Sigma Nu Fraternity and Caleb Matheny are suing Second District City Council Member Barbara Van Auken, District 4 County Board Representative Andrew Rand, and City Historic Preservation Commissioner Sid Ruckriegel over an incident that happened last fall. Matheny and his lawyers (with the firm of Hall, Owens & Wickenhauser, LLC) held a press conference at 10:30 this morning in front of the fraternity, 1300 W. Fredonia.
The attorneys stated that this isn’t a political issue, but “a justice issue.” They allege that Van Auken abused her power as a City Council member, and that justice must be served to protect their client and other Peoria citizens from such abuse. They said they were taking the case pro bono and that Sigma Nu will donate any monetary damages they receive to their charity, Children’s Hospital of Illinois. They called on Van Auken not to use city legal resources in her defense, but to retain a lawyer at her own expense.
You can read the suit here (PDF file). Attorneys also stated that the City of Peoria has been uncooperative in providing information requested through the Freedom of Information Act, which is why there has been such a delay in filing this suit. However, they did get a copy of the surveillance video of the incident — with audio — which they will be releasing to the press; no timetable was given for its release.
Van Auken, Rand, and Ruckriegel declined to comment on the suit. Van Auken is currently in the middle of a reelection campaign against challenger Curphy Smith. Smith also declined to comment on the suit, saying he wants to “stay focused on the issues that are important to the people of the 2nd district and the city of Peoria.” At-large City Councilman Gary Sandberg didn’t have any comment on the suit itself, but did say that he had also had trouble getting information from the City and police department regarding the incident.
My take: Had this happened anywhere besides a fraternity house, I believe there would have been universal outrage at Van Auken and the others involved. But because Second District residents have had so much difficulty with unruly Bradley students through the years, many residents automatically prejudge the situation and assume that the fraternity must have been in the wrong, and that Bradley police were not doing an adequate job of keeping students quiet. In fact, Van Auken is actually seen by many in a favorable light because of this incident — like a Charles-Bronsonish vigilante hero, who finally gave those Bradley kids what they had coming. This lawsuit will only add to her “martyr” status with those supporters.
Further muddying the waters is the timing. This incident happened over five months ago, yet it’s resurfacing right now — during an election campaign — just a few weeks before residents will choose whether to give Van Auken a second term. That makes the suit look fishy to many observers, despite the plaintiffs’ protestations that it’s “not a political issue.”
And then we have the facts. Police reports and eye-witness accounts agree that Van Auken was acting intoxicated, that she did poke a Bradley police officer and show contempt to all Bradley police officers by saying they weren’t the “real” police, that she did try to intimidate the fraternity and the Bradley police by calling Peoria police to the scene and calling Bradley Vice President Gary Anna to complain about the fraternity, and that she did trespass on private property and refuse to leave when asked. Nevertheless, Van Auken and her friends were not the ones ticketed. The only ticket issued was to Matheny for violating a noise ordinance, even though the officer writing the ticket did so because he was ordered to do so by his superior officer, not because he actually witnessed any violation.
Despite the fishiness of the timing of this suit, I do not think it’s frivolous. In fact, I think it’s a win/win for the citizens of Peoria. If there was indeed an abuse of power, it needs to be dealt with for the protection of all citizens. And if Van Auken, et. al., are found innocent, then it will restore the public’s trust in these officials.
However, it doesn’t look like this is going to see a courtroom until at least August of this year, and in the meantime, things are going to get ugly. Just tonight, I got an anonymous e-mail from an address called “Anti Van Aucken” [sic] pointing me to this website. It has all the police reports and says it will have audio and video soon.
I read those reports. This council member has no mandate to do what she did. The alcohol she consumed gave her mandate-bravado to think she had some sort of responsiblitiy to act in this situation but it seems rather evident that she was out of bounds. She is not in law enforcement and is not in any way involved in the supervision of law enforcement. She deserves some sort of corrective action simply because she was nothing more than a ordinary citizen taking unrequired action upon herself. If she would have been identified and treated as an ordinary citizen and not a council member, as should have been the case, then she would have been arrested for her actions. Imagine it – if I had done exactly what Van Auken had done, I would have been arrested on a variety of charges such as trespass, public intoxication and disorderly conduct. Why should she have been given special treatment? She deserves a reprimand of some sorts. I hope the courts treat her as they would an ordinary citizen. She and the neighbors obviously created the situation on this night. She and they were the situation and not the Bradley students.
