Terry Beachler is danged if he does and danged if he doesn’t.
After his business, Beachler’s Servicecenter at the corner of University and War Memorial Drive was cited and paid a hefty fine twice for selling cigarettes to minors, Terry initiated a new policy:
If an under age person attempts to make a tobacco purchase, we ask for the i.d. If the i.d. indicates that the person is under age, our employees are instructed to place the i.d. in our drop safe. Employees have no access to the drop safe. The next morning we call the police, and if appropriate, the parents to take further action. As we have good evidence, we felt that it is not necessary to call police immediately. We use the drop safe so that a person will not return and try to obtain the i.d. This provides protection for our employee.
It seems to me that this is just the kind of policy that the police would want retailers to have. By confiscating the ID and holding it to the next day, the perpetrator can’t just hit up the next gas station for cigarettes and the next one after that until he finds one that will sell cancer sticks to him.
But in this case, the police — who have already ticketed his business twice for violating this law — were not happy when he followed the law either. Here’s Terry’s account of the incident (emphasis mine):
On March 26, 2007 an under age person made an attempt to illegally purchase a pack of cigarettes. The cashier on duty was given the i.d upon request. Upon examination it was determined that the person was under age and the i.d. was dropped in the safe. The person left. A very short time later a person entered belligerently demanding the i.d. back. A badge was flashed.
I received a call from the cashier on duty indicating that there had been a sting operation and they wanted the i.d. back. I suggested that they return in the morning and I would provide the i.d and left the phone call. Shortly after, I received a second call indicating that the employee would be arrested for theft if the i.d. was not returned. I was near Mossville and returned to the business, about a twenty minute ride. Upon arrival, I turned my digital recorder on. I noted an SUV idling at the south end of our building with a person inside. I recorded the license number and entered the building through the back door. I asked the cashier on duty who needed help. He pointed me to a person outside with big muscles, a buzz haircut and an old shirt. I asked how I could help. The person demanded the i.d. back. I invited him to the office and asked for i.d. He presented a business card. I asked to see a badge which he flashed. I asked again to take a closer look at the badge and established that he was a police officer. He was demanding and argumentative. I went to the drop safe. I seldom open the safe as certain employees do the cash handling procedures. I worked with the combination and the safe was opened after a 2 minute time delay. Occasionally a customer will leave a credit card here or a driver’s license after an i.d. check for check cashing or age verification. Employees are required to drop the item which was left in the safe. We then contact the customer. I found an i.d. in the safe and was examining it to be sure it was the correct i.d. and to determine the age of the person presenting the i.d. The officer made an attempt to grab the i.d from my hand. I reacted to the sudden move and did not release the i.d. At that time he announced that I was under arrest. I was handcuffed and taken to the county jail and released a couple of hours later.
Here’s the digital recording of the incident:
[audio:https://peoriachronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/Audio/Beachler.mp3]What are we to make of this? In my opinion, I think the officer should have waited until the next day to get the I.D. back. If the police want to do a sting operation, that’s fine. But when a business follows the law — which I assume is the outcome the police are wanting — the least the police can do is cooperate with the business’s policies and not drag a business owner in at the officer’s convenience and then arrest the business owner because he was perturbed at being ordered to come in and return an I.D. like he was doing something criminal. If you were arrested as well for some reason, there’s more in the article which are related to laws and bonds for you to read about.
Now, I’m not out to bash the police here. I want them to be out there patrolling our neighborhoods and fighting crime, and stopping underage sales of cigarettes and alcohol is a legitimate police action. But when they find that a business is cracking down on this kind of crime like they’re supposed to, it’s not right for the police to inconvenience the store owner just because the employees didn’t fall for the sting. They should rather applaud the business and hold them up as an example.
In another case of “danged if you do, danged if you don’t,” Beachler’s recording of the confrontation is actually illegal in Illinois. Illinois law prohibits recording a conversation — even in person — without the consent of all parties involved. Naturally, that law doesn’t apply to the police. So if the tables had been reversed and Terry were the one being belligerent and the officer was secretly recording it, that would have been okay.
In the end, all charges were dropped. But, as Terry pointed out, “Ultimately, valuable police resources [were] squandered” on this incident. If the police want business owners to cooperate with the police, the police need to cooperate with the business owners, especially when their only “crime” is following the law.
OMG!! That is simply AMAZING!! I can’t believe an officer of the law can behave so abrasively to one who is obviously following and attempting to uphold the law.
The question I have is this: Was this Peoria police officer, or an officer from the Secretary of State’s office?
It was a Peoria police officer.
