Category Archives: Peoria Police

Peoria Police

Pictures of drug arrestees on the web

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As promised, the Peoria Police Department has a new section on its website called the Drug Nuisance Property section. If you click on the months in the left-column menu, you can see mug shots of those “individuals [who] were arrested for various offenses at the listed addresses.” The police go on to say, “It is hoped that the photos of the arrested individuals will serve as a deterrent to others.”

In addition, the Journal Star reports:

Ten properties also are listed on the Web site, marked as “sightings” of the department’s Armadillo nuisance vehicle. The vehicle, an old Brinks truck outfitted with a bulletproof exterior and armed with surveillance equipment, was created to annoy residents disturbing the peace of their neighbors.

Peoria Police

Police Union: No confidence in Chief

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Monday night, the Peoria Police Benevolent Association took a vote of no confidence in Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard:

In dispute, according to police sources, is a proposal by Settingsgaard to move to staggered shifts, which would put more officers out on the streets at shift change but would tweak the hours of the three primary shifts – first, second and third – something the union says would cost the city more money, create headaches for those in charge of making the schedules and disturb the schedules of officers’ families. Also being challenged is the idea to appoint supervisors to new assignments without opening up the bid process to other qualifying supervisors with more seniority, meaning those with more time on the job would lose the ability to bid for shifts and days off.

The article also states that since May 2005, “the union has filed between 30 and 40 grievances against him for various alleged contract violations.” The vote was 187-24.

Here’s the press release of Chief Settingsgaard’s response:

As has been much publicized, the Peoria Police Benevolent Board held a No Confidence Vote on Monday, September 22, 2008. The Board has since publicized the outcome of the vote with 187 members voting against the Chief, and 24 voting in favor of the Chief. This is an important issue not only for the police and our internal operations, but for the citizens we serve as well. It is critical that both the community and the officers understand the nature of the issues, my rationale for the decisions I must make, and how they may impact police service.

The No Confidence Vote as well as many of the grievances that have been filed during my tenure are in great part related to how we as the police staff our community. As the Chief, I bear the responsibility of balancing the needs of the community against the needs of individual officers. Unfortunately there are times when the public’s need and the officer’s personal interests are in direct conflict with each other. I must then weigh these conflicting interests and decide a course of action that seeks the greatest good. Sometimes I am able to find reasonable compromise and satisfy both and sometimes I am not. Sometimes I must ask the officers to put aside their own interests and make sacrifices for the good of the people they serve. This burden comes with leadership and to lead, I must make these decisions even when I know it will make me unpopular among my own officers. I do not ask the officers to make reasonable accommodations and adjust to change because I want to; I ask this of them because I must.

I am disappointed that the Benevolent Board chose to take a No Confidence Vote rather than rely on the agreed upon processes to resolve these types of disputes. I am disappointed in the manner in which the vote was held as I am told that some officers were pressured to vote over the phone, sacrificing their right to anonymity. What is done is done and now it must be dealt with so that we can all move on.

The most critical thing for the public to understand at this point is that this dispute will have no impact on their safety nor does it reduce the commitment of our police officers to serve. Our Peoria Police Officers are the most highly skilled and highly professional officers I have ever known. They have not, and will not give anything but their very best to the community that they serve, even in circumstances like the current. While we work thorough these unfortunate but necessary conflicts, both my management team and the officers continue to serve proudly. As for my performance as the Chief, I will continue to pursue positive change and seek to improve our service, and I will not leave well enough alone because well enough is not good enough. I owe this to the community; I owe it to my officers.

Today’s Journal Star reports, “Today, the union plans to release a more detailed statement – seven to 10 pages, Skaggs said – addressing the union’s concerns.”

Crime, Peoria Police

Question of the day: Should arrests be published?

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A number of commenters on an earlier post argued that the police should not publish photos of those arrested in drug raids because people are innocent until proven guilty. In fact, some went so far as to say putting arrestees’ photos on the web would be unconstitutional. Other bloggers have weighed in as well.

But on the web right now is this information:

Robbery

Shawn L. Burch, 28, of 404 E. Republic St. was arrested about 8 p.m. Sunday in the 700 block of Northeast Adams Street and booked on charges of robbery and mob action with injury. He allegedly attacked and stole jackets from two women Sunday afternoon on Madison Avenue.

Mary J. Schertz, 23, of 2610 W. Humboldt Ave. was arrested about 6 p.m. Sunday at the Peoria Police Department, 600 SW Adams St., and booked on charges of robbery, aggravated battery and mob action. She attacked two women last week in South Peoria, striking them with a softball and stealing one of their purses, police said.

Weapons

Bryant K. Carter, 43, of 914 W. Hampshire Road was arrested about 7:40 p.m. Monday in the 900 block of West Hampshire Road and booked on charges of unlawful use of weapons, having an expired firearm owner’s identification card and disorderly conduct.

Where is this information, you may ask? The police department’s website, perhaps? No. It’s the Journal Star’s site. And it’s under the category “Arrests.” And it appeared in print on September 9, to boot.

