Re-posting:- A 2 & 3 year old left alone at home - fire breaks out - 1 dead & 1 Critical - You are not going to believe this news video

Listen to the children's auntee (the last person interviewed in this news clip) you will will not believe what she says.....




The format size of this video was originally too large to view on the blog, I have corrected the problem. Click here to go directly to the news website to view the entire screen of this video

If any other blogger or other website would like to use this video... please feel free. I encourage as many people as possible to post this video on their website.

Police charge the CTA bus driver who claimed he was beaten by the police

Prosecutors: CTA bus driver made false report on beating
UPDATED STORY A CTA bus operator who alleged he was beaten by an off-duty Chicago police officer was charged today with making a false report and obstructing justice.

But the lawyer for driver Ricardo Mendoza ripped the charges after Mendoza was ordered held on $50,000 bond by Judge Donald Panarese. Mendoza was later released on bond.

"These charges are absolutely ludicrous," said the lawyer, Craig Sandberg. "The police clearly are trying to intimidate him."

Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Sara Grgurovic said Mendoza's accounts of the alleged beating varied and were inconsistent with witness testimony and images that were captured by a camera on the bus.

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Detective Shavedlongcock:

This is a shocker. The on duty bus driver who claimed he was beaten by an off-duty police officer after the bus driver cut the officer off (officer was on a bicycle) is charged with not telling the truth about the incident. This is surprising.

Phones, Web at Chicago Police HQ down 4 hours

A fire-protection system was triggered late this morning at Chicago Police Headquarters, knocking out telephone and computer systems for about four hours, a police spokesman said.

The fire-protection system went off in a telecommunications room, automatically knocking out power to at least part of Police Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave., said Police News Affairs spokesman Roderick Drew. Power was quickly restored to the building at large, and telecommunications equipment -- including internal and external telephone systems and Internet service -- was restored a little before 3:30 p.m. today, Drew said.

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Detective Shavedlongcock:

How did all the house mouses at police headquarters do their internet shopping and on-line games with the internet being down! This was an insiders emergency!

Man in critical condition after being shot outside a Polish nightclub in Burbank, IL

Shooting outside of Burbank bar leaves man in critical condition
A man was listed in critical condition Saturday morning after he was shot outside of a lounge in southwest suburban Burbank.
About 1:30 a.m., Burbank police were notified of a person shot outside The Club, located at 4829 W. 77th St., according to Burbank police Capt. Tim Klein.
A man in his early 20s was shot in the parking lot of the lounge, Klein said. He was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Police were interviewing witnesses and persons of interest Saturday morning, Klein said.

UPDATE:
2 caught in shooting after car runs out of gas
Burbank investigators were questioning two people in the shooting of a man outside a nightclub early today after the suspects led police on a 10-mile chase that ended when their vehicle ran out of gas, police said.

The victim, a man in his 20s, was in critical condition today at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The shooting occurred outside a nightclub near 77th Street and Cicero Avenue about 2 a.m. today, said Burbank Police Capt. Tim Klein.

Police were still trying to figure out the details of the incident, but it appeared the victim and his attackers knew each other and may have been at the bar together before the incident, Klein said.

The man was shot in a parking lot outside the nightclub. A friend of his tried to drive him to a hospital but did not know the area well enough and got lost. Eventually, they flagged down a Chicago Police officer near 80th Street and Western Avenue, Klein said, and the victim was then taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, he said.

Meanwhile, the men believed to be the attackers took off in another vehicle and were spotted by Alsip police a short time later, Klein said. The men led police on a pursuit until their car ran out of gas near 151st Street and Will-Cook Road in Orland Park, where they were arrested, Klein said.

The two suspects are being questioned by police, who are consulting with the Cook County state's attorneys office regarding charges, Klein said.

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Detective Shavedlongcock:

The offenders run out of gas after a 10 mile chase? This means the offenders had less than a gallon of gas in the car? OK, you can tell for sure now that this was a Polish nightclub.

Looks like NYPD is having as many police shootings as Chicago police - NYPD has two shootings on Friday

NYPD Cop Shoots Teen in Face After He Pulled Pellet Gun & Off Duty NYPD shoots alleged robber

NEW YORK — A police detective shot a New York teen in the face Friday night after he pulled a realistic-looking pellet gun during an argument in the Bronx.

Police say 15-year-old Marcus Bonner was hit in the cheek, but survived. He was hospitalized in stable condition.

Authorities say a group of officers were conducting an undercover drug operation when they spotted the teen threatening a group of rival youths with the gun.

The officers chased the teen and confronted him. Police say the Bonner was shot when he reached for the gun.

They didn't find out after the shooting that the weapon was a fake.

The shooting was one of two by police on Friday. A man was wounded by an off-duty officer in Brooklyn after he allegedly tried to rob him at gunpoint.

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Detective Shavedlongcock:

Just for the record, a fake gun is a toy or replica that can not shoot anything. A pellet gun although not a real firearm does shoot pellets or BB's that can be lethal.

A 2 & 3 year old are left home alone - fire breaks out - One is dead the other is very critical conditon - You will not believe this video

Listen to the children's auntee (the last person interviewed in this news clip) you will will not believe what she says.....




The format size of this video was originally too large to view on the blog, I have corrected the problem. Click here to go directly to the news website to view the entire screen of this video

If any other blogger or other website would like to use this video... please feel free. I encourage as many people as possible to post this video on their website.

Was this a news conference or a Chicago police department frown contest?

Praise and criticism in Fenger brawl case (Shouldn't the headline read: Praise and criticism in Fenger MURDER case)Chicago Police Lt. Anthony Carothers (left), Deputy Chief, Detective Division, Al Wysinger (middle) and Supt. Jody Weis hold a news conference to discuss the charges against a youth being held in connection with the death of Fenger High School student Derrion Albert. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis today praised witnesses who identified a 14-year-old boy as taking part in the infamous fatal beating of a Fenger High School student but at the same time chastised them for taking too long to come forward.

The teen was charged with murder after four eyewitnesses to the Sept. 24 melee said he hit Derrion Albert, 16, with a "roundhouse punch," Cook County prosecutors said.

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Detective Shavedlongcock:

These three bosses all look like they were just told that there is a nuclear bomb in the next room and it is going off in 5 seconds..... Hey smile a little!

Det. SLC reporting live from the funeral procession of Army Spc. Jared Stanker

A fantastic turn out for a American hero. 103rd Street from the Blake/Lamb funeral home (103rd & Cicero) to the church (103rd & Central Park) was packed with American flag waiving US citizens honoring the service that Army Spc. Jared Stanker gave to this country.





Two short video clips - Click to watch



Click to watch



And this has been Detective Shavedlongcock reporting live from the funeral services of Army Spc. Jared Stanker in Chicago.....

Godspeed Army Spc. Jared Stanker

It was a Chicago blood bath last night, reports say over a dozen people were shot... here is just some of the shooting incidents

Man wounded in Far North Side shooting
A man was found seriously wounded near a Far North Side gas station this evening, authorities said.
The man, believed to be in his 20s, was found shot in the chest in the vicinity of a gas station in the 6200 block of North Clark Street just after 8:35 p.m., said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Gabrielle Lesniak.
The victim was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in serious-to-critical condition, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
Details of the circumstances of the shooting were unavailable, police said.