Um… I am not sure it is legal for anyone other than a law enforcement officer to seize a valid ID like a driver’s license, state ID or even a passport.
If it is fake or not theirs then yeah you can hold onto it and then turn it over to the police. If it is valid tho, I don’t think he could lawfully take it. I could be wrong…
PEORIA? Good lord. What does Steve Settingsgaard have to say about this? An explanation needs to be made publicly about this.
This officer was rude and abrasive, and a tax paying business and citizen should not be treated this way with disrespect. Many officers act like they are above the law and its BS. This officer needs to be reprimanded,and have his name in the paper for once.
The undercover kid was breaking the law, is he a compensated member of the PPD? Is he covered under the citys insurance? What if he were wounded in the course of his undercover work? I think the Peoria Police need to re-think this policy of using teenage kids in undercover sting operations. The behavior of this officer is horrible. I do find it humorous that during alchohol and tobacco sting operations the cops will mill about next to video poker machines used for illegal gambling at almost every tavern in town while trying to bust a guy for selling smokes or a beer.
This is an interesting situation but there is a little more to the story I think.
First, Beachler is an a** to many public employees who enforce laws and makes frequent derogatory comments about public employees. Read the comments he posted on his site – clearly not a stable man.
This includes not only the police but also Firefighters. He blew lots of hot air regarding the Fire Department’s implementation of a Hazardous Materials fee several years ago and spent a lot of time creating problems for them in enforcing the regulations on his business (interestingly, other businesses complied). Interesting that he just so conveniently had a tape recorder that he thought to turn on before this began.
I also am not sure that it’s legal for him to seize a fake I.D. I think that a better policy would be for him to call the police upon the attempt of a minor to purchase cigarrettes. Had he done this, it would have easily been resolved.
Officer Jordan (whom I have met several times) is a good officer. Unfortunately, this tape doesn’t show him in the best light and it sure sounds like there has been some interaction between him and Mr. Beachler in the past. Perhaps Mr. Beachler is still harboring some frustration over the prior citations he received. Looks like the Officer might have let him get under his skin a little too much.
Sully was arrested a while back in a similar situation over a liquor buy attempt that he stopped. He wanted to be paid for the drinks that were ordered but not served when he I.D.ed the kid. He called the police when presented with the underage I.D. and also demanded that they pay for the drinks ordered. They arrested him as well, and yes I am sure there is more to the story…..
Mahnko is probably right – Beachler most likely broke the law seizing IDs.
And come on CJ. Do some more in depth inquires into issues like this. There is most likely quite a bit of state and federal funding that pays for programs like this.
And while I was listening to the tape, it’s my opinion Beachler was purposely baiting the officer. And if you listen closely it’s pretty obvious Beachler knows who the officer was from past violations.
You people who protect the police are just COP WIVES.Cop LOVERS. You LOVE a bully in uniform and it shows, baby… it shows. Cops are just gang members with a badge. F ’em.
I think Beachler was absolutely rightfully yelled at and arrested. He had absolutely no right to cease the id, no matter what he thinks. His duty is not to sell cigarettes to minors, period. But he wanted more, he wanted to become the police himself. Refusing the sale is now not enough, he feels he is obligated to snitch. Everyone is against the police exceeding their rights, against police state, so how about the guy that has created a little police state in his shop just because he thinks it’s the right thing to do.
The snitch volunteer just got what he deserved.
Congrats, C.J.: You’ve been Farked.
It would not be legal, or even a good idea, to try and take anyone’s ID, real or fake. That was stupid. As to the video, every gas station has video, most with audio as well, to prevent robberies and other thefts. I believe it is only illegal to have hidden audio/video recordings, hence the signs that every station has regarding video on the premises.
Bull. If Beachler stole property, then the police can go to the State’s Attorney and file charges, not send some lone lone muscle-bound bully to arrest the guy on trumped up charges stemming from some “furtive” movement. He’s not being charged with that, so it’s obviously not a crime. The police could have sent anyone to pick up the ID at the convenience of the business, not at the convenience of someone who is supposed to be a public servant. But an Heinlein wrote, “public servant” is just another way of saying “public master.” If the police are going to send people around trying to con clerks into accidentally committing crimes, then a little inconvenience is the price they should pay. The need to stop treating honest business people like they were gangsters just itching to commit a crime.
The only thing that I see that happened here is the police have created an environment of crime where they were actively trying to harass and extort this guy probably in retaliation for his disagreements with the Fire Department.I’m sure he blew less hot air about the Fire Department’s extortion of fees from him than the Police Department and their apologists have about him seizing the ID. According to these sources, they were continually trying to set him up for a crime he never intended to commit. He was absolutely right to keep control of the evidence and record the conversation with the officer. The very nature of the sting suggests that this officer has no problem with being dishonest to get the bust.