So, the question is, should this information be suppressed until there is a conviction? Is it wrong to publish this public information? It gives names, addresses, and the reason each person was arrested — and if they’re not convicted, there’s nothing published to clear their name after the fact. What’s the difference between this journalistic practice and the police doing the same thing for drug arrests on their website (with one difference: adding a picture of the arrestees)?

Frankly, I think what the police department is suggesting is actually less invasive. You might run across these names in the paper while you’re looking at the local news. You’d have to deliberately visit the police department’s website to see the pictures. Compare the number of hits to the Peoria Police Department site with the Journal Star’s — then add in the paper’s circulation numbers.

Should there be outrage against the paper’s publishing of these innocent (until proven guilty) people’s names and addresses? Should arrests be suppressed in the media, and only convictions reported?

Peoria Police

Drug arrestee photos to be put on police website

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In this week’s Issues Update from the city, it was revealed that the police department will be doing for drug dealers and users what they’ve done for prostitutes and johns: publish their pictures on the web:

The Police Department is preparing to launch a new facet of the website relative to drug arrests. The Department intends to publish the names and photographs of persons arrested at drug houses during raids. Each entry will be listed by address and will identify all persons who were arrested during an operation. The Department would expect there will be two exceptions to the published photos; persons arrested for warrants only and those who do not have any new charges stemming from the raid will not be published. Additionally, persons may need to be excluded to protect the confidentiality of subsequent investigations. For example, a small-time drug dealer may choose to cooperate with investigators and assist the Department in making cases against suppliers. In such cases, it may be necessary to protect their identity and not publish their photo.

What do you think of this idea?

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Police

Police looking to get Segways

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On the city council agenda for next Tuesday is a request by the Police Department to purchase two Segway Personal Transport vehicles to be used by parking enforcement officers and police patrolling congested public events. Here’s the justification as it appears in the council request:

The Peoria Police Department has been attempting to find better ways to provide service in the downtown area and in areas where there are large crowds of citizens gathered, such as public events. Parking Enforcement Officers and Police Officers often must commute through the congested geographical areas while making frequent stops. The Parking Enforcement Officers in the Downtown area must park their vehicles and repeatedly enter and exit their vehicles to conduct business. During public events, currently the only mode of transportation inside the event area is by foot. Officers often are called to respond to calls for service which are a sizable distance to travel by foot in a short period of time. Officers utilizing a Personal Transport would be able to respond much more quickly and would not need to physically exert themselves before arriving at the call by sprinting through the area. Multiple police departments throughout the State of Illinois are currently utilizing the Segway Personal Transport with positive results and are reporting the Segway has been positive for public relations. It is also anticipated that there will be a significant savings in fuel consumption for the downtown Parking Enforcement officers. The Personal Transports get the equivalent of anywhere between 250 and 500 m.p.g. depending upon how they are equipped. It is fair to say that the Segway’s energy consumption will cost at least 1/10th of the current cost in the Ford Focus utilized by the Parking Enforcement Officers.

The accessories that will be included in the purchase of the (2) x2 Police package Segways are: 2 parking stands, 2 police lights and sirens, and 1 commercial cargo carrier.

Cost for two Segways: $13,775.03. I’ll admit my first reaction was to be skeptical; there is something comical about a police officer racing after someone at 12 mph with sirens blaring on a Segway. But a quick search of the Internet shows that Segways are indeed being used by police departments in cities big and small, and the devices are proving to be helpful and effective. Nevertheless, I got a kick out of this post comparing other alternatives. The Chicagoist has a more positive spin.

Peoria Police

Dunnigan back on the force

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Last August, when Troy Parker was reinstated to the police force, I wondered aloud how that could happen to him and not Marshall Dunnigan, especially considering how much more serious Parker’s alleged crime was. After reading the public accounts of Dunnigan’s alleged crime, the whole case against him sounded pretty tenuous to the casual observer. I figured there must have been more to the story that wasn’t released to the public.

But today, we learn from the Journal Star that an arbitrator has concluded that “the city failed to establish that Dunnigan intended to commit theft or fraud when he cashed a $639 ticket from the machine at the [Paradice] casino, which actually belonged to another gambler, a retired Peoria police officer.” Now Dunnigan has been reinstated to the force and will receive back pay for all the time he was off for wrongful termination. All except a ten-day suspension for “fail[ing] to report that he was under investigation for a crime.”

Dunnigan was fired in March of 2007, so that’s going to be one mammoth check for back pay he’ll be getting from the city. Hope he doesn’t spend it all in one place, if you know what I mean.

City of Peoria, Peoria Police, Peoria Public Schools

City agrees to cancel tickets

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The City of Peoria held a press conference yesterday at Peoria Police headquarters to announce that tickets given to high school students at Manual and Woodruff for walking in the middle of the roadway and/or jaywalking will be abated if the students attend mandatory school assemblies where police officers and school officials will try to give students a “better understanding of the rules.”

Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard stood by his officers, again reiterating that they acted appropriately, even though that’s disputed by local African American leaders. However, he felt the need to “move beyond that disagreement” and recognize that the city, school board, and African American leaders such as local NAACP president Don Jackson all “wanted to get to the same place,” i.e., a safer environment for the children and the motoring public. “We can get there through this assembly process,” he said.

The assembly process should be completed before Thanksgiving.

Don Jackson stated on behalf of the NAACP, “we enthusiastically support this resolution.” Rev. Harvey Burnette, who had previously asked that the tickets be reduced to warnings, was pleased with the outcome. Dr. Rita Ali of the King Holiday Committee also spoke in favor of the resolution.

The agreement was reached during a meeting that included representatives of the city, police, school district, NAACP, King Holiday Committee, and pastors. These groups will continue to meet to improve “community/police relations.”

My two cents: Message received. Tickets can be adjudicated in the court of public opinion. Fines can be wiped away if enough public pressure and, most importantly, the race card are applied. No need to go through established processes.

I realize racism exists and is a problem in this community. One need look no further than the Journal Star website’s comments section to see it on display every day. But these tickets had nothing to do with racism. They had everything to do with children walking in the middle of the street, obstructing motorists, and intimidating drivers.

Yes, in one case, there was an eyewitness who said the children she saw were not walking in the middle of the street. But wouldn’t it have been better to have that come out in court? To have the police and the eyewitness testify and let a judge make a determination? Then it’s on the record, and steps can be taken to rectify that situation through established processes. Isn’t that the reason those systems were established in the first place?

Instead, these children plus all the other students who were ticketed — meaning all those whose culpability was never disputed — get off scot-free. What message does that send?

It sends the message that playing the victim and accusing police of racism works. It sends the message that African Americans evidently can’t get a fair hearing in a court of law, so their hearing needs to be held in the court of public opinion instead. It sends the message that African Americans and the police are enemies who need some sort of arbitrator in the form of a “community/police relations” committee.

It sends the wrong message. It doesn’t teach the students personal responsibility for their actions. And it does nothing to battle real racism.

One post-script: the police chief did say that “there will be enforcement in the future.” Hopefully that future enforcement will be supported by all community leaders so we can get back to dealing with the real problem in this particular case: children walking in the middle of streets.

Peoria Police, Traffic

If city stands firm, State’s Attorney could be in a world of hurt

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On Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2006, police ticketed thirteen pedestrians and two motorists for jaywalking and crosswalk violations downtown around Jefferson, Adams, and Main streets. There was the usual hue and cry with calls for police to focus on “real crime,” but the police and the city (rightly) stood firm.

Not so the State’s Attorney’s office. On Feb. 14 that year, prosecutors dropped the charges, sending all the scofflaws letters that stated, “Our office joins Peoria police in its interest to raise public awareness regarding pedestrian safety…. We have chosen not to pursue this as a prosecution in court, and no payment nor further action is necessary on your part. No mark of any kind will appear against your license or name regarding this matter.” Kevin Lyons declined to comment at the time.

So I would expect the State’s Attorney’s office do the same for the children who were recently ticketed for similar pedestrian violations. Since they’ve set a precedent for dismissing these infractions, it would be inconsistent for them to take a different course of action here, wouldn’t it?

As I see it, this will put the State’s Attorney between a rock and a hard place. If he doesn’t prosecute these tickets, he’ll be perceived by many as soft on crime at the worst possible time for him: during an election cycle (won’t LaHood have fun with that one?). But if he does prosecute, he’ll have, at best, a large number of people demanding an explanation for his inconsistency — at worst, charges of racism.

I’ll bet he regrets not prosecuting those tickets last year.

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Police

Police want 5:00 security start time at Adams Supermarket

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Adams Supermarket owner Ahmad Abud (aka Hussein Alsalahi) insisted that his South Side grocery store needed to sell liquor to be successful, and was willing to agree to a number of conditions in order to secure his liquor license. One of those conditions was having an off-duty Peoria Police officer act as a security guard from 2 p.m. to midnight.

Sales haven’t been as good as Abud thought they would be, so he’s looking at reducing costs — and one of those costs is the off-duty police officer. He wants to only have an officer working security from 8 p.m. to midnight, and he has the support of First District Councilman Clyde Gulley.

The Police Department, however, thinks that won’t be sufficient and is recommending a third option — that the police security officer start at 5 p.m. They further recommend that this be on a 12-month trial basis, and that if there’s any trouble, the full 2 p.m. to midnight condition be reinstated.

Gulley and others will complain that this is unfair because it’s not required of any other grocery stores with liquor licenses. That’s a valid complaint. But on the other hand, Abud did agree to it. If he thought it was unfair, he should have stated that early in the process, like when he appeared before the Liquor Commission initially or when his license came up for approval before the council. Since he enthusiastically agreed to the conditions, and is now trying to get out of one of them, it makes people nervous that he will continue to chip away at the conditions until his store is nothing more than a glorified liquor store.