Man struck by gunfire on West Side
A 23-year-old man was struck by gunfire Friday night in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood.
At about 10:38 p.m. Friday, police were called to the 2100 block of South Leavitt Street, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer. When they arrived, police found a man with gunshot wounds to the back and leg, Greer said.
The man was taken to Stroger Hospital, Greer said.
Police are investigating. No suspects are in custody.



2 men shot in Englewood neighborhood
Two men were found shot on the street Saturday morning in the Englewood neighborhood.
At about 12:05 a.m., police responded to shots fired in the 6300 block of South Wolcott Avenue, said Chicago News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro. Preliminary reports said they found two men with gunshot wounds to the body, Alfaro said.
One victim, who was shot in the chest, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, Alfaro said. The second victim, who was shot in the buttocks, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
No suspects are in custody and police are investigating.



Teen shot on Far South Side
A 16-year-old boy was shot Friday night in the Roseland neighborhood.
The victim was shot in the right hip around 9:30 p.m. at West 101st Street and South Perry Avenue, according to News Affairs Officer Amina Greer.
The victim was walking when he heard shots and felt pain in his body, police said. While Greer could not provide an exact age for the victim, a police source said he was 16 years old.
He was taken in an unknown condition to Stroger Hospital, and later described as "stable."
No one was in custody late Friday.



Two found shot near each other on South Side
Two men were found shot within a block of each other on the South Side this evening following what apparently was a drive-by shooting, authorities said.
Police were notified of the two shooting victims just before 6:20 p.m., said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.
Two men, one age 29, the other 19, were shot in the 7000 block of South Crandon Avenue, said Grand Crossing District Capt. Kenneth Johnson.
Preliminary information indicates that four people were walking down Crandon Avenue when shots were fired from a passing vehicle and struck two of the men, Johnson said. No vehicle description was immediately available. Calumet Area detectives were investigating and will determine whether the shooting was gang related, but declined to comment on the incident.
Following the shooting, the older man was found shot in the arm, leg, and possibly torso in the 2200 block of east 69th Street, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. In the 2200 block of east 70th Street, the younger man man was found shot in the elbow and foot, Langford said.
The older man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious-to-critical condition; the 20-year-old was taken to the same hospital in fair-to-serious condition, Langford said. After they were hospitalized, the 29-year-old man was listed in critical condition at the hospital and the 19-year-old man's condition was stabilized, Johnson said.
Mirabelli said he had no details regarding the circumstances of the two men being shot or whether their injuries might have taken place in the same incident.
Although News Affairs had reported a third person was found shot a few blocks away later this evening, Police News Affairs Officer Gabrielle Lesniak said police responded to a report of person shooting out of a second-story window about 7:30 p.m. in the 7000 block of South Crandon. No one was injured in the incident, she said.
Officers were able to arrest a man and confiscated a handgun, Lesniak said. Johnson gave a different address for the incident, but also said someone was taken into custody and no one was injured.
Police were uncertain if that gunfire was related to the earlier shootings.


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Detective Shavedlongcock:

The best headline out of all of those headlines is "Man struck by gunfire on West Side". Like being shot is the same as being struck by a lightning bolt. So I guess on the West side of Chicago it's raining bullets.....

Word from the field is that over a dozen people have been shot today - The city's violence is not slowing down

I have received a few e-mails tonight stating that there has been a dozen people shot today and there is still a few more hours to go till Saturday....

So wonder Supt. Jody Weis was begging for more cops today....
(See the post further down about Jody Weis complaining about the cop shortage)

Police Sgt. Kimberly Munley Emerges As The Hero In The Fort Hood Killings

One reports says that the female officer shot the offender several times after she was already wounded by the offender's gunfire.Officer Kim Munley, pictured here with country singer Dierks Bentley at a July 4 Fort Hood festival, in a photo from Munley's Twitter account. (What is it with female cops and professional singers? Now watch the guy who went after Ruth for the Billy Joel & Elton John meet go after this hero for taking a picture with a country singer!)

Sgt. Kimberly Munley is among the real-life heroes of the Fort Hood rampage that left 13 dead.

A female civilian police officer is being hailed as a hero in the aftermath of a gunman's rampage at Fort Hood — an outbreak of violence that the officer is credited with ending by shooting the alleged gunman four times despite being shot herself.

The attack killed 13 people and wounded 38 others at the Texas military post, but the carnage ended there, thanks to the quick response of Fort Hood Police Sgt. Kimberly Munley.

Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reports of gunfire on Thursday, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said Friday. Authorities say Munley, 34, exchanged fire with the gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who remains comatose in a Texas hospital. Munley is in stable condition, officials said.

"It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer," Cone said.

Munley's Twitter page has been deluged by well-wishers since the tragic shooting.

"You are a true heroine and we are deeply grateful for your courage," one posting read. "Best Wishes for a full and quick recovery."

Another posting read, "Stand tall girl! I'm here to tell you your sisters in policing are very proud of the courage you displayed yesterday. You ARE what being 'on the job' is all about. Your bravery in the line of fire will be long remembered."

Attempts to reach Munley's relatives were unsuccessful Friday.

According to her Twitter account, Munley lives a "good life."

".... a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @ night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone's life," her page reads.

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Detective Shavedlongcock:

Congratulations to Sgt. Kimberly Munley for her bravery and dedication to law enforcement. We pray for her to have a swift and full recovery as well as all the others that were wounded by this asswipe offender.

REPOSTING - Funeral Services for Army Spc. Jared Stanker are set for today (Friday) at Black/Lamb 103rd & South Cicero

UPDATE: The "Patriot Guard" is looking for volunteers tomorrow to ride their motorcycles as an escort in the funeral procession for this soldier from Queen of Martyrs Church at 103rd & Drake, to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. If you can make it, get to the church by 10:30 because the mass starts at 10:00 AM.

It would be even better if you can go from Blake Lamb at 103rd, just east of Cicero at 9:00 AM to escort him to the church too, but then you'd have to spend an hour waiting for the mass to end. Anything you can do would be appreciated.

PLEASE PASS THE WORD TO ANYONE YOU KNOW THAT RIDES A MOTORCYCLE.

Photo: Army Spc. Jared Stanker talks with his mother, Susan Stanker, during Jared’s graduation from basic training in Fort Benning, Ga., in March 2007.

His visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Friday at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 4727 W. 103rd St., Oak Lawn.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Queen of Martyrs Church, 10233 S. Central Park Ave., Evergreen Park. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

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Det. Shavedlongcock kindly asks everybody who can - please join us Saturday morning on 103rd Street - From Cicero Ave (Funeral Home) to Central Park (Church).

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT SATURDAY

Evergreen Park & Chicago residents are asked to line the streets as the funeral procession passes down 103rd Street on Saturday.

Let us ALL gather with at 9 am Saturday with our families, friends, and neighbors along 103rd Street between Cicero and Central Park. Bring your American Flags and wave them proudly. We live in the greatest country in the world because of men and women like Jared who are willing to give their lives for the continuing freedom of this country.
This would be a great way to show our support, and please remember to keep Jared, his family, and all our military personnel and veterans in your thought and prayers.