Interesting… did a whois on the address. It is registered thru fastdomain.com/bluehost.com whose claim to fame is keeping the owners of the address ‘private’.
I went back and read the original Luciano story and was struck by 2 things
1) The signature at the end of the articles; “PHIL LUCIANO is a columnist with the Journal Star”… without the full disclosure that he is also a Bradley and ICC Journalism Professor, and a pretty well known imbiber himself.
2) The hyperbole.
“Van Auken allegedly poked the shoulder of a Bradley police sergeant” .. POKED?! omg
“That’s serious business. Making contact with another person is a battery, which is a misdemeanor. But making contact with a cop is a felony.” Yes, touching is a battery… if you are a total asshole.
“According to the new allegations, she also swore at one cop, called one a liar and called one a jerk.” Policemen never are wrong, lazy, liars or just plain stupid… are they?
“According to one officer, she seemed intoxicated.”… and according to one officer, the moon is made of green cheese…
“The officer then asked when she’d moved into the neighborhood.” Yeah, like that is relevant! What a lying stupid jerk.
… and finally…
“_ After BU police determined there was no noise violation, Van Auken got upset and called the Peoria police.”
What? This was all about Rent- a -cops from Bradley…???? Oh Phil Phil Phil… I experienced an ICC “officer” telling me I couldn’t smoke on the CITY OWNED (read that PUBLIC) sidewalk because it was in front of the door to The Perley Building (20 feet in front of the door)… I told him to go take a leap… should I get sued, too?
It always cracks me up when anonymous/pseudonymous bloggers complain about other people keeping their identity a secret.
oh… how many student deaths, sexual assaults and / or drop outs have been drinking related at Bradley in the past two years?
kcdad– So, to summarize your points, (a) Bradley and ICC cops are idiots who deserve to be belittled, (b) Phil Luciano is a hypocrite, (c) poking and swearing at police officers is perfectly acceptable behavior, and (d) all Bradley students are lecherous drunken fools. Thus, (e) Van Auken is innocent. Does that about cover it?
Let me summarize… SOME Bradley and ICC rent a cops are idiots who deserve to be “threatened and battered” and belittled by an old woman.
AND… Luciano is an editorialist, not a news journalist. His job is to make mountains out of molehills.
I have no idea of Van Auken’s legal status, nor do I care very much. I do know FOR A FACT that Fraternity boys are loud, obnoxious and drunk more often than not on weekends. I also know that they think they are clever enough that if someone does complain about noise or behavior that they can “clean up their act” before Barney and Andy show up to investigate.
I also know for a fact that at least 2 students are dead because of drinking on Bradley’s campus in the past 2 years and many other lives have been ruined because of it.
Again, I have no idea of Barbara Van Auken’s “guilt”, nor am I very concerned about those poor Bradley students’ or Bradley cops’ “violated rights”.
“That CALEB MATHENY was issued Municipal Ordinance ,Violation Notice
ticket number A 84075 for a violation of Section 15-62 of the Peoria City Code
by a Peoria Police Officer at the direction of Peoria Police Sergeant Wong.”
Did you miss this point?
A Bradley student (not Mrs. Van Auken) was issued a ticket for the incident by a “real” police officer.
Did you read the suit? It reads as if it were written by these kids while playing quarters in their kitchen. She “trespassed” for walking up TO the house. She “refused” to leave the property. She “poked” the Bradley police officer in the shoulder. She said they weren’t real cops… THEY AREN’T! Oh yeah oh yeah, let’s us “authorized and unauthorized” a lot! Yeah yeah and “notice”… yeah notice is a cool legal word. Yeah and let’s say that old bitch “demanded” and we’ll call her that “intoxicated woman”… yuh yuh yuh that’s really cool, man. Give me another beer, Kip!
$50,000… puh lease. $50,000. That won’t even cover Bradley’s tuition. Oh that’s right. Daddy’s paying for that.