Sorry. I thought it was station video not that he had a hidden audio recorder. That would be illegal without both parties knowledge and consent.
In the audio, Terry was indeed an a-hole and the office didn’t help matters with his attitude either.
This is a clear abuse of authority. This officer was agitated when the owner arrived. he tried to bully the owner and employee, and then tried to intimidate them with threats of arrest. When his bluff was called, he chose to not use reason and back down. He didn’t explain what law the owner was violating before threatening arrest, even though the owner was calm, communicative, and attempting to cooperate. His request for information was reasonable, especially since the officer wasn’t in uniform.
This officer should have been fired!!
This gov’t and their thug employees continue to violate our rights under the Constitution. Add this violation to the ever-growing list:
They violate the 1st Amendment by caging demonstrators and banning books like “America Deceived” from Amazon.
They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns during Katrina.
They violate the 4th Amendment by conducting warrant-less wiretaps.
They violate the 5th and 6th Amendment by suspending habeas corpus.
They violate the 8th Amendment by torturing.
They violate the entire Constitution by starting 2 illegal wars based on lies and on behalf of a foriegn gov’t.
Clean out the whole gov’t.
Last link (unless Google Books caves to the gov’t and drops the title):
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-38523-0
quote:
“Illinois is, by statute, a two-party state. However, case law from both the IL Supreme Court and various Illinois appellate courts have declared Illinois a one-party state in the case of private citizens (businesses and plain folks – NOT law enforcement). The reigning consensus is that one-party consensual recording is merely “enhanced note-taking” and since some folks have total recall without recording, how can the other party have any expectation of privacy to a conversation held with another person.”
Let’s get a grip here people! What about the deeper question? Police “sting” operations over under age i.d.? Palleeaassee!!!! This fascist bunch of storm troopers. Nothing better to do? Got a personal grudge against this guy because he doesn’t like cops or your local laws and speaks out about it. Yeah, Free Speach. The first amendment protects unpopular speach. You don’t like what this “a**” says so you use the law to harass him. Aren’t you a bunch of great upstanding American’ts!!! You should be so proud. Pathetic. Simply and truly pathetic. GROW UP!!!!!!!!
This is a clear abuse of authority. This officer was agitated when the owner arrived. He tried to bully the owner and employee, and then tried to intimidate them with threats of arrest. When his bluff was called, he chose to not use reason and back down. He didn’t explain what law the owner was violating before threatening arrest, even though the owner was calm, communicative, and attempting to cooperate. His request for information was reasonable, especially since the officer wasn’t in uniform. A calm request and explanation by the officer would have avoided this entire situation.
As for the recording, as long as their is a sign notifying that security equipment is used in the store, he is within the law to record the conversation.
This officer should have been fired!!
The officer also made no effort to congratulate the owner for the employee not selling the tobacco. If the reduction of sale to minors was the officers true objective, then he should have been pleased the sale wasn’t made. Instead, it appears to have angered him instead.
This is outrageous. The business owner now has an arrest record. He should sue the police for false arrest, and demand that disciplinary action be taken against the officer and all superiors involved, and that the arrest record be expunged.
Be Careful to those under 18! Next up? Underage Lottery ticket buying sting operation? I’ve never understood the cigarette stings.
I can completely agree with alcohol stings, but, cigarettes? It is against the law, but, come on… They’d be better off doing an underage sting on buying spray paint.
Jeff has it right. Why are so many of you in agreement that harrassing business owners and trying to “sting” them for underage cigarette sales is “legitimate” police work? That is just insane and is clear proof that most of you so-called “Americans” do not have clue about freedom and wouldn’t know it if it bit you on the behind. You are just begging for your chains slaves.
I have to side with terry on this one. He’s was just trying to cover his ass. That cop is an ass. He should be suspended. Don;t let this go people.
Or Sudafed.
It is illegal to steal someones ID. So on that count you got it wrong.
However police are suppossed to defuse situations and find compromises and that seems to be what was happening. Unfortunatly this cop is an a$$hole and didn’t like you verifying his authority.
I’m not supprised at this cops behavior. Anyone who is hasn’t had to deal with the police on a regular basis.
I have always been a HUGE fan of the Peoria police department, but this is ridiculous. This is another account of a police officer abusing his power. Small town cops that act tough make me laugh. I dont understand why being picked on as a child and teenager gives them the right to get a badge and harass others.
