Where is the outrage? Where is Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton? Where is Eric Holder's Justice Department with their investigation?
Oh wait, this happened in Chicago and the police officer is African-American so there's no racial element to try and exploit so move along, nothing to see here......
A Chicago police commander on patrol in a South Side neighborhood last year chased a man he thought was holding a handgun into an abandoned building, then shoved the barrel of his service gun "deep down" the man's throat, held a Taser to his groin and threatened to kill him if he didn't say where the gun was, prosecutors said today.
Cmdr. Glenn Evans, 52, was charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct after DNA taken from the barrel of his Smith and Wesson .45 caliber handgun conclusively matched the man's DNA, prosecutors said.
Judge Laura Sullivan declined to order Evans to surrender his firearms as prosecutors had sought. She ordered him released on his own recognizance without requiring him to post any cash or property. Evans is now working desk duty at police headquarters.
Sheriff's deputies allowed Evans to exit the courthouse through the old front entrance to the building, bypassing a waiting throng of cameramen and reporters by the usual exit.
Evans faces anything from probation to five years in prison if convicted.
"It is an extremely sad and difficult situation for all of us in law enforcement when an incident such as this occurs and criminal charges are warranted," State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said in a statement. "We certainly recognize that our police officers have difficult jobs and that they work under challenging and often life threatening circumstances, but every law enforcement officer holds his or her powers through the public trust and this type of conduct violates that trust."
Laura Morask, Evans' attorney, told the judge that Evans would vigorously contest the charges, saying no one from the state's attorney's office, the Police Department's Internal Affairs Division or the Independent Police Review Authority had ever asked Evans for his account of what happened that afternoon.
She said the DNA evidence gathered by prosecutors was "far from being a smoking gun."
"Those results will confirm and corroborate what my client says happened," she said.
Morask called the IPRA investigation "incredibly flawed" and characterized Evans' actions as "just" and "lawful."
More than a dozen police officers stood in the courtroom as Evans' case was heard in bond court.
At an afternoon news conference, Alvarez emphasized the difficult decision involved in charging a popular police commander.
"That's why this case is sad because you have someone who has the complete trust of the department and the complete trust of the citizens of Chicago and oversteps that line," she told reporters at her downtown offices. "Sometimes good people do bad things."
Evans was on patrol Jan 30, 2013, at about 4:45 p.m. in the 500 block of East 71st Street after a child had been shot in the neighborhood the previous day, according to prosecutors and Morask.
After spotting what he said was a man standing near a bus stop with a gun in his right hand, Evans got out of his unmarked squad car, announced he was a police officer and approached the man, said Assistant State's Attorney Lauren Freeman.
The 22-year-old man ran away, eventually entering an abandoned building in 7100 block of South Eberhart Avenue and hid in a closet with no door, Freeman said. Evans tackled the man and stuck the barrel of his service weapon "deep down the victim's throat," she said.
"He then pulled out a Taser and held it to the man's groin," she told the judge.
As he held both weapons, he threatened to kill the victim, announcing, "M-----------, tell me where the guns are."
Despite a "systematic search" of the house and surrounding area, no gun was ever recovered, Freeman said. The man, who had "severe soreness to his throat for several days" was charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct, she said.
The alleged victim filed a complaint with IPRA the day after the incident. Chicago police personnel swabbed Evans' gun for DNA the following month.
Testing by the Illinois State police's crime lab last April found that the DNA conclusively matched the victim's profile, Freeman said.
Evans is due back in court on Sept. 18.
Quote from: stephendare on August 29, 2014, 09:06:08 AM
oh. are you posting this so that people know about it Jameson? Or are you race baiting?
Maybe I'm missing it, but the outrage in ferguson began when cops started attacking protestors while using military equipment and shooting at journalists.
Since you have a problem with the police actions in Ferguson, you should then find the actions of this Chicago cop quite disturbing, no?
Quote from: stephendare on August 29, 2014, 09:26:26 AM
Quote from: Jameson on August 29, 2014, 09:21:23 AM
Quote from: stephendare on August 29, 2014, 09:06:08 AM
oh. are you posting this so that people know about it Jameson? Or are you race baiting?
Maybe I'm missing it, but the outrage in ferguson began when cops started attacking protestors while using military equipment and shooting at journalists.
Since you have a problem with the police actions in Ferguson, you should then find the actions of this Chicago cop quite disturbing, no?
did they shoot at protestors?
or are you just race baiting?
As is protocol, you deflect away from the question. It's quite annoying when you play aloof, but I'll play along.
You claim that the issue in Ferguson "began when cops started attacking protesters while using military equipment and shooting at journalists." That is not the case. That is one issue in Ferguson but not what started it. No one is disputing that the militarization of the police force is overkill. We actually agree on that.
The issue in Ferguson is about the actions of a (white) cop shooting an unarmed (black) man. The race of the cop and the victim should not be an issue (as it is clearly not an issue in the incident in Chicago that this thread is supposed to be about.) But unfortunately, that gave those in the community and the media a racial narrative to run with. That led to protesters from Chicago, LA, Brooklyn, etc., all descending on Ferguson to satisfy their own self-righteousness in a lame attempt to be a part of something.
Ferguson is a small town with a small police force (which for some reason is militarized) and they were now overrun with protesters. The protesters looted, burned downed businesses, tossed molotov cocktails at police, threw rocks at Chris Hayes of MSNBC, beat up and robbed other people from out of state who were there to protest, etc. It is at this point that we finally get to your issue of the police "attacking protesters while using military equipment and shooting at journalists" which again, I agree with you. It is excessive use of force but again, not what started the issue in Ferguson.
Please feel free to now talk about your outrage at how the cop in Chicago used excessive force and how outraged you are about it, since that appears to be something that bothers you and since that is supposed to be the topic of this thread.
I guess one small difference is that the guy in Chicago is still alive and the cop is being charged with a crime?
Quote from: Lunican on August 29, 2014, 10:14:20 AM
I guess one small difference is that the guy in Chicago is still alive and the cop is being charged with a crime?
Officer Wilson will be charged with a crime. The oversight (i.e. intimidation) by Holder guarantees that.
Quote from: stephendare on August 29, 2014, 01:04:44 PM
so, yes, you are race baiting?
You mean like this:
Black on Black Crime the same percentages as White on White crime.
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,22408.msg388135.html#msg388135
^^^Okay, so the 'rogue officer' always have to be white to support the 'correct' agenda, I'll take note...