This is why Jody Weis is paid the big bucks! How did he figure this out? Weis is worried about police shortage and would like more cops!

Weis worries about mass police retirements & police shortage
Police Superintendent Jody Weis told aldermen today he's "extremely nervous" that large numbers of police officers will retire from the already undermanned department over the next year.
In addition to 74 officers who have signed up to accept the department's offer of early retirement at age 55, Deputy Superintendent Ted O'Keefe said roughly another one thousand officers will be eligible to retire in the next year.
"It's impossible, frankly, to predict how many will retire," O'Keefe said.
Earlier in the hearing, Weis told aldermen the department is trying to finalize plans for a private consultant to study the hot-button issue of realigning police patrol beats around the city.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL NEWS STORY

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Detective Shavedlongcock:

How long has www.SecondCityCop.Blogspot.com and www.Shavedlongcock.Blogspot.com been reporting about the extreme shortage of beat personnel? How long has bosses from all levels of the Chicago police department been complaining about being shorthanded and not having enough police officers....

And it took Jody Weis till 06 NOV 2009 to finally figure out what is going on?

I hate to sound like a Geico commercial but this was so easy to figure out that even a Cave Man could have told you this, months ago!

$154K yr. Chicago public schools job for ex-Daley aide

Two Det. Shavedlongcock posts in a row about Mayor Daley's pals getting non-needed jobs that pay over a $100,000.00 a year... But remember there is NO MONEY for the Chicago police officers or firefighters contracts!

Photo: Barbara Lumpkin will serve as deputy CEO for external affairs for the Chicago Public Schools, forging partnerships with the business community to support school programs.

Despite a burgeoning financial crisis that has forced a $43 million property tax increase and hundreds of job cuts, the Chicago Board of Education has found a $154,000-a-year job for an all-purpose mayoral troubleshooter.

Barbara Lumpkin, 59, will serve as deputy CEO for external affairs for the Chicago Public Schools forging partnerships with the business community to support school programs. The job has been vacant for nine months -- ever since Lumpkin's predecessor retired.

"We need to continue to do outreach to major corporations. We cannot function without fulfilling those responsibilities. We have high-level jobs like this that we always intended to fill," said CPS spokeswoman Monique Bond.

Schools CEO Ron Huberman found the job for his former City Hall colleague two years after Lumpkin resigned as Mayor Daley's $169,452-a-year chief procurement officer, leaving behind a department that has struggled to boost black contracting and weed out minority fronts.

Lumpkin is the City Hall equivalent of a utility infielder. She has also served as Daley's city comptroller, budget director and city treasurer following the conviction of Miriam Santos.

In 2005, her name turned up on city documents as one of four officials who signed off on some of the 14 pay raises over eight years -- three within two months -- granted to former gang member-turned convicted Hired Truck czar Angelo Torres.

At the time, Lumpkin called those sign-offs "routine for the role that I served in." She said she did not recall having discussions about Torres with Victor Reyes, the Hispanic Democratic Organization chieftain who ran the Mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the time.

That wasn't the only controversy to cloud Lumpkin's City Hall tenure.

During a brief stint as city treasurer -- before Santos was released from prison and re-claimed the office only to turn around and plead guilty -- Lumpkin downplayed as "routine" $445.6 million in transaction errors that cost a top employee his job and deprived taxpayers of $102,428 in interest and penalties.

To plug a $475 million budget gap -- the largest since Daley's 1995 school takeover -- CPS is raising property taxes by $43 million and cutting 450 more jobs. Some of them may be teachers.

Swamped with pension costs, Huberman has warned that next year's budget gap could approach $900 million. That means "everything is on the table," including increased class size, teacher layoffs and pay cuts and a reduction in pension contributions, he said.

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Detective Shaedlongcock:

Most CPS classrooms are in need of basic supplies, paper, pens, pencils and other stuff and the teachers who make hardly any money have to buy many of these supplies with their own money... But the city time and time again blows so much money on un-needed stuff and bullshit jobs for their buddies!

Chicago Police black consultant at center of lawsuit

Police Consultant At Center Of City Lawsuit
Inspector General Says Contract With Charles Bowen Violates Ethics Rules

NO-BID CONTRACT | City watchdog demands records on deal
A $100,000 no-bid Chicago Police Department contract with Charles Bowen -- the former Cook County commissioner who spent more than 15 years as Mayor Daley's chief liaison to black ministers -- is at the center of an unprecedented legal battle between City Hall and the inspector general's office.

In 2006, Bowen was asked to assist the Police Department with the recruitment and retention of minority officers. He was also charged with reviewing the process of disciplining wayward officers, evaluating community policing and developing "crime-fighting initiatives that involve community participation."

"If you want to get people in the city of Chicago to listen to what you have to say, you go through the faith-based organizations," Bowen, 75, said Thursday.

"I had been extremely helpful in setting up all of their interfaith contacts. I created that with [former Supt. Terry] Hillard. . . . We were trying to recruit. . . . Beyond that, we went into the field of my expertise. It was with the churches. We thought that was a way to get to a lot of them. We tried to get them into the Police Department."

Bowen said he achieved the goals of the contract and has no idea what piqued the inspector general's interests. He said he was interviewed by the inspector general's office two years ago and "answered all the questions they asked me."

"Phil Cline [Hillard's successor] asked me if I would like to come over as a consultant. . . . When Cline of course left, that was the end of it," he said.

Cline said: "He did a good job for me. Community policing depends on good relationships with community leaders. If there was a problem in the community, he would gather ministers and other leaders and encourage minority youth to take the police test."

In February 2006 -- two years after Bowen left the city payroll and one year after he stopped working for free in the mayor's office -- the Non-Competitive Procurement Review Board exempted the Bowen contract from competitive bidding requirements.

A "Justification for Non-Competitive Procurement" on the city's Web site states that more than 12 people from across the country were interviewed to determine whether they were capable of making the "same impact" as Bowen and that no suitable candidate was found.

A request for the names of competitors interviewed and cities and professional organizations contacted was left blank.

Police contract administrator Mike Palumbo wrote that Bowen had "extensive contacts" with religious leaders and "earned their unprecedented trust" making him "singularly situated" to do the work.

Bowen's name appears frequently as a sponsor on the City Hall "clout list" introduced as evidence in the trial that culminated in the 2006 conviction of Daley's former patronage chief.

For 15 years, he worked in the mayor's office, lining up black ministers in support of Daley's campaigns and public policies and diffusing community tensions.

Earlier this week, the inspector general's office filed a lawsuit demanding that Corporation Counsel Mara Georges turn over documents and records vital to the inspector general's investigation of "how a former city employee was awarded a sole-source contract in apparent violation of the city's ethics and contracting rules."

The inspector general's office wants the court to require Georges to reveal who hired that individual and why, saying it "has been unable to determine who bears responsibility for the critical decision to contract with the former employee."

Citing attorney-client privilege, Georges has refused to say.