You can confiscate fake IDs. I don’t know if the ID in question here was legitimate or not. In any case, the officer was clearly out of control. Terry may be a jerk (I don’t know him personally, but I certainly think his gas prices are a ripoff), but there’s no law against being a jerk. He complied with the officer’s request to come in, and he complied with the officer’s request to give back the ID. The officer wasn’t in uniform and was in an unmarked car. How does Terry know the officer is even on duty? Like Vonster said, Terry was just covering his backside. The officer should have shown more respect.
This sounds like an officer who is pretty impressed with his job and his gun. Beachler is a business owner, not a wanted criminal. Over-zealous police tactics give the entire PPD a bad reputation.
This should make it even more apparent that we are living in a police state. He is lucky he wasn’t shot as all police shootings are justified, even when the bullet hole is in someone’s back. Check out unknownnews.com for reports of bad police ( i.e. probation for child rape, home invasion and robbery, etc). Kudos on recording- when lying has become the standard for government it is always best to have a record- just in case.
It seems plausible (if not more than likely) that an individual who is out-of-uniform, travelling in an unmarked car, who comes to rescue evidence that an attempt at illegal activity occurred (e.g., a kid trying to illegally purchase cigarettes, a knife from a bloody fight, etc.) would be just some relative or friend trying to [illegally] get a kid out of trouble.
It would be MOST likely that if a kid passed a fake ID or even attempted this, that somebody he knows could have a fake or outdated police badge eh? Should the business just allow anybody to get away with things if somebody comes in and flashes a badge saying “fahgettaboutit”? Would REQUIRING information in such circumstances truly be considered “harrassing the officer” as some of these posters have claimed?
WAKE UP!
That cop should be fired.
He was obviously using his authority to scare a law abiding citizen. That crap should be allowed in Peoria.
I understand the police have a very frustrating job having to deal with all the criminal losers everyday and watching them get off because the jails are too full, but come on.
If this cop wants to scare someone, send him into one of Peoria’s crack houses or into the heart of gang land. Let him walk though the East Bluff, scaring the criminals away.
The Officer was breaking the law, harrassing a business owner, abusive and made an illegal arrest. I applaud this store owner, every store owner in the U.S. should act like this man. Any kid, regardless of his reason should have his ID taken when he attempts to buy liquor or cigarettes underage. The police should not be risking underage children’s lives by using them in illegal sting operations. I would be willing to put money on the child being a relative of the officer and that as the reason his was so upset. The officer should be fired immediately.
My concerns continue to be a trend of about local police increasing resources and manpower for relatively small issues. The last year shows effort to increase enforcement of Jaywalking downtown is one example and an ovezealous Medina Township office is on a crusade to stop “rolling stop” violations at obscure 4-way stop signs as yet another example. All very valid “crimes” that should have conssequences for violators but is the level of effort truly warranted?
In the meantime more serious crime continue to creep Northward in Peoria including a recent armed Burglary in the Allen Road Wal*Mart. Were the local Law enforcement officers doing sting operations at Gas Stations and watching 4-way stop signs during that incident?
I certainly can approve of “spot checks” on local cigarete and liquor retailers if done in a professional and helpful way to encourage enforcement of the law by the retailers. If a helpful attitude were to be used should I not have read in the Peoria Journal Star a Note of Commendation for Terry and his employee (along with many other honest retailers who no doubt were also “stung”)
for a successful effort to stop and underage purchase of cigaretes?
it sounds like this cop is a “boot” he is a disgrace to the uniform and should turn over his badge. i am embarrassed to be a member of the department
Is it possible that this incident is derived from having too few police officers? When officers are overloaded, overworked, overassigned, like anyone else, you get testy and mistakes get made.
I’m wondering if the PJS or any radio or TV station will pick up this story?
After carefully reading the article and listening to the recording, I have to wonder if Mr. Beachler has all of his faculties or if he honestly believes that the general public is foolish enough to buy into his game. His “new policy” indicates that all new offenders’ identification will be placed in his safe until the next day. The recording indicated that he could not remember the combination to his own safe, so he might want to consider a new game plan, in case of future memory failures. I also question a boss who is so willing to let his employee go to jail for something of this nature. I’m sure his employee is most appreciative that Terry was willing to let “him” have an arrest on his record. Potential future employers do not typically seek out candidates with an arrest record of any kind. Terry’s “I’ll take care of it” might have included posting bond, but it won’t expunge a record. It sounds to me like Terry likes to play games at everyone elses expense. How many reader’s have digital recording devices in hand and on when going into their workplace? The officer sounds angry, however; I’m not sure I would have been any different under the circumstance. The recording definitely sounds like he was doing everything possible to irritate the officer and get him to blow up. Maybe the next time I’m in Beachler’s gas station, perhaps instead of promptly paying for my fuel, I should hold the cash out of Terry’s reach until he is able to answer all of my questions about oil prices. From the sounds of this, the officer waited 20 minutes for Terry to arrive and the maybe another 5 minutes or so, of bickering with him. How long do you think it would take Terry to get mad, raise his voice and then call the police? I’ll bet it wouldn’t take the whole 25 minutes that he spent! It seems to me that if Terry were a reasonable man, he would have handed the officer the ID and then discussed the situation. Because I am a reasonable person, I think I’ll probably start buying my gasoline elsewhere.
