Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Dinner? It couldn't be (could it?)

Does it strike anyone else that maybe there's a little something illegal going on at the McHenry County Sheriff's Department?

In January 2007 I was told of a $100 "bounty" out on me; any deputy who could write me a ticket for anything was going to get $100 cash. And I was told who had offered it. And that's one of the reasons why, when I saw that my headlight was out at 5:40PM on a winter evenng in Wonder Lake, I wrote down the time and the mileage. It happened to be a Woodstock officer who stopped me 20 minutes later right in front of my house, courteously informed of the reason he had stopped me and told me that he would issue a Warning. No problem. Another Woodstock police car (Car 22) showed up (back up or just nosy?); the two officers talked; then the detaining officer returned to my car window and informed me that he was going to issue a ticket, instead.

I was going to fight it, but I rolled over and paid the $75, to avoid the risk of $150 in court costs. I have always wondered just what the second officer said to the officer who stopped me that night.

And then yesterday comes this to me:

"You've been a wanted man for a long time. sgt's have offered dinners for the deputy that gives you a ticket. I'm surprised you haven't been overwhelmed by traffic stops, especially now. They played a tape of you once at roll call when you spoke out at a County board meeting about that guy Seipler shot with the bean bag. I'm surprised Zane reached out to you. It's good though. Things around here are messed up."

The Woodstock officer who stopped me said he had never heard of the bounty offered at the Sheriff's Department, and I believe him.

I have never been critical of the deputy who had to fire the bean bag shotgun; however, I have been critical of the management of that call that resulted in the shooting less than 45 minutes after the deputies responded. It was clearly a mental-health call, fueled by alcohol, and Crisis-Intervention-Trained deputies are supposed to know how to keep such calls from escalating unnecessarily.

It's nice to know that my remarks to the County Board were played at a roll call, and I wonder how many deputies "got" the message and examined their actions at the Maxson residence that day (and their report-writing directions afterwards). Those were the reports I obtained through a FOIA request. I was astounded by the similarity in the reports written by about five different deputies! And I still am.

2 comments:

Pott Gusphil said...

Sgt. Gorski at the Woodstock Police Department, a man who you defend so vehemently despite him illegal trying to obtain prescription drugs over and above what was prescribed to him, used to offer a steak dinner to any officer who wrote you a traffic ticket.

Please, don't publish this...

Gus said...

When you post a Comment with an allegation like that, instead of sending me a direct email, I will make my own decision on publishing it. In this case, I'm deciding to publish it. (If anyone sends me a direct email with a request not to publish it, I will treat it as "information" only and will not publish it.) You apparently are in a position to know, or else you are defaming Sgt. Gorski.

Was the steak-dinner offer before or after I got the ticket in January 2007 for the headlight that had been out for about 15-20 minutes? If before, who got the steak dinner and where did he eat it?

BTW, my advocacy for Sgt. Gorski is based on my reaction to the unconscionable treatment by the Woodstock Police Department and the City. Gorski was placed in a Catch 22 situation. Told not to take certain named medications AND, at the same time, told he could take any medications prescribed by his doctors. And then disciplined for taking the meds that were prescribed. Figure that one out!

AND the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners ruled that Chief Lowen had NOT made his case against Gorski and directed (ordered) the City to pay Gorski all his back pay - which the City has NOT done for over a year.

This case comes to a head (hopefully) on Tuesday in Judge McIntyre's court. She is three months tardy in making her decision. Court is March 24, 9:00AM.