I think Art summarized the matter just perfectly.
Are you suggesting CJ that we shouldn’t question police reports? That the police are infallible? That given the conflict in which Van Auken questioned the decisions of the officers, that they might feel a bit …angry over the situation. Yes our police department is a pretty professional group but they still need oversight and that oversight comes from the public and from our elected representatives.
I like how the important detail… of the long history of this fraternity getting citation after citation is conveniently ignored. The detail that the fraternity members were intoxicated too is ignored. This isn’t a pattern of just foolish behavior (it may have began as such), its has become a pattern of abuse and harassment. Are we going to say that all those citations are bunk?
How effective have these citations been? How many citations DOES IT TAKE TO END THE PROBLEM? It’s like writing tickets to the occasional crack head but never shutting the crack house down. It stands to reason that some of these neighbors might be exasperated with what they would perceive as ineffective police work. Indeed they might even come to the conclusion that the Bradley Police were playing soft on their students (a conclusion that is widely held beyond those involved here and most notably held by many students). God forbid the University comes down hard on a student who can bring in a lot of money, be it endowment funds or athletic revenues.
So… who do you turn to? We have an elected representative. It is her responsibility, her job even, to get involved. It would seem to me the crisis, yes to the neighbors nearby it is a CRISIS, was coming to a head. So a call was made to Rand’s place.. and they all happened to be there enjoying a few. The suggestion that she should have ignored the complaint is absurd. It needed to be dealt with. That the event unfolded the way it did is unfortunate. In forums I looked at following the original event, there was a noticeable smugness among student posters. I think she got played, I think the neighbors are being played, and even the bloggers are being played. The Sigma Nu fraternity have successfully drawn themselves as the victims.
You got to fight for the right to party… Party on dudes !
A phony lawsuit filed by some young struggling lawyers on behalf of some girls who call themselves a ‘fraternity” during an election- seem right to you?
Gotta clear up that online image for future prospective employers.
Mahkno, wait a minute. Matheny got a ticket and Van Auken was let off scot free, and you’re suggesting Van Auken was somehow victimized by police? That all the police officers who filed reports somehow managed to make up identical fictitious stories about Van Auken being drunk and disorderly?
Look, I’m not going to sit here and defend the Bradley students. They have their own lawyers for that. Let’s both agree that neither one of us knows all the facts, and that the best place for the facts to come out and judgment to be made is in a courtroom in front of a judge and jury. I still maintain that, whoever is vindicated, it will be a positive thing for the citizens of Peoria. If Van Auken wins, it will clear her name in this incident. If she doesn’t win, then justice is served on an elected leader run amok. I say, let the court handle it.
CJ..
I am not suggesting fiction (tho I had some fiction in a ticket I once got so it can happen) but how you word something, the details you include and exclude can go a long way in shaping how an event is perceived. These reports are also written after the fact.
I don’t think this lawsuit is about justice at all. I think it is part of a continued pattern of intimidation. And possibly an effort to put some positive spin on a rather poor online image for the Sigma Nu guys. Employers increasingly look you up online.. myspace, facebook, etc… and make employment decisions based on what they find.
So… what is Curphy going to do about this house (or a future one like it?) should he win? If he is going to face a lawsuit from a litigious fraternity… he might just distance himself. That is not good for anyone. How many complaints will it take before Curphy does something to resolve the problem? Will he do anything? Can Curphy stand up to Bradley University?
Her being liquored up (no test was taken so its not confirmed and I still want to see the video) is a distraction. The issues at hand are ‘when is enough, enough’, do public elected officials (city, county) have a duty, responsibility, and/or authority (elected mandate) to address broad conflicts between neighbors that have public implications.
