Officer Bob

TAMPA — Retired Chicago PD Commander Jon Burge was picked up by those damn liberals in the FBI today. Guy was minding his own business out in the sun and next thing you know, he’s being hauled in for doing his job back in Chicago.  So he was enthusiastic about interrogations, so what?  Guy was fired in ‘93, what’s the point of dragging up all this old news?  Can’t a guy put a plastic bag over another guy’s head or rig up a guy to a car battery without making a federal case out of it?

A special prosecutors’ report paid for by Cook County and released in 2006 concluded that dozens of suspects had been tortured by Chicago police but that no one could be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had run out.

Today’s indictment gets around that legal problem by charging Burge with perjury, not with any instances of actual torture.

Burge denied any torture took place while answering written questions in 2003 as part of the lawsuit filed by Hobley, one of the alleged victims.

According to the indictment, the Hobley lawsuit included a specific allegation that police officers placed a plastic bag over Hobley’s head until he lost consciousness.

The indictment cites the questions and answers during the civil questioning, noting that Burge was asked whether he ever used torture methods–including beatings, the use of restraints or machines to deliver electric shocks–or whether other officers were involved.

Burge objected to the question as overly broad, and then answered: “I have never used any techniques set forth above as a means of improper coercion of suspects while in detention or during interrogation.”

In January, the city approved a $20 million settlement with four alleged torture victims.

According to the indictment, Burge was a Chicago police officer from 1970 to 1993, a detective at Area 2 police headquarters on the South Side from 1972 to 1974, and an Area 2 sergeant from 1977 to 1980.

From about 1981 to 1986 he was a lieutenant and supervisor of detectives in the Area 2 violent crimes unit. Later, he was commander of the Bomb and Arson Unit and later commander of Area 3 detectives.

LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: Wasn’t I just talkin about dis? Now da feds are all up in arms about it. My god, don’t they have enough ta do with a terrorist about to get elected to da White House?

A complaint sent to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel alleges that Scott violated the Hatch Act because his agency receives federal dollars, and Scott was engaging in political activity while on duty and in uniform. Erica S. Hamrick, senior attorney for the agency, said in an e-mail Tuesday that an investigation was being opened. Neither she nor her office could be reached for further comment Tuesday.

…

Some also are questioning whether Scott violated the county code of ethics. The statute says no county government employees are allowed to wear any uniform or clothing that would identify them as such while engaging in a political campaign not sponsored by the county, even if they are off-duty. But the sheriff, according to Sgt. Larry King, is not considered an employee of the county — he is an elected official. His budget is approved by the county, but he answers to the governor and to his constituents.

Commissioner Tammy Hall said her office, too, received several calls about the matter, many from out-of-state. Hall said several of the people may not have been aware that the commissioners do not oversee the sheriff. She reiterated, though, that her office has a good working relationship with Scott and she backed his integrity.

Still, other local officials were outspoken against Scott’s choice of words. Lyle Olson, executive committee member for the Democratic Party of Lee County said the action showed “totally poor judgment.”

“It was meant to incite anti-Obama feelings,” Olson said. “Then he tries to claim it was his personal opinion, yet he was standing there in his uniform.”

NEW YORK – The New York Civil Liberties people have sued the NYPD over records pertaining to shootings by the NYPD in the course of their crimefighting duties.  I don’t see what all the fuss is, myself.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Civil Liberties Union has sued the New York Police Department seeking records identifying the race of everyone shot by city police officers since January 1997.

The NYCLU says the lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court is part of its effort to determine if race has played an inappropriate role in police shootings.

The group says that about 90 percent of people shot by police in years past were black or Hispanic. The NYPD says the finding comports with the fact that 98.6 percent of all shooting suspects in the last six months and 97.5 percent of shooting victims were black or Hispanic.

The city’s Law Department says it hasn’t received the legal papers but would review them upon receipt.

WINNFIELD, LOUISIANA -

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/28/taser.death/index.html

(CNN) — A Louisiana grand jury will decide whether a fired police officer should face criminal charges in the January death of a man who was Tasered nine times while handcuffed, the parish’s district attorney announced Monday.

Baron “Scooter” Pikes, a 21-year-old sawmill worker, had tried to run from police in Winnfield, Louisiana, when they tried to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for cocaine possession.

But a coroner’s report found Pikes had been handcuffed and on the ground when first hit with the Taser and might have been dead before the last two shocks from the 50,000-volt device were delivered.

…

Nugent is white; Pikes was black. His death led to demonstrations that drew several dozen people in Winnfield, where the population of about 15,000 is roughly half African-American.

In the year since Winnfield police received Tasers, officers have used them 14 times, according to police records — with 12 of the instances involving black suspects. Ten of the 14 incidents involved Nugent, who had no public disciplinary record.

Hey, even I got nothin to say about dis one.

Episode #5 finds Officer Bob in history class, teaching the lessons of police surveillance through the ages.

 Officer Bob Episode #5 - Cops through da Ages: Download (390)

Here we go again with the racial disparities argument. In today’s New York Times, there’s more of the same old complaining about how black people get arrested for drugs a lot more than white people.

Blah blah blah, statistic, statistic, statistic. Look. We cops can’t help it if white people prefer the powdered cocaine and it’s always blowing out the car window with the wind. What are we supposed to do? Plant evidence?

Remember the lesson of the Sean Bell shooting in New York City back in ‘06: if you’re out on the town and you’re acting like an (unarmed) asshole, you just might get shot fifty times by the cops. And then, as a lesson about how things go out there, your surviving relatives get to watch the cops walk away from the incident with no punishment.

Okay, I’m kind of exaggerating. To get shot a few dozen times by the cops, you don’t have to be acting like an asshole at all. In 1999, Amadu Diallo learned that when New York’s finest lit him up 41 times for the crime of taking his wallet out of his pocket.

In the 300 year history of New York City, there have been only three cops convicted of homicide in the line of duty. What do you call that? I call that job satisfaction.

From Associated Press – Apparently, alla crime in the Sandusky, Ohio area has been cleaned out, allowing 12-year veteran trooper Craig Franklin the time to kick back and have a little Klan-related Kamera-phone fun on Martin Luther King day:

Craig Franklin, a 12-year veteran of the Ohio Highway Patrol, is pictured in the Jan. 20 photo with a white cone on his head, white paper mask and a white cloth covering his shoulders, according to a highway patrol report.

Franklin is otherwise in trooper uniform. A handgun holster, a radio normally issued by the patrol and other police equipment can be seen in the photo, the report said.

Franklin and Trooper Eric Wlodarsky told an investigator that the picture was taken as a joke and was modeled on a television skit by comedian Dave Chappelle.

Thank you. Isn’t it about time somebody did something about these TV funny guys like Chapelle? It’s a disgrace, lemme tell ya.

This site is a satire about police corruption and our willingness to put
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