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Detective Shavedlongcock:

Once again there is no money to give the police officers or the firefighters a contractual raise but every pal or family member of Mayor Daley is getting a 6 figure yearly salary..... It is a joke.

How to beat a Chicago speeding ticket : Challenge it

It was with some fanfare that the Chicago Police Department announced three years ago that all city police districts were being supplied with high-tech LIDAR speed detectors to help crack down on speeders on neighborhood streets.

SUN-TIMES EXCLUSIVE | If city cop caught you with LIDAR, go to court: Judge will dismiss it

It was with some fanfare that the Chicago Police Department announced three years ago that all city police districts were being supplied with high-tech LIDAR speed detectors to help crack down on speeders on neighborhood streets.

What nobody has bothered to make public, however, is that for at least the past year, speeding tickets produced by Chicago police officers using LIDAR have been routinely dismissed in Cook County Traffic Court for any defendant bothering to show up to contest the case.

The tickets are being voluntarily waived by the city's Law Department because of legal challenges to the laser technology underlying the LIDAR (light detection and ranging) equipment.

The city began taking the approach after Traffic Court judges started ruling in favor of defense attorneys who contend local prosecutors must hold a special hearing to prove the scientific basis behind LIDAR before using it as evidence.

You don't even need a lawyer

This has not kept the city from continuing to accept the guilty pleas -- and cash the checks -- from the vast majority of accused speeders who dispose of their tickets by just mailing in the fine or going to traffic school.

For those who go to court, on the other hand, it's simply a matter of waiting for their name to be called and the judge to hand them back their driver's license, no questions asked and little if any explanation given.

"This is a LIDAR case," an assistant Corporation Counsel told Judge George Scully Jr. one day last week as the next defendant's name was called. With that, Scully pulled the driver's license from the ticket to which it was stapled and returned the license to the defendant, sending her on her way.

I watched this happen again and again without fail during the past week in the courtrooms in the Daley Center basement where minor city traffic cases are heard. Defendants gratefully exited court with wallets intact, most of them clueless about what had transpired.

Occasionally, a judge would say something like "the city cannot meets its burden of proof," by way of explanation before handing over the driver's license.

Some defendants had hired the hallway lawyers who hang around Traffic Court to represent them, not realizing they were receiving the same outcome as those who didn't have a lawyer, except they had to pay the lawyer.

"Hey, I make a living off this stuff," one lawyer told me when I brought it up.

He said he deserves to continue to make money from such clients because he "invented" the defense now being used to squelch all the LIDAR cases -- by citing a Downstate appellate court opinion that was the first to call for a scientific review of the LIDAR technology.

That case actually involved a Naperville lawyer, Michael Canulli, who was driving with his family to a girls' softball tournament in Springfield nine years ago when he was ticketed on I-55 near Lincoln, where State Police had sprung a massive speed trap. Incensed by their tactics, Canulli took the case to court. Now he's cited as the basis for beating every LIDAR ticket in Chicago, which is fine by him.

The courtroom rejections have not deterred Chicago Police from continuing to use LIDAR to bring speeding cases.

"Our job is enforcement. We enforce the laws. . . . If we don't win the case in court, that doesn't stop us from enforcing the laws," said Lt. Dave Blanco, commanding officer in CPD's Traffic Section.

"We know it to be a very reliable speed measuring device," Blanco said of the hand-held LIDAR units, which have been in use here for seven or eight years.

'It'll just get thrown out'

Indeed, there seems little known basis for questioning the reliability of LIDAR. Nobody has been able to cite for me any jurisdiction where the technology has been shown deficient. But the city hasn't gotten around to putting on its own legal case, known as a Frye hearing.

A Law Department spokesman said one of the problems is that -- in the cases where it has called a defendant's bluff and agreed to a Frye hearing -- the defendant gives up rather than put up a huge legal fight over a little speeding ticket.

Not all speeding tickets written in Chicago involve LIDAR. Tickets issued based on the reading from traditional radar devices are not being routinely dismissed.

If you're wondering if this applies to you, speeding tickets issued in Chicago have three boxes to check to indicate whether police used LIDAR, radar or laser. Some experts say LIDAR and laser are the same thing.

Judge Walter Williams, supervising judge in Municipal Traffic Court, said he couldn't discuss the situation, which I think is nonsense, but he's the judge.

One Chicago Police officer told me what really gets him irritated is when he hands speeding tickets to drivers who know the score with LIDAR and they only scoff at him: "It'll just get thrown out."

_______________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

Over and over again in Chicgo we spend the most amount of money on the shittiest products and items. It's the "Chicago Way".

The north side had the crime last night...... But I think the 2nd news story was more like a "drunken sex act" that she regreted in the A.M.

Employee attacked, held up at Wrigleyville bar
A employee of a popular Wrigleyville drinking establishment was hit on the head with a handgun and robbed there this morning, police said.
The robbery occurred inside the Cubby Bear at 1059 W. Addison St., around 2:30 a.m., according to police
The tavern's Web site indicates it closes at 2 a.m.
Police said the victim, a man in his 30s, was tied up and hit on the head by the robber with his gun. The employee was treated and released from Thorek Memorial Hospital.
The robber gained entry after hours, displayed his gun and took victim's wallet before searching the office of the bar, police said.
The suspect was described as a male negro dressed in all black, and between 25 and 30 years old.


Woman reports sexual assault in Lincoln Park neighborhood
Chicago police this morning are investigating a report of a sexual assault in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
A 31-year old woman told police she was assaulted in an alley near Lincoln and Armitage avenues about 2:30 a.m., said Police Officer Amina Greer, a department spokeswoman.
The woman is in good condition at Illinois Masonic Hospital, according to Greer. She said the woman told police she met a white male at a tavern in the area and remembers talking to him.
"She said the next thing she remembers is she was in an alley being assaulted," Greer said.
The woman returned home, where a roommate called police and took her to the hospital. Greer said the woman could not give a more detailed description of her attacker.


Teen shot in Albany Park neighborhood
A teenage boy was shot and critically wounded Thursday night in the city's Albany Park neighborhood.
The 15-year-old boy was shot and wounded in the abdomen at about 7 p.m. in the 4800 block of North Lawndale Avenue, police and fire officials said.
The victim was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in critical condition, fire spokesman Larry Langford said.
The boy remained in critical condition early Friday, said police spokesman Ron Gaines.


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Detective Shavedlongcock:

Wow, Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park and Albany Park.... usually those are not the 3 neighborhoods with the overnight serious crime....

Man found hanging in Chicago police lockup dies - Identified as Miroslaw Chrzestek

Man found hanging in police lockup dies
A parolee was found hanging in a Northwest Side police lockup this afternoon, authorities said.
Police found Miroslaw Chrzestek, 46, unresponsive at the Shakespeare District police station, 2150 N. California Ave., at about 1 p.m., authorities said.
He was later pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Police were conducting a death investigation, police spokesman Ron Gaines said.
State and court records show that Chrzestek had an arrest record with prior convictions for burglary and drug possession

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Detective Shavedlongcock:

It is a shame it happened and the family will now sue the City of Chicago and end up with a big check!

Way too much bad news tonight - We all really need a Det. Shavedlongcock Musical Break!