CJ, you seem to miss the point… BRADLEY “police” had a problem with Van Auken, but not the Bradley “students”, apparently PEORIA Police did not… and did.
kcdad-
all i can say is wow. wow. try this experiment. first, throw a few back. then go ahead and go up to a police officer and start poking him or her in the shoulder. call him a liar. say he isnt doing his job. call me when you make bond.
btw, bradley police are a part of the peoria police department. don’t believe me? call the department and ask.
also, since refusing to leave private property when asked seems so trivial to you, please provide me your address so that all us posters can come over and hang out.
kcdad: are you BVA? Wow, OK Go ahead and poke a cop with your finger next time you happen on one. The ticket issued by the SGT was on ORDER from a LT there (since retired) aggainst the SGT’s and other officers who wanted BVA arrested. I know 3 of the officers there and they were quit discouraged about how this was handled. BTW, the LT was a personal friend of BVA. cute
I can see your mindset. Anyone who degrades an officer as a “rent a cop” is IMO a moron. I am with CJ, the court will decide this although I can’t wait to see the video if it’s ever released.
I think kcdad and mahkno are split personalities of BVA, its the only explanation as to how someone can be presented all of the details completely disregard them and still come out on BVA’s side.
You keep siding with the “law and order” folks… keep siding with the “american way” folks… I’ll stick with reality.
I have been one of those rent a cops… one of my “peers” shot a guy and dumped in a dumpster because… well, he pissed him off.
“Drunk frat boy” is redundant. “Corrupt city official” is a generalization. I have no experience with BVA at all, but I do have experience with frat boys.
I am not on anyone’s side. I just look at the reports, use my experience and intelligence and come to the conclusion that an individual has NOTHING to gain by creating a problem where there isn’t one, and college boys (especially rich pampered brats at Bradley have everything to gain by spinning the information to make it a class issue.
Oh, and for your information, DR. Thompson, I just did throw down a couple and my perspective is the same.
Gotta like the new comment interceptions going on at peoria.com…..
kcdad: well OK I respect your opinion but I think that you are generalizing people. Security = rent a cops Bradley students = drunk kids City Official = corrupt
Yes all those can be true, but I’d like to think it’s a small percentage. If anyone is jaded around here, it is probably me as I haven’t cut BVA any slack ever.
I am getting emails telling me there are replies to my comments (at PDC), but I cannot find the original replies.
I just read all of the reports online. It seems to me, that although the Bradley Moss are is very nice, I would never live there. I think it is possible that the gestapo that runs the neighborhood, Mr Rand in particular should consider getting psychiatric help.
It seems obvious Mrs Van Auken needs to be in alcohol rehab. Is she really a lawyer? If not, isn’t it illegal to claim to be a lawyer because you are then impersonating an officer of the court. I can’t wait to see the video when it is posted.
I also wonder how long Rand and the others have lived in the neighborhood in comparison to how long the fraternity has been there.
Dr. Thomspon (if you are a REAL doctor), Bradley cops are not part of the Peoria PD. They are all sworn officers, and might use PPD paperwork, but they are not employees of the city or the PPD. I would gather they have a pretty good relationship, though.
sud o nym (if you are really a member of the nym family), at minimum we can agree they are sworn officers, members of a police union (cannot recall if FOP or other) and not the ‘security guards’ some here are claiming. and since you asked, i do have a doctorate degree but you would not want me performing any medical procedures.
Am I the only one missing the irony that BVA was at least allegedly drunk when she allegedly trespassed and abused power as opposed to Marcella Teplitz who was never allegedly drunk when she allegedly committed violations of civil right and/or abused power.
Ila Minson was prosecuted for battery on a police officer for less than this.
Gary Sandberg was prosecuted for allegedly keying a car. Jury spent more time ordering lunch than it had to spend to acquit him.
Chase: Allegedly drunk … says who? I think the report says she had been drinking alcohol, but who alleged she was drunk?
“Ila Minson” ? The artist?
Gary Sandberg on trial? How did I miss that?
Is your point that the Police like to harass people for petty stuff? If so I get it.
The big question now is will Van Auken involve the city of Peoria in this mess?
She is being sued as an individual for her drunked behavior.
If she hides behind official duties and gets the city to pay her legal expenses, then she is admiting she was drunk and acted abusively IN an official capacity. What an admission that will be. Read the reports and when you see the video you will know that she undoubtedly was drunk. But will she demand the city pay for the defense of her drunked antics? She is a councilwoman, and the proper thing to do was simply call the police. Not take police off a shooting incident to come to her confrontation, by calling Peoria Police and letting them know a councilwoman was demanding their presence. She would show everyone how powerful she was. Awesome show of force Barbara.
