′s Jim Williams spoke to some Chicagoans who think it’s the wrong move for the police. On the block where burglars broke into a home on Christmas Day, Carmen Curio has a...

The city of Chicago agreed today to pay a record $22.5 million to a woman who was released from police custody in 2006 and instead of being taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, she was released into a high crime area where she was gang raped and plummeted seven stories. Christina Eilman, was 21-years-old when the crime occurred and she suffered permanent brain damage from the fall and has needed constant medical care ever since. Eilman, who is bipolar, was taken into police custody at Midway Airport after suffering a mental breakdown on her flight from California. Rather...

“Would You Take Away Guns From Law-Abiding Citizens?” Open Poll Causes Stir In American COP Magazine Will You Do It? I’ve known anti-gun cops, who seriously said things like, ‘They have no right to own a gun, it’s my job to protect them. If they have guns, it’s just a danger to me!’ I ike to think my “real” job is as the editor of our sister publication, American Handgunner magazine. A publisher wears many hats, but what I really like to do is write, edit and interact with readers. What I’ve never forgotten is we, you and I, are...

Tom Lashinski was walking his mother's small dog in the North Center neighborhood early Sunday when he noticed two people scuffling in an alley. "It was like something out of Batman ... with Batman jumping into someone and people rolling around and getting up and going back at it."

The Chicago Police Department is seriously considering scrapping the police entrance exam, sources tell Fran Spielman. Dropping the exam would bolster minority hiring and avert legal battles, according to one source, while others confirm that the exam could be scrapped to open the process to as many people as possible. However, the lack of an exam would make Chicago the lone major city without one, and experts contend that the exam is integral to eliminating unqualified applicants. The CPD has tried in recent years to boost minority hiring by offering the police exam online and turning to minority clergy to...

Chicago police were investigating a burglary at the offices of attorneys for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in which at least one computer containing undercover recordings from the sweeping corruption case was stolen, sources said. The break-in took place about 4 a.m. at the law offices of Sam Adam and his son, Sam Adam Jr., in the 6100 block of South Ellis Avenue, police and Sam Adam Jr. said. Contrary to early statements by a police News Affairs officer who referred calls regarding the burglary to the FBI, the FBI is not involved in the investigation, FBI Chicago office spokesman Ross...

Police investigators too educated? November 9, 2009 BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter Investigators hired to probe the surging number of allegations of excessive force against Chicago Police officers are too educated to relate to those involved in the shootings, a South Side alderman warned Monday. Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) put the Independent Police Review Authority on notice about its hiring practices as the agency prepared to launch a study to determine the root cause of the 19 percent increase in complaints, most of them since March. “Hiring people with advanced degrees is a wonderful thing in terms of their...

I've been listening for a couple of hours. It's really something. Multiple domestics, drunks, shots fired, domestics, stabbings, drug dealing, accidents, gangs, fights, music too loud, .. God bless and protect all those out there protecting us in every town in America.

A trained nurse, Rachelle Jackson immediately ran toward the sound of the crash. A Chicago police car had collided with another vehicle and was starting to smoke, two officers still inside. Fearing an explosion, she quickly pulled one officer from the passenger side.She never imagined her act of kindness nearly six years ago would land her in jail for more than 10 months on charges that she robbed, battered and disarmed a peace officer. Jackson filed a lawsuit, and on Thursday a federal jury found against the city and several Chicago police officers, awarding Jackson $7.7 million for false arrest,...

www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-kass_bd15jul15,1,3978402.column chicagotribune.com This officer's sentence is hogwash John Kass July 15, 2007 In an Iowa criminal case that smells of a thousand hogs, a young Chicago police officer was sentenced last week to 5 years in prison for defending himself against an attack by two large, drunken men, even though he testified that he repeatedly tried avoiding a fight. There is a U.S. Department of Justice office in Iowa. What is happening to Chicago police officer Michael Mette bears some serious federal inquiry. Dubuque District Court Judge Monica Ackley agrees Mette was attacked, he tried to avoid conflict, two large...