You have to admit that Helen Crump was a "knock out".

I stand corrected... Elinor Donahue who played "Ellie Walker" was a "knock out". But Helen Crump was A-OK also!



But nobody beats you know who......She will always be the bestest!

Chicago Cop who's reserve unit was activated & sent to Iraq - Is in a Florida veteran's hospital recoverying from critical injuries (Helicopter Crash)

Chicago police officer Pedro "Pete" Medina
Activated and sent to Iraq in May 2009
Critically injured in a helicopter crash
in Iraq - June 2009

or his E-Mail:
pmedina08@gmail.com


Now at James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital
c/o Pedro "Pete" Medina
Spinal Cord Injury Unit - Room:D47
13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33612

Phone: (813) 972-2000
Toll Free: (888) 716-7787

___________________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

Please take a few minutes out of your busy day and either E-Mail or U.S. Mail Pete a note of good words.

He is a true American hero. Fighting locally as a Chicago police officer and fighting internationally as a soldier. Your words or card can change his day!

Good luck Pete! And rest assure all of us are rooting for your complete recovery! God bless you!

Funeral Services for Army Spc. Jared Stanker are set for today (Friday) at Black/Lamb 103rd & South Cicero

Photo: Army Spc. Jared Stanker talks with his mother, Susan Stanker, during Jared’s graduation from basic training in Fort Benning, Ga., in March 2007.

His visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Friday at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 4727 W. 103rd St., Oak Lawn.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Queen of Martyrs Church, 10233 S. Central Park Ave., Evergreen Park. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

_______________________________________
Det. Shavedlongcock kindly asks everybody who can - please join us Saturday morning on 103rd Street - From Cicero Ave (Funeral Home) to Central Park (Church).

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT SATURDAY

Evergreen Park & Chicago residents are asked to line the streets as the funeral procession passes down 103rd Street on Saturday.

Let us ALL gather with at 9 am Saturday with our families, friends, and neighbors along 103rd Street between Cicero and Central Park. Bring your American Flags and wave them proudly. We live in the greatest country in the world because of men and women like Jared who are willing to give their lives for the continuing freedom of this country.
This would be a great way to show our support, and please remember to keep Jared, his family, and all our military personnel and veterans in your thought and prayers.

The ONLY reason we are hearing about this is because they caught ALD. CAROTHERS dirty and he was wearing a wire - But this goes on all the time!

"Only $100,000.00 bribe! What the fuck is wrong with you! This is Chicago and we demand much bigger payoffs that that! Now go fill up another envelope with cash!"
$100,000 bribe offer to Chicago alderman alleged
A businessman offered a $100,000 bribe to an alderman he thought could help him open seven restaurants in Chicago's two airports, according to federal charges unsealed Thursday.
But the businessman did not know that the powerful alderman, Isaac "Ike" Carothers, had been cooperating for months in an undercover FBI sting, a source familiar with the investigation said.

_____________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

Cash envelopes, inside jobs for relatives, inside information on businesses and stocks... it's all part of Chicago politics! Everyday of the year.....

Colorado Supreme Court hears ID theft arguments - ACLU wants it stopped due to Illegal Aliens using bogus Names & S/S Numbers are being "picked on"

Colorado Supreme Court hears ID theft arguments
DENVER—A massive raid on a Colorado tax business catering to immigrants was necessary to uncover the crime of identity theft and authorities needed the thousands of confidential documents they seized to build their case, Weld County attorneys said Thursday.
The attorneys are asking the Colorado Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that stopped an identity theft investigation that prosecutors said could lead to as many as 1,300 suspected illegal immigrants being charged. Prosecutors alleged the tax documents proved that those immigrants were working with false or stolen names and Social Security numbers.

But an attorney for the ACLU, which successfully sued Weld County this year to prevent the district attorney from filing more cases, argued authorities violated people's privacy when they inspected as many as 5,000 confidential tax documents without having the names of specific suspects.

A judge had agreed with the ACLU, ruling that said the search warrant to inspect the tax documents lacked probable cause and violated people's privacy. Three other district judges issued similar rulings in cases that also stemmed from the probe.

"Look, there is no nice way to characterize this search. This is a classic fishing expedition," said Liz Harris, an ACLU attorney.

Whether authorities broke the law with their investigative methods is at the heart of the case. It also illustrates the difficulty of prosecuting identify theft cases, particularly through the use of tax records, which are confidential under federal law.

No one disputes that some of the immigrants were breaking the law by using false identities to work.

Michael J. Rourke, an attorney representing Weld County, said it was impossible for investigators to be more specific in their search warrant request.

"In large part because of the nature of identity theft itself, the investigators didn't know what individuals were falsely using names and Social Security numbers," he said.

Weld County seized the returns last year from a tax preparation firm that catered to Latinos in Greeley, where Hispanics make up about a third of the population.

More charges were expected, and prosecutors in other states expressed interest in Weld County's use of tax documents to go after illegal immigrants. Immigrant advocacy groups have said the county is the only jurisdiction ever to use tax records—which are confidential under federal law—to prosecute illegal immigrants.

Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate who advocates stricter immigration laws, has maintained the investigation was about identity theft, not illegal immigration.

The probe, known as Operation Numbers Game, began after a Texas man told Greeley authorities that someone there was using his identity. The suspect in that case alerted law enforcement to Amalia's Translation and Tax Services, the firm that prepared his taxes.

Investigators then obtained a search warrant to seize thousands of tax documents from the business. The probe angered immigrant advocacy groups, who said immigrants were being punished simply for doing what the law requires them to do—pay taxes.

Filing taxes is mandatory for anyone who earns income in the U.S. regardless of legal status. Many of the people targeted in Weld County's investigation were filing taxes with government-issued taxpayer identification numbers.

When the investigation was stopped in April, the district attorney's office had charged more than 70 people with criminal impersonation and identity theft. Some of those charged face deportation. Others pleaded guilty before the court stopped the investigation.

Pending the appeals, prosecutors also dismissed many cases without prejudice, giving them the option to file charges again if the Supreme Court rules in their favor.

Amalia Cerrillo, the tax business's owner, said her customers have lost faith in her and have stopped coming to her to do their taxes. Cerrillo, who was represented by the ACLU and was never charged with a crime, said she's hoping for a court ruling that will help win back her customer's trust.

"I want justice for them," she said outside the Supreme Court building.

_______________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

Thousands of illegal aliens in this country that are using other people's names and social security numbers, screwing up the real people's taxes and credit ratings and the ACLU wants this investigation stopped! UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE!

A message from Sgt. Chris Edmondson's wife......

Dear Det. Shavedlongcock & Viewers:

My name is Rhonda Edmondson and my husband is Sgt. Chris Edmondson, an 18-year veteran of the Raton, New Mexico Police Department.

I’ve sent you a photo of our family. It was taken just last Christmas.

That’s Chris holding our son, Aidin.

Aidin is four -- and so proud that his Daddy is “a police man who helps people.”

But if bureaucrats here in New Mexico have their way, Chris won’t be able to hold our little boy again for two years.

Because the New Mexico Attorney General is trying to throw Chris in jail.

