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.

Unfair ticket?

On January 30 I was stopped in Woodstock for a headlight out. Right in front of my house. I mean, right in front.

The officer, whom I've know for about four years, greeted me by my first name and asked if I knew my headlight was out. Because I didn't think I had any reason to suspect that I might be treated unfairly, I answered that I did know the headlight was out. I explained that I knew exactly where it had gone out. Ten miles back in Wonder Lake. Twenty minutes earlier. I explained also that I had driven straight to my house. There was no repair garage between Wonder Lake and my house. There was no place open at 6:00PM to get a new headlight installed. There was no public transportation at that hour from Wonder Lake to Woodstock.

The headlight had gone out two weeks before, and I showed the officer my vehicle repair record. He said that, since he had stopped me, he would have to give me a Warning. No problem. I expected to take the car back to DeCraene's the next morning and get it fixed again. The officer returned to his car, and I waited in my car.

Another Woodstock squad car arrived. Back-up, don't you know? The two officers talked, and then the second car departed. I read the Car Number as it passed me. Then the first officer walked to my car and told me he was going to give me a ticket! I asked just what had changed in the past ten minutes, and he didn't have an answer (or at least one that he would give me).

He wrote me a $75.00 ticket. He offered to call his sergeant, and the sergeant came to where we were stopped. I explained again that I knew exactly where the headlight had gone out, because I was keeping an extra close eye on my driving and vehicle.

Early in January I had received a telephone call from an employee at the sheriff's department who told me there was a $100 Bounty out on me; any deputy who could write me a ticket for anything would get $100 cash! I have the name of the person purportedly offering the Bounty! I had dictated the mileage where the headlight went out into a pocket tape recorder that I keep in the car, and I played the tape for the officer and the sergeant. Then I turned on the lights and pointed to the odometer - exactly ten miles after the mileage on the tape recording!

The sergeant let the officer's decision stand and the ticket was issued. I said, "Jim, you do what you have to do, and then I'll do what I have to do." I have told many people this story - to a man, they have used two words to describe the officer's decision. The first starts with B, and the second starts with S.

I met with Chief Lowen to learn the officer's reason. The officer decided that since I am quite vocal about traffic violations and want the laws enforced, then he would give me the ticket and not a Warning. I filed a Freedom of Information Act request and learned that the officer had made 77 traffic stops in the past 90 days. He issued 39 tickets and 38 warnings. I appreciated that Chief Lowen was willing to meet with me and be honest about the officer's decision-making process. In many cities and towns, a chief would never do that, especially before a court date.

I had thought of defending myself and taking up an hour of the judge's time. I considered having subpeonas issued to the sergeant, the second officer, and the records sergeant, and obtaining copies of the computer records, in-car camera videotape which would show the officer's telling me he would give me a Warning, police radio traffic, and cell phone records of the Department cell phone and the officer's personal cell phone. I figured that the judge would probably say, "Good try, Gus, but was the headlight out?" and then fine me not only the $75.00 (if not more) but also obligate me to $150 of court costs. Add lost work time, and it wasn't worth it - this time...

Was the ticket unfair?

Did the officer have the right to give me a ticket? Absolutely.
Did he make a bad decision, when he changed his mind? Absolutely.

When I was a cop, I was aware that we always had the right to issue a ticket, if we stopped a driver for a valid reason. If a driver was argumentative, abusive, profane, whatever, we could always write a ticket. But, if a courteous roadside contact solved the problem, especially for a vehicle equipment item, then no ticket was needed.

Was I singled out? You bet. It only took a couple of days for the person offering the Bounty at the sheriff's department to hear about my ticket. Four days later I got a call from an employee there who told that person was jumping up and down (with joy) that "Woodstock nailed Philpott".