In all the police reports and news stories from last fall, she has alternately said she had ‘one drink’ ‘two drinks’ ‘a few drinks’ ‘you don’t have the right to ask me that’ to saying it was not relevant how many drinks she had.
She was at a party at Rand’s home partying where the liquor was flowing. Their venture over to harass the students was their evening’s entertainment, capping a fun party for them, by showing each other how much they could throw their weight around. It was filled with as much bravado as any frat party.
‘Barbara Van Auken will nail your balls to this pole,’ one of her friends is quoted in the police reports. She poked an officer repeatedly and said get me the ‘real’ cops. She tried to call the mayor but he smartly did not answer another late night drunk call. She called an officer a ‘jerk.’ She used profanity. She proved to her friends there how tough she is. Just like the stereotypical immature, drunked college kid she was there to rail against. What a fun way to end a party. Wonder if she drove home?
Dr. Thompson — We can agree, they are real cops (I don’t know about their union). They have real guns, real handcuffs and can arrest you for real. Same goes for the park district cops and the school district cops and the PHA cops. But they are not members of the Peoria PD.
“She was at a party at Rand’s home partying where the liquor was flowing. Their venture over to harass the students was their evening’s entertainment, capping a fun party for them, by showing each other how much they could throw their weight around. It was filled with as much bravado as any frat party.”
There certainly isn’t any prejudgment in that description, is there?
liquor flowing
venture over to harass
evenings entertainment
capping a fun party
showing how much they can throw their weight around
… like a frat party?
Did you actually write like “any frat party”???? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
SNS… can you teach me the secret handshake?
You write very well, but I would recommend literature not journalism.
Real cops… what does that mean? I have as much authority to arrest you as they do. The only difference is the location of their authority.
A Peoria Police officer has no authority outside of Peoria, a Bradley officer has no authority off campus.
An ICC Public Safety Officer has no authority on a city sidewalk.
Do know where the term “police” came from?
“In L’Éducation des filles appears the first printed use of the French word police in its modern meaning of a group of civil employees hired to enforce the law. About 100 years later, the word police appears in English print with the same meaning.
The earliest use in this sense occurs in Marine Police, the name given to the force instituted c1798 (originally by private enterprise) to protect merchant shipping on the River Thames in the Port of London. The police force established for London in 1829 was for some time known as the New Police.”
http://www.billcasselman.com/words_of_the_world/police_origin_of_word.htm
A private force hired to protect commerce… hmmmmmm
Comrade KCDAD,
You are wrong. Bradley officers do have authority off campus. They routinely patrol the West Bluff and help PPD in certain situations. Peoria PD can work outside the city boundaries. I don’t know about ICC security — I would guess that maybe the EP campus police are “real cops” (by which I mean sworn law enforcement personnel as opposed to a security guard). I don’t know about other campuses; I doubt the guy in the booth downtown is more than a security guard (but maybe off-duty PPD).
Your further history lesson is interesting, but meaningless in this discussion.
Sud is right Kcdad, BU police can operate with full police authority anywhere in the County of Peoria… and maybe beyond that.
CJ: I’ve got a long comment on Barbara Van Auken, how Bradley Fraternities handled alcohol and former Peoria Mayor and Associate Judge Michael E O’Brien. You would have no trouble verifying what I have to say, but so as to not post some provocative allegations on your blog and place the onus on you to verify or kill the comment, I have posted them on one of my blogs:
http://unlawfulanddisordered.blogspot.com/2009/03/peoria-city-council-barbara-van-auken.html
Yes, Chase, those of us who are older definitely have our own favorite stories of former Mayor O’Brien.
“Members of the campus police department shall have the powers of municipal peace officers and county sheriffs, including the power to make arrests under the circumstances prescribed in Section 107?2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, as amended, for violations of state statutes, municipal or county ordinances, provided, however, that such powers may be exercised only on college or university property,for the protection of students, employees, visitors and their property, and the property of the college or university, unless otherwise authorized by a county or municipality. Campus police shall have no authority to serve civil process. ”
Now where do you think I got that information? From Bradley? From a Bradley Police officer? From any Peoria police or city official? NAAAAAHHHHHHH
It comes from (110 ILCS 1020/) Private College Campus Police Act.