“s”
Blowing thru stop signs in rural areas of the County has gotten way out of hand (cars and cyclists). I live in a rural part of the County and am scared to death of apparently, people like you with no real regard for traffic laws. People DIE when people like you blow thru stop signs. I hope your ticket sticks on your record and makes you think every time your increased insurance premium comes due.
Beachler, like him or hate him, you decide but according to a bar owner I know there is a class you can attend for just this. In it they tell you that you can keep the ID of the offender but you must call police and then turn it over to them. If it is a sting operation, then you must turn over the ID to the officer of the sting that makes himself known. As for Beachler not knowing the combo to his safe, it isn’t his big safe it is his drop safe which his morning manager opens and gets the money drops out. He probably rarely opens this safe but he did remember the combo and opened it. Yeah, Terry played the cop. So what? The cop tried to play Terry’s business as they have been caught twice before. The cop was a prick to be sure but with these type of officers, what else is new? When has to wonder what would have happened if the clerk simply refused the kid, gave back his ID, then called the police and reported the car he left in.
This may have brought up some interesting questions of is the tape recording legal, is holding the ID legal and was Terry pushing Policeman Jordan to blow up. From 1973 to 1977, I was a Military Policeman with the 101st Airborne Division. I assure you, people coming back from Viet Nam were not nice to MP’s. I still have a scar on my arm from a switch blade knife. However, I was trained as a professional that I didnt have the luxury to “blow up”. MY POINT: The cop (Mr. Jordan) was completely wrong in his handling of the situation. He is trained and paid to defuse situations like these. He is to be above “having an attitude” or “blow up”. He (the policeman) is to treat people with respect, no matter what. I have had drunks puke on my shoes, spit in my face, take swings at me and yes cut me with a knife (yes I would have been justified to use deadly force). However, one is trained to keep a level head and must maintain ones composure in these situations. Policeman do not have the luxury of “attitudes”. It is not professional. Of course, it doesnt seem to me Mr. Jordan is professional. It does seem that he is one of those Jack Booted Thug type Super Cops that think they can treat people anyway they want because they have a badge.
That cop is really a jerk and should be fired! In listening to the tape, it’s perfectly clear who was “out of control”. My experience with Peoria’s finest (ha) is that they are mostly lazy, overpaid bullies. There are exceptions, I’m sure, but when my dad was lost, they were worthless! Also the fine example we have living across the street from us. No wonder Peoria’s crime is getting worse instead of better. Don’t know much about Settingsgard, maybe he just doesn’t have much to work with, but so far I’m not too impressed with him. Tell Terry he’s our hero!!
Judy M
Police in general suffer from the “How dare you question my authority!” mentality.
And to make it worse the code of silence among the rest of them makes it really tough to weed out the bad cops.
Mr. Beachler made two mistakes and none of them were today. Mr. Beachler should have had a better policy for checking I.D.’s in the first place and none of these incidents would of ever happened. He wouldn’t have become a target. Blame Mr. Beachler for this.
The police department took their authority too far and the officers involved decided to make this personal. I wish that they had the guts to take the serious crimes in our town as personal as this.
Crime is not hard to fight, getting people to fight them is the hard part.
Here’s some good advice for Everyone doing public business: install a surveillance system in the building, and DO NOT make it public knowledge that the system exists. And the next time someone flashes a badge like that, CALL THE POLICE. (you have reason to believe that they are acting suspiciously – the id and badge may be fake) The station has a log that will show the facts, for future reference. Anyone flashing a badge is required to follow the law, as is ANY citizen. Live Long and Prosper
I hope that no one ever shops at this business, and because he is such a tool bag being a fool about his self-made policy it got himself in hot water. You can not keep an ID, and why would he want to call the kids parents, the POLICE are right there, im sure the kids parents know he’s working for the police. He should have stopped stalling and making illegal audio tapes about the interaction. Peoria Police need to go arrest him again for this. Too Bad Beachler, you can’t record people without their say so. Read the law while your in jail.