Even though my husband is an innocent man!

Please, let me explain.

Chris is a decorated officer who has received the Gallantry Star, the Lifesaver Award, dozens of written commendations, and even helped capture one of America’s “Most Wanted” criminals.

Less then, two years ago, 4:15am, November 18, 2007, Chris and two other officers received a call for police to investigate a fight at a nearby house.

When they arrived, they found a 25-year old man named Jesse Saenz acting strangely.


Saenz was on all fours, yelling and screaming, and pulling up grass and throwing it. Before that, he had been slamming a chain link fence against cars in the driveway. Officer Leonard Baca started to escort Saenz to the patrol car. And that’s when things got ugly.

Saenz began fighting the officers -- who immediately handcuffed him. But Saenz became so violent that they couldn’t get him into the patrol car.

Saenz was wearing sharp-pointed boots and began kicking violently.

Chris and the other officers tried to pull them off his feet -- but couldn’t get close enough without getting kicked.

As the senior officer, Chris finally ordered the officers to “bump” Saenz with a taser gun.

The taser had absolutely no effect on Saenz. He kept yelling and kicking.

As Chris told me later, Saenz was “wildly out of control.”

Chris ordered the officers to taser Saenz again. But it still had no effect as he kept kicking and screaming at them.

Finally Chris managed to get the boots off Saenz and push him into the back seat of the squad car.
Amazingly, Saenz still managed to kick Officer Dominguez on the wrist, breaking his watch and injuring his wrist.

As they neared the station, Saenz finally stopped struggling. Officer Baca thought he had passed out.
But when they opened the door, they realized that Saenz wasn’t breathing.

An emergency crew performed CPR. But Saenz died on the way to the hospital.
Chris was devastated.

But he knows he did everything he could to protect his officers from a violent and dangerous suspect.
New Mexico police regulations clearly state that officers are authorized to use tasers on “violent persons under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.”

An autopsy revealed that Jesse Saenz had high levels of cocaine , nemzoylecgonine, cocaethylene and hydroxzione in his blood.

That explains why he was acting so wildly.

It even concluded that Saenz most likely died due to “cocaine intoxication.”

But Jesse Saenz’s family didn’t agree.
They accused Chris and the other officers of being “racist cops” who tasered Jesse Saenz because he was Hispanic...

...even though Officer Dominguez and Officer Baca are Hispanic themselves!

They painted their car windows with messages like "Justice for Jesse," "RIP Jesse” and “I'm Mexican, am I next?"

They held memorial events and parades.

And eventually the powerful Saenz family got what they wanted:

Chris, Officer Dominguez, and Officer Baca have all been indicted for the involuntary manslaughter of Jesse Saenz.

All three of them have been placed on administrative leave. And if convicted, they will all be sent to prison.

Sent to prison just for doing their jobs!

Chris and I are still in shock.

And our lives will never be the same.

Last year after many prayers we had decided to adopt a little girl and boy.

But after Chris was indicted, we were told we are no longer allowed to adopt them.

Even worse, we don’t feel safe here in our own town.

The Saenz family has been very vocal about their hate for the police -- Officer Dominguez and Officer Baca’s children were even threatened at school.

So Chris and I don’t even go into town anymore unless we’re armed.

I’m doing my best to stay strong for Chris and Aidin, but it’s hard to do when I’m so scared myself.

Especially when I think about the trial.

I’m worried that the Saenz family has the deck stacked against us.

For instance, there were other witnesses who saw Jesse Saenz out of control the night of his arrest – but they were allegedly threatened by the Saenz family and refuse to come forward.

Even worse, NO interviews with the medics who treated Saenz were ever conducted.

NO interviews with the Emergency Room doctors and nurses were held.

And Jesse Saenz’s past medical records have NEVER been examined.

I feel so hopeless... scared... and angry.

Is this the thanks my husband gets for risking his life as a police officer for the past 18 years?

All he’s ever done is try to keep the people of New Mexico safe and protected.

Now I don’t know what will happen. Will Chris be torn away from Aidin and me? Will he be sent to a prison here in New Mexico, where the inmates despise cops? And if Chris survives the trial, how on earth will we ever pay our legal bills?

So far I have only one hope.

You see, The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund has offered to help Chris -- and I can honestly tell you that these patriots are the best friend a police officer could ever have.

When I called the Chairman of LELDF, he and his Board Members, including former Attorney General Ed Meese and former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights William Bradford Reynolds, said they would do whatever they could to help us.

Now they are trying to raise money on Chris’ behalf -- to pay for attorneys, expert witnesses, and legal research.

I truly believe that God is sending Chris and me a lifeline through LELDF.

They are the only light at the end of the tunnel for us right now.
Chris and I aren’t wealthy people.

Our friends and neighbors even held a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to try to raise money for the trial. But we are still short by more than $100,000.

And that’s why I’m about to ask you the hardest question I’ve ever asked anyone in my life.

Could you send a contribution today to LELDF to help Chris and the other officers?

I know it’s a bold request. But I’m so frightened for Chris -- I will do whatever I can to help him.

As his wife, I’ve got to try. The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF) is a non-profit organization so your gift is tax-deductible.

CLICK HERE TO MAKE A DONATION

Any amount -- $25, $50, $75, $100, $250, or even $500 -- will help. Just your $25 could be the difference between Chris coming home to me and Aidin...

... or going to prison for a “crime” he didn’t commit.

Please, if you have just a few dollars you can spare today -- will you help my husband and these other brave officers?

The state of New Mexico has unlimited funds to stack the deck against Chris in court. But Chris and I can rely only on the generous hearts of people like you.

Thank you for reading my letter.

I will never be able to put into words how much your support means to us.
Yours truly,
Mrs. Rhonda Edmondson

https://co.clickandpledge.com/advanced/default.aspx?wid=17963

From 9/11 Hero to Asshole...... Ex-New York City Police Chief Bernard Kerik Pleads Guilty to Lying to White House

"Had I wore a toupee like Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, I may have avoided all this mess!"Photo: Bernard Kerik speaks during a news conference


WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to the White House and said he would also admit to tax crimes.

The plea bargain, which included an anticipated eight charges, included the prosecution's suggestion that the crimes are punishable by 27 to 33 months in prison. It was designed to resolve three pending federal criminal trials.

Kerik, who was police commissioner when New York was attacked on 9/11, won glowing reviews for his leadership. He eventually was nominated for the Homeland Security post in 2004 but withdrew as corruption allegations mounted. The lies to the White House occurred during that vetting process.

The first of his trials had been scheduled to start Monday in White Plains.

Before he began formally entering his pleas, Kerik told Judge Stephen Robinson that, in addition to the White House lies, he would admit to counts that included cheating the IRS, helping to prepare false tax returns and making other false statements to the federal government.

Robinson warned Kerik that the maximum sentence for the counts to which he was pleading was 61 years in prison; the judge said he was not bound by the terms of the plea agreement.

Kerik said he understood and told the judge he was giving up his right to appeal.

Kerik denied to the White House that he'd had any financial dealings with firms trying to do business with the city. The tax charges included hiding income from his returns and illegally claiming charitable deductions.