(110 ILCS 1020/0.01) (from Ch. 144, par. 1950)
Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Private College Campus Police Act.
(Source: P.A. 86?1324.)
Oh yeah… off property, they have the same authority as any other civilian. I doubt if they can legally carry a weapon and/or badge when they aren’t on duty. We couldn’t in California. (We could carry them to and from work locations, weapons unloaded and visible, and badges undisplayed.)
“..(U)nless otherwise authorized by a county or municipality.” So authorized in Peoria. You are still wrong.
Oh yeah… I forgot to show where Bradley CLAIMS they get their authority….
This is from Bradley’s website.
http://www.bradley.edu/police/about/
The University Police Department operates under authority granted by the State of Illinois (Private College Campus Police Act-110 ILCS 1015/26 [formerly Illinois Revised Statutes, 1991, Chapter 144, Section 1950] ). Its officers are commissioned by the state and have full law enforcement powers on University property (as well as city and county property). All University officers receive the same training as municipal police officers and are armed and empowered to make arrests and issue tickets.
The same law I cited above… I wonder why Bradley says they have more authority than the state does?
See what St Xavier University claims:
“Pursuant to the authority of the Illinois Private College Campus Police Act, contained in Chapter 110, Section 1020 of the Illinois Complied Statutes, members of the campus police department shall have the powers of municipal peace officers and county sheriffs, including the power to make arrests under the circumstances prescribed in Section 107/2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, as amended, for violations of state statutes, municipal or county ordinances, provided, however, that such powers may be exercised only on college or university property, for the protection of students, employees, visitors and their property, and the property of the college or university, unless otherwise authorized by a county or municipality.”
http://www.sxu.edu/Administrative/Public_Safety/jurisdiction.asp
They got it right. Bradley is full of shit. Or Peoria is.
Show me where Peoria (city or county has authorized Bradley’s PRIVATE POLICE FORCE to have jurisdiction within its boundaries.
The University Police Department operates under authority granted by the State of Illinois (Private College Campus Police Act-110 ILCS 1015/26 [formerly Illinois Revised Statutes, 1991, Chapter 144, Section 1950] ). Its officers are commissioned by the state and have full law enforcement powers on University property (as well as city and county property). All University officers receive the same training as municipal police officers and are armed and empowered to make arrests and issue tickets.
Prove they don’t. I know, why don’t you walk naked down the North side of Main Street, hurling obscenities. Tell me when and where, and I’ll call 911. Let’s see who shows up to arrest you.
“(as well as city and county property)” is NOT in the statute. It was added by the Bradley website… which is why it is parenthetical. I quoted and cited the actual law 6 posts above.
They have no more authority off Bradley property than I do.
“Prove they don’t”? What country do YOU live in? In this country, under our laws, they have NO authority unless given to them by statute.
You are the one making the false accusation (that Bradley doesn’t have authority off its premises). I don’t have the inclination to call the Peoria PD to inquire and would just rather repeat that you are wrong. My offer to call 911 and report your nakidity still stands.
Let me get at this a different way. Fredonia — the street on which the Sigma Nu fraternity sits — is a public road. The neighbors who supposedly complained Van Auken are Peoria citizens. You can read the reports yourself on that website: twice BRADLEY PD responded to citizen complaints. I assume those citizens called 911 and that BRADLEY PD were dispatched from that (City-run) call center. So, riddle me this KCDAD, if BRADLEY PD has no authority off their premises, why would they be responding to a complaint such as this in the first place. While you are at it, explain why I see BRADLEY PD cruisers driving up and down Moss, Elmwood, in West Peoria, etc. Just bored? Planning a coup?
Why wouldn’t Peoria want the help of Bradley cops?
