Thursday, November 11, 2010

30 Fewer Officers On The Streets Of Uptown

An Uptown police officer writes in:
"I'm currently a police officer assigned to the 023rd Dist. I am also a resident of Uptown. Not sure if you are aware, but the current Chief of Patrol, Ernest Brown, has some big plans for the patrol division effective the first period of 2011. One of them, and the one most concerning, is to remove all Tactical Officers from district law enforcement. This means that another 30 officers will be stripped from the district.

He would like the Tact Teams to be housed out of Area 3 and be detailed anywhere in the city, contingent upon upticks in violence and at the discretion of the Area Deputy Chief. So in lay terms, this means slow districts like 023 and 020 will be depleted of valuable resources in order to fill manpower shortages in fast districts. I know some might not agree, but 023 and 020 are slow and less violent than other parts of the city. Even with the current level of violence in 023, it's nothing like 003, 004, 006, 011 and 015. Your readership needs to contact their respective Commander, The Chief of Patrol and Aldermanic contenders. Why should hard-working, tax-paying citizens not get the police service that we deserve?"

21 comments:

  1. Thank you for the info,as this is something that residents aren't typically informed of. I had a feeling there was a shortage, judging from what I notice late at night.For anyone who has a video camera,just try to keep it at the ready (but be careful where you're pointing it!!).

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  2. Lets contact Police Superintendent Jody Weis and inquire: Why does Ernest Brown have a job here after he was found to have presented a falsified resume' to a municipal government(Police Dept.) in Arizona? AND why are all of the Tactical cars being pulled out of District ???

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  3. I agree with the actions in this post. Additionally, I think we should continue to demand excellent and consistent levels of service from our police. Keep calling 911, sign complaints, and show appreciation when a job is well done.

    Let's face it. Our neighborhood is filled with Thugs. Not overrun, but peppered with.... You and I don't have the time, resources, or ability to deal with them effectively, but we must all agree that there presence is unwanted and unacceptable (at least when they are acting as thugs and criminals).

    I fear it will get worse before it gets better....

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  4. We all need to pick up the phone, email, send letters, whatever you want... but our representatives need to be contacted about this. The Police shortage is a very dangerous situation.
    The powers that be want to steal our police officers from our district and put them elsewhere! That means when your home is getting broken into, when you see out of control gangbangers, if you get robbed, whatever the situation; the response time for police to show up will be much much slower.
    Whoever our next Mayor will be MUST understand this problem and rectify it immediately. Our safety is in jeopardy!!

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  5. The Medill students took another look at the low crime stats and made the opposite conclusion that Weis did in his recent press conference.

    "Lying with Stats"

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  6. contact info for the chief of patrol?

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  7. Important info regarding police presence:

    They use 911 calls to gauge the need for manpower.

    If nobody is calling 911 they believe there is no need.

    Call 911 every time you see something illegal.

    Call 911 even for something as simple as People drinking alcohol on the public way or if someone is parked illegally. Call if you See a suspicious person or a suspicious vehicle with or without occupants.Gang disturbances, loitering, if you see people making hand to hand transactions...
    Call every time!!

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  8. I don't think it matters how many people call or complain, the cops will be sent to the violent hoods out west and down south. They make Uptown look pretty low key. I think, as a previous poster said last weekend, it will take an innocent person being shot or killed before any real attention is paid to Uptowns gang problem.

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  9. ChiTownPhilly - I think you're wrong. A recent Streetwise article called Uptown almost as bad as the West and South sides. Keep calling 911.
    And can someone please post the contact info?

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  10. it will take an innocent person being shot or killed before any real attention is paid to Uptowns gang problem.

    People keep saying this, and yet - innocent people are being shot, and are being killed, already.

    No offense, CTP, but haven't you been paying attention?

    Apparently, the trick is for an innocent white person to get shot or killed before any real measure of concerned is demonstrated.

    Cuz, from what I'm seeing from City Hall - and specifically our beloved alderman - no one seems to give a rat's a** as long as the victims are black.

    Tell me I'm wrong.

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  11. OMG How much worse will the violence get now?

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  12. So how come when I leave a comment, it isn't posted? I sent one over earlier this afternoon?

    I don't think I was vulgar or anything.... what gives?

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  13. I've said it here before... things will be getting worse before they get better. For what it's worth, I'll throw my 2 cents in with a few comments:

    ***Ernie Brown is a political hack pal of the south and west side "revruns". Supt Weis busted him back from a command position once before but was forced to "re-promote" him after political pressure to and through the mayor. He was, in fact, removed from consideration for the Buckeye, Arizona police chiefs position after it was discovered he had lied about his Chicago Police accomplishments on his application resume'. http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog
    /MoAlonzoDunsmoor/38774

    ***By all means, ALWAYS call 911 to report crimes or EVEN SUSPICIONS that crimes are occurring.

    ***"A recent Streetwise article called Uptown almost as bad as the West and South sides". Sorry NO, not so much! But as police are redistributed to those areas, you can bet that similarities will emerge.

    ***"...no one seems to give a rat's a** as long as the victims are black." Not necessarily true. More like they don't want ANY publicity for any of the murders or shootings at all. Publicity only leads to calls for more police at a time when they are trying to gut the police department to save money. After all, we still need to build flower boxes in the streets and funnel money to the connected friends of the politicians!

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  14. Not necessarily true. More like they don't want ANY publicity for any of the murders or shootings at all.

    Interesting angle. Obvious once ya think about it, though.

    So - the trick then, is to get more publicity.

    Nice to know, regardless of skin tone (but I still think there's a little more truth in there than we'd like), that our public officials are happy to sacrifice the lives and safety of the people of the city they've sworn to serve for personal and political reasons.

    Oh. Wait. We pretty much knew that, already.

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  15. ChiTownPhilly, we're well past the point where innocent people are being shot on the streets of Uptown.

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  16. I attended Michael Carroll's forum last week and he said that this type of manpower reassignment is already common in 23. He said it would be his priority to make sure that Ernest Brown and others like him keep officers in uptown.

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  17. Moosh, I thought you left? Did you forget to take all your IDs with you?

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  18. What are tactical officers? Are they the plainclothes officers driving unmarked cars?

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  19. Elliot, those cops are usually the "tough guys" making most of the arrests out here on the street. They are all business and know their stuff. They only respond to active calls or serious matters.

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  20. I have a picture of Ernest T Bass, I mean Brown, shaking hands while in uniform with Walter"Gator" Bradley, a renowned "social activist". That picture tells me all I need to know about Ernest T Brown and the people that promoted him.


    Americanlt- Your description of the tac teams would have been spot on 15-20 years ago. Today, not so much. Actually, most of the "real policemen" have left tac and gone back to the "watch" and are toiling away on a beat car unrecognized for what they have done, what they do and their knowlege. Not all but most. Tac today is a place where a boss places his "honey" or the "connected go so they don't have to wear a uniform or work midnites.

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