In the agreement, he promised to file amended tax returns for 1999, 2003 and 2005.

_____________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

Even after all my years as a police officer, I still can not understand these people who have had the world by the balls and screw it all up over BULLSHIT. You making more money that 99% of the population and your still willing to throw the dice on going to jail by saving a few bucks on taxes. What are you thinking?

The news is always bashing the police about any little mistake and every time there is a big breaking news story the news ALWAYS GETS EVERYTHING WRONG

There was only one shooter.

The shooter was shot and wounded but not killed.

Just two "small" parts of the news story that the NEWS SCREWED UP AS USUAL.



Army official says Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was shot and is in custody after 12 people were killed and at least 30 others wounded at Fort Hood Army base in Texas

Det. SLC prayers are with those killed, injured and the families & friends of Ft. Hood

A law enforcement official identified the shooting suspect as Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan. The official said Hasan, believed to be in his late 30s, was killed after opening fire at the base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

Chicago police will start using dogs from dog pounds for their K-9 unit

Chicago police turn to animal shelter for new narcotics dog
The Chicago Police Department today introduced its newest narcotics police dog and said he is intended to be the first of many canines drafted from animal shelters into police work.
Pantera, a 16-month-old black Labrador retriever, was rescued by police from the Chicago Ridge Animal Welfare League in May and underwent "a rigorous curriculum of narcotics detection techniques," police said.
He took to the streets last month with the Organized Crime Division and has since recovered evidence in drug cases and assisted in executing search warrants.
Based on Pantera's successful transition, the department said it plans to continue seeking partnerships with animal shelters.

___________________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

When the director of the City of Chicago dog pound heard about this new program, the director offered a few stray dogs that were in the Chicago pound... Here is one of them...

Large chunks of ice fall from the sky damaging a Chicago home

Photo: Sean Dowd, 11, (left) holds ice chunks retrieved from his family's yard overnight. At right is roof damage caused by a falling ice chunk. (Alex Garcia/Chicago Tribune)

A family's home on the North Side of Chicago was damaged Wednesday night by a large piece of ice, whose origin is something of a mystery.

"We heard a big boom. The whole house shook," said Paul Dowd. "And I looked outside. I thought it was the "L," or something that, I don't know, exploded, or whatever."
The Dowd family on the 4200 block of North Wolcott Avenue heard the bang about 7:52 p.m. and rushed out of the house, only to find the remnants of a large piece of ice that had struck and damaged their roof.
With no storms in the area, the family has no idea what produced the ice.
"And there was no one else outside and our tenant in the basement was out, and he's like, "Some ice hit the house."
The home is located in a flight path sometimes used for planes using O'Hare International Airport, but the family does not know if an aircraft had anything to do with the ice.
The family has filed a police report and contacted their insurance company.
The Federal Aviation Administration had not launched an investigation as of this morning. An FAA spokesman said it's possible the falling ice could have simply been caused by the weather.
But if the agency does investigate, he said, it will look into whether any planes approaching O'Hare at the time of the incident had water leakage problems.

______________________________
Detective Shavedlongcock:

Look at the damage on that house, that is pretty extensive. Just imagine Mayor Daley looking up in the sky and saying "What the hell is that?" Then a large ice chunk smashes Shortshanks, killing him instantly..... Yes, that would work!

A glich in the blogging system tonight - A chunk of viewer's comments were lost - Sorry

A bunch of veiwer's comments were lost tonight in a computer SNAFU.

Please re-submit your comments if you care to have them publish.

A big sorry but it was beyond my control.

Detective Shavedlongcock

Chicago Police Department getting their own reality TV show?

Sneed hears the Chicago Police Department is this/close to starring in a reality TV show.
Fact: Sneed is told . . .

• 1) Chicago native Gary Sherman, who directed action thriller "Vice Squad" and the horror films "Death Line" and "Dead & Buried," has sold a TV pilot titled "Missing Persons: Chicago" to the A&E Television Network. Sherman was executive producer of a similarly titled scripted show that was filmed here in 1993-94.

• 2) The reality TV project has gotten a thumbs up from Police Supt. Jody Weis.

• 3) The show, which will have TV crews following Chicago cops in their search process, is awaiting approval by the City Council. It must first go before the Council's Police Committee on Nov. 17. Committee Chairman Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th) told Sneed: "We are delighted because the show will present a positive light on the Chicago Police Department, which is extremely successful in finding missing persons."

• 4) The show, which has been seven years in the works, will capture the remarkable work the police do day in and day out, said Carothers.

_______________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

I thank my Mom for this news submission! So thank you Mrs. Shavedlongcock. I think my mom and Michael Sneed are about the same age also.

Something only Johnny C would e-mail me! Weener Kleener Soap Cleans Male Private Parts!

DETECTIVE SHAVEDLONGCOCK APPROVED!


The product claims to be very “stimulating”. Perhaps this one can be both a soap and an adult toy for those of you who need some excitement in the shower.

____________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

I'll be back shortly, have to jump into the shower!

Our Camera Hog Sheriff Tom Dart steals a pinch from Berwyn's Police Chief Billy Kushner so Dart can hog the news cameras

Cannabis plants, other drugs seized from Berwyn home
More than 350 cannabis plants believed to be valued at nearly $290,000 were seized from a Berwyn home, the Cook County sheriff's department announced today.
Police said they obtained a search warrant after determining that illegal drugs were being manufactured and sold at the home in the 2200 block of South Ridgeland Avenue in the near west suburb.
In executing the search warrant, 355 plants were found in three rooms, which were set up with lighting and ventilation to cultivate the plants at the various stages of growth, the sheriff's department said.
In addition to the plants, 10 guns, seven kilograms of cocaine, 300 grams of cocaine and ecstasy pills were also seized during the search, the sheriff's department said.
"From the outside, this house appears to be just another family residence on this quiet suburban street," said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. "Once inside, the plants, drugs and guns show an entirely different existence."
Charges are pending against two people.

_________________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

I really think Sheriff Tom Dart needs his own weekly or maybe even daily TV show so he can be in the public eye as much as possible. This Dart is the John Hamilton of police departments!


OMG... Look at all those medals! It is John Hamilton! No, It's Tom Dart!

2 Illegal Alien Lettuce Pickers charged in Halloween killing of DePaul student

Two reputed gang members have been charged in the slaying of a DePaul University senior at a Logan Square Halloween party over the weekend, authorities said.
Narciso Gatica, 19, of the 2400 block of West Armitage Avenue, and Berly Valladares, 21, of the 2600 block of West Cortland Street, are both charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder, said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County State's Attorney's office.
The shooting occurred early Sunday morning in the 1700 block of North Rockwell after Gatica had been asked to leave the party, authorities said.
Gatica returned just as Francisco "Frankie" Valencia and another DePaul senior, Daisy Camacho, were greeting guests at the door, police said. He fired four to six shots, hitting the two victims, police said.
Neither victim was an intended target of the gunfire, according to investigators.
Detectives believe Valladares gave Gatica the gun but was not at the shooting. Police said at a press conference this afternoon that a TEC-9 semiautomatic handgun was recovered and that both defendants made statements implicating themselves in the shooting.