Note these two statute sections 107-2 and 107-3
“Members of the campus police department shall have the powers of municipal peace officers and county sheriffs, including the power to make arrests under the circumstances prescribed in Section 107-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, as amended, for violations of state statutes, municipal or county ordinances, provided, however, that such powers may be exercised only on college or university property… unless otherwise authorized by a county or municipality. Campus police shall have no authority to serve civil process. ”
(725 ILCS 5/107?2) (from Ch. 38, par. 107?2)
Sec. 107?2. (1) Arrest by Peace Officer. A peace officer may arrest a person when:
(a) He has a warrant commanding that such person be arrested; or
(b) He has reasonable grounds to believe that a warrant for the person’s arrest has been issued in this State or in another jurisdiction; or
(c) He has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is committing or has committed an offense.
(2) Whenever a peace officer arrests a person, the officer shall question the arrestee as to whether he or she has any children under the age of 18 living with him or her who may be neglected as a result of the arrest or otherwise. The peace officer shall assist the arrestee in the placement of the children with a relative or other responsible person designated by the arrestee. If the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that a child may be a neglected child as defined in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, he shall report it immediately to the Department of Children and Family Services as provided in that Act.
(3) A peace officer who executes a warrant of arrest in good faith beyond the geographical limitation of the warrant shall not be liable for false arrest.
(Source: P.A. 86?298.)
(725 ILCS 5/107?3) (from Ch. 38, par. 107?3)
Sec. 107?3. Arrest by private person.
Any person may arrest another when he has reasonable grounds to believe that an offense other than an ordinance violation is being committed.
(Source: Laws 1963, p. 2836.)
Notice the difference? A peace officer can arrest without knowledge of crime having been committed… based on the presence or suspicion of a warrant being issued. The difference then, is that Bradley security guards MAY be able to arrest based upon the issuance of a warrant… IF they have been given PEACE OFFICER status by LAW.
Do you not understand that? You claim Peoria (city or county) has authorized them more power… the Bradley website describing their police claims they have greater authority. OK… where do they get it from?
I have quoted you THE LAW. You have quoted a website.
Whether Peoria wants their help or not, Peoria PD does not have the authority to grant them Police Powers. Contrary to John Wayne western movies, Police departments and Sheriffs departments do not deputize security guards. State, County and Municipal legislators ONLY have that authority.
The fraternity house, as I understand it, is a private residence. Does it belong to Bradley University? Does the fraternity lease it? If so, Bradley police have ever right to patrol it.
Call them and tell them I am beating my wife and children in my house and see if they come and investigate or break into my house. Peoria PD will. Bradley won’t. WHY? Because they aren’t Peace Officers, by statute, anywhere but on Bradley property.
KCDAD, you seem to be missing my point. Bradley officers routinely patrol areas outside their “jurisdiction.” Just sit in Moss-Bradley, West Peoria, Arbor District, Uplands, Campustown, etc. and watch them drive by. I never said that Peoria PD could deputize them; I just assume, given the preponderance of visual evidence, that the “municipal corporation” (the City of Peoria), which employs its police force, has given such authorization as stated in the statute you quote. You have done nothing to prove that Bradley PD are not authorized to exercise their authority outside Bradley property. You have shown me a state statute that expressly has the very option (“…unless otherwise authorized by a county or municipality”) I am pretty sure has been granted. Other than submitting a FOIA to the city to figure out when this might have been granted, something I don’t care enough to do, I don’t know how else to make you understand the truth.
I believe Bradley owns most of the frat houses and leases them to the fraternities. That doesn’t explain why when a neighbor (I assume not a Bradley student) called PEORIA’s 911 center to complain about frat boy noise, a Bradley officer was dispatched. It seems pretty obvious to me. Your density is equally obvious.
One last thing: Upon further review, it seems that you might be implying that off Bradley’s campus, their cops have no more authority than you or I. I would disagree with that for the reasons stated above. But don’t you think that the relationship between the city and Bradley is more formal than between the city and random vigilantes. I mean from this incident alone we know that Bradley PD is dispatched on 911 calls and fill out Peoria PD paperwork. I don’t know if that formal relationship is proof of the granted authority I think they have, but it would be some good contributing evidence.
You might want to check with PPD, currently Bradley officers are working with the Peoria Police Department, the county (and perhaps the state police) on a multi-jurisdictional stolen car force. BU cops were even in the My neighborhood and also in the East Bluff where they arrested a resident in a stolen car. They have arrest powers in the community. They work with PPD.