Wednesday, November 27, 2013

WTH - State's Attorney Office says "not a crime"

Late this afternoon (4:59PM) the Northwest Herald published an article online about the suspension of a Woodstock Police Department sergeant. Why are important matters held to the end of a business day? And the end of a business day preceding four days when government offices are closed?

Is City of Woodstock government open on Friday? When you look at the Community Calendar on the City's website, it doesn't even show Thanksgiving Day as a day when City offices are closed. I'll bet they are.

Sgt. Chip Amati was given a 30-day suspension by the Board of Fire & Police Commissioners on October 28th at its Special Meeting.

The Northwest Herald did not report this until today, November 27. How in the world could a month pass without this hitting the news?

The Northwest Herald's Kevin Craver's wrote, "The Chicago Tribune reported that Amati had texted the girl back in August asking her to send him "sexy pictures" – she did not reply." Does anyone at the Northwest Herald read the Tribune? Did the Northwest Herald print anything about this in August or September? Not according to its search engine. Doesn't the Northwest Herald have contacts within the Woodstock PD who could have told a reporter that something was up?

Amati supposedly sent "inappropriate" text messages to the 12-year-old daughter of his former girlfriend and also allegedly improperly used the LEADS system to look up the criminal record, if any, of the girlfriend.

The Chicago Tribune article is much more aggressive and says the girl's parents are irate at the light punishment. Read the Tribune article for a different take on what happened. Why did the Northwest Herald play softball with Woodstock PD?

These are crimes. But what did Mick Combs, Assistant State's Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Division, have to say? "I felt, based upon character and attitude and his years of service that it wasn't appropriate to charge him. He's a human being, we all make mistakes and we're all fallible."

I don't generally use foul language on this blog. And so I'll try really hard this time not to do so.

I remember a case outside of Harvard in 2005 where a former police officer defended himself against a vicious, loose, attack dog and shot it to death, when it charged him in the officer's own back yard. Where was the State's Attorney's compassion then about "character" and "attitude" and "years of service"?

When the Board of Fire & Police Commissioners met on October 28, they would have met in Executive Session (i.e., in private; some would say, in "secret"). But they had to return to Open Session and make (and announce) their decision about the suspension in public. One problem is nobody goes to those meetings. I did, for a while, after I forced them out of the chief's conference room and into public view at City Hall for their meetings. 

I was out of town in August. Maybe I'd better start attending those meetings again, so that news reaches the public in a timely fashion. The Commission (or the Police Department or the City) should have issued a press release following that meeting. Did they just hope no one would find out?

How weak is the Woodstock Police Department (or how strong is the union?) and how weak is the Commission? Sgt. Amati gets to choose when he wants to serve his suspension. What kind of nonsense is that? The Department tries to soft-pedal it by saying that Amati "can take (his suspension) in pieces so as 'not to have a detrimental effect on police department operations'."

To quote Lily Tomlin, "Well, isn't that special?" It's B.S.; that's what it is.

6 comments:

Maverick50 said...

"He'd been a police officer for a long time, and he made a mistake."
24 years of service and he was paid for that service. He should be charged and prosecuted. Like the tribune article stated "Misusing the database is an abuse of power, Mors said, adding, "If you're doing this, what else are you doing?" That is the question... If he did this what else has he done. He was in charge of the database to watch for misuse and he was the law breaker. he should also be fired... how can this person be trusted?

Nick C said...

The Fire & Police Commission should be investigated for their compliance in this activity, which appears to cover up the criminal actions of this officer. The Northwest Herald should be ashamed of itself, but of course, it is not.

Anonymous said...

Some people are "protected" and it makes you wonder why.
Thanks to Chief Lowen for proving his department is indeed corrupt and that his investigation was a sham. He knows very well that misuse of the LEADS system especially by the department's coordinator is grounds for dismissal and prosecution.
Interesting that Combs is in on the charade.
I would imagine the victims in this case are extremely upset.
I haven't even talked about the texting incident with the 12 year old. We all know how wrong that is.
Lowen's sanction against the sergeant? A convenient suspension... no demotion? No dismissal? No prosecution?
Those in question at Woodstock PD and the ASA mentioned above should hang their heads in shame.
A sad day for Wooodstock and the County.

Debra said...

awww... yes Gus, he made a mistake. Like most of the child predators. Poor poor man!! Let's us forget that he is PAID to protect and serve shall we? Let us avoid looking at the fact that this man MAY have been doing this for some time now. I wonder how many of Woodstocks teens have a story to tell? I will guess quite a few! But like most of the child sex offenders in this county he will be given a slap on the wrist and allowed to pursue their propensity for underage sexual conquests. Yes! Let's just chalk it up to bad judgement and a mistake. Hat Tip to the Mom of this girl for having the courage to stand up against a CRIME against her daughter by a cop noi less!! I'll bet she might not see this as just a "mistake".

Curious1 said...

Not sure what is more disturbing the fact the Bianchi's office refused to charge him or the potentially enabling statement they made to defend there decision.

Curious1 said...

...And just on the NWHerald this afternoon...

http://www.nwherald.com/2013/12/04/woodstock-man-charged-with-soliciting-picture/aw0u886/

What a bunch of hypocrites, surprised they weren't arrogant enough to have Amati give the quotes for the article.