________________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

By their mugshot images, one would believe that these two guys are fine upstanding citizens. Hard to believe that these two giant asswipes are shooters. They look more like cock suckers!

Another verdict in the police's favor - Judge: Cops didn't frame man wrongly convicted of rape

A federal judge has found in favor of two Chicago police officers in a suit brought by a man who spent a decade in prison for a 1993 rape before he was exonerated by DNA evidence.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel ruled there was no evidence the officers, Timothy Cullinan and Nancy Piekarski, framed Dana Holland of Chicago. The officers had followed footprints in the snow from the rape scene to Holland's home, and he was taken into custody a short time later in an alley as he was throwing a pair of pants into a garbage can.
The victim at first did not identify Holland but later did. DNA testing in the 1990s was unable to exclude Holland, but a 2002 test cleared him and implicated his uncle.
Zagel wrote that Holland failed to prove the officers "acted with malice."

_________________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

Two Det. Shavedlongcock posts in a row about Chicago police officers coming out clean and ahead in court cases. I love it when the boys in blue win!

BREAKING NEWS - Judge throws out indictment against Chicago DUI Cop

Ticket-writing indictment dismissed against top DUI cop
A Cook County judge today dismissed the indictment against Chicago Police Officer John Haleas, the officer accused of writing numerous false drunken driving tickets.
Judge James Obbish ruled that prosecutors improperly used statements given by Haleas to Internal Affairs investigators looking into misconduct charges against him. A U.S. Supreme Court case prohibits statements from administrative disciplinary proceedings from being used against officers in criminal cases.
Haleas was charged in March 2008 with four counts of perjury, four counts of official misconduct and two counts of obstructing justice. He was stripped of his police powers.

____________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

Basically the Cook County States Attorney used statements given by the accused that were "given under duress and not freely" during the internal police investigation. Statements given without criminal rights read to the officer...

These are the statements every officer is ordered to give during a C.R. investigation. The answer to these questions are only given because an accused officer has to give answers during any internal investigation unless Miranda Rights are read to the accused officer.

We all know this headline is NOT about our Mayor Shortshanks - Mayor saves woman being attacked

London Mayor Boris Johnson shows chivalry not dead in bike rescue

LONDON (Reuters Life!) – London Mayor Boris Johnson rescued a woman attacked by a group of girls wielding a metal bar after answering her plea for help during an evening bicycle ride, a spokeswoman for his office said Wednesday.

Documentary filmmaker Franny Armstrong was confronted by a group of young teenage girls as she was walking in North London Monday night, media reported.

"I was texting on my phone so didn't notice the girls until they pushed me against the car," the Guardian newspaper quoted Armstrong as saying. "I saw that one of them had an iron bar in her hand. It was more than a meter long."

"Then along came a cyclist. And I thought, 'Good, he's a big bloke,' and shouted, 'Can you help me please?," The Guardian reported.

"I said, 'That's the mayor of London!' and they ran off," Armstrong told the Guardian. "They must have thought they were going to get in trouble. One dropped the bar, so Boris picked it up and cycled after them."

Johnson, a Conservative who read classics at Oxford, has been a journalist, author and a member of parliament. He is a passionate cyclist and was elected mayor in 2008.

After the incident Johnson escorted Armstrong home.

She said that although she had voted for his Labor opponent Ken Livingstone in last year's election, Johnson might be the tougher of the two if you ever found yourself in trouble down a dark alleyway.

"He was my knight on a shining bicycle."

(Reporting by Catherine Bosley; Editing by Paul Casciato))

______________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

Good job Mr. Mayor. Too bad our Mayor Daley would not even blink an eye to save a burning baby... Unless the flames were close to all his envelopes filled with illegal cash "gifts"!

Retired Cmdr. John Burge ordered by federal court to disclose his cancer diagnosis

Burge ordered to detail cancer illness
A federal judge today instructed lawyers for former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge to make public his cancer diagnosis and the timeframe for his treatment by Monday.
Burge, who was to go on trial in January on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying about police torture of criminal suspects, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, sources have told the Tribune.

_______________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

Good luck and get well wishes to Cmdr Burge. Like his police tatics or not, having cancer sucks.

Speaking of Illegals - 5 Illegal Aliens Deported in Post-9/11 Roundups Reach $1.26M Settlement With U.S.

NEW YORK — Five illegal immigrant men who were detained in roundups and eventually deported following the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 have reached a $1.26 million settlement with the U.S. government.

The men were part of a lawsuit against the government over the roundups that put them in federal detention and the abuse they say they suffered while they were there.

Rachel Meeropol of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents the detainees, said the men were treated as terrorists simply because they are Arab and Muslim. She said she hoped the settlement would act as a deterrent to prevent similar government practices.

The Justice Department had no immediate comment.

____________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

I am sure these young men will use this settlement money to purchase some nice back packs, explosives and pictures of Allah.

Arrests of Illegal Alien Lettuce Pickers With Criminal Records on the Rise

LOS ANGELES — Immigration agents assigned to track down people who have ignored deportation orders have increasingly arrested immigrants with criminal records during the past year, new data show.

Data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement show a shift from the prior three years, when more than 70 percent of immigrants arrested by fugitive operations teams had no criminal histories.

About 45 percent of the 35,000 immigrants arrested by the teams during the 2009 fiscal year had criminal convictions. The figure is up from 23 percent during the prior year.

ICE has long claimed it focused on arresting immigrants with criminal convictions who ignored orders from immigration judges to leave the country.

But most people arrested had no criminal histories, which prompted outcries from immigrant rights groups.

ICE director John Morton said earlier this year the agency would focus on finding immigrants with criminal records or who have ignored deportation orders. However, he said other illegal immigrants would be arrested if they were present during the operations,

"The goal is to prevent crime rather than simply to respond to it," ICE spokesman Brandon Alvarez-Montgomery said.

One reason for the change is that agents are working more closely with local law enforcement to develop leads, ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.

Immigrants rights advocates were skeptical of the numbers and wondered whether the data marked a real change in a program they have long criticized as a source of fear in immigrant neighborhoods.

It's unclear whether the Obama administration has shifted the program's focus or whether agents in some regions have just been more successful at finding criminals, said Carl Bergquist, policy advocate for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

"I think the jury is still out," added Paromita Shah, associate director of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild.

Earlier this year, Morton also announced the fugitive teams had stopped using arrest quotas.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, said agents should have discretion about who they arrest, given what he considers the daunting task of finding more than 500,000 immigrants who have evaded deportation orders.

"They've got to start somewhere, and they look for people obviously that have national security issues as well as serious criminals," said Krikorian, whose organization favors stricter limits on immigration.

"As long as they're not sending the message that other illegal aliens will simply be let go, then I don't have a problem with it." he said.

_______________________________

Detective Shavedlongcock:

Why are they picking on these poor souls who have illegally swam here just to work hard, drop a bunch of anchor babies and collect big welfare checks? What did they do that was so wrong? We need more illegal aliens here to drain every governmental freebie that is being offered and to commit violent crimes such as murders, rapes and shootings.... So sad that these hard working disease carrying, dope smuggling, identity theft assholes are being messed with.