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  08/25/2005 - A former Oakbrook Terrace Police officer charged with firing a gun during an off-duty bar fight and then lying about it to investigators was acquitted Thursday of four felony charges.

 Officer James A. Scales was accused, among other offenses, of trying to cover up the 2004 shooting outside a Lombard-area restaurant he co-owned by giving his .32-caliber handgun to another Oakbrook Terrace officer -- who testified he later tossed the weapon in the Fox River.

 But the 47-year-old Scales was convicted by DuPage County Judge Perry Thompson only on a single misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a weapon. Scales, who could have been sent to prison for five years on a felony conviction, now faces a maximum one-year jail sentence.

 DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett ripped the verdicts, saying they send a message that charges against police officers require more evidence for convictions than charges filed against citizens.

 "I can't explain it,'' Birkett said of the acquittals. "I am extremely disappointed in what I perceive is a verdict that's not explainable by the facts or the law.''

Defense attorney Timothy Martin, though, said four witnesses who testified against Scales weren't believable and offered widely varying accounts of what happened outside Ocean's 11 during the April 3, 2004, confrontation.

 "They all contradicted each other,'' said Martin. "There was so much inconsistent and so much contradictory evidence.''

 Scales originally was charged with aggravated assault, official misconduct, obstructing justice and reckless discharge of a firearm.

 He pulled a gun after breaking up a fight in the restaurant's parking lot, but only fired two shots in the air after a drunken patron lobbed rocks through two windows and threatened Scales with another rock, Martin said.

 He acknowledged that Scales later gave the handgun to Oakbrook Terrace officer Richard Winninger, one of the cops who arrived to investigate the shooting. But Martin contended Scales never knew or wanted Winninger to throw the gun away.

 Winninger pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and testified against Scales, saying he took Scales' weapon and threw it in the Fox River.

Winninger later resigned from the Oakbrook Terrace Police Department, while Scales was fired.

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08/23/2005 - Illinois - Bond was set at $100,000 Friday for a veteran Chicago police officer accused of demanding two female motorists expose themselves to avoid traffic tickets.

 Dressed in a gray sweatshirt and black pants, Albany Park District Officer Michael Allegretti peered through a closed-circuit television screen as Central Bond Court Judge Colleen Hyland set his bond on two counts each of bribery and official misconduct.

 According to Assistant State's Attorney David Navarro, Allegretti twice pulled over female motorists, first on Nov. 30, 2004, and again on May 24, and told the drivers they could avoid tickets if they bared their bodies.

Navarro asked for a substantial bond, calling the case a blatant abuse of authority.

Reading from proffered testimony, Navarro said the first incident occurred Nov. 30, 2004, when Allegretti stopped a 24-year-old undocumented Mexican immigrant for running a red light in the 4400 block of West Foster Avenue.

When the woman informed him she had no license or insurance, Allegretti asked if she was "supposed to be here?" meaning is she a legal resident, and then told her to "flash him," Navarro said.

 She refused, and Allegretti had the woman follow him to a parking garage off Elston Avenue where he put her in his squad car, saying he was taking her to the station, Navarro said.

Allegretti asked her several questions about her origin and personal life, and asked if "she had ever dated a white guy."

The woman asked not to be arrested, and Allegretti responded, "If she had flashed him, he would have given her a break, but it's too late now," Navarro said.

 At the Albany Park District station, the woman opened her coat and showed her sweater, but did not disrobe, Navarro said. She then agreed to meet Allegretti the next day and to dance for him without underpants, but never showed up at the meeting, Navarro said.

Instead, the woman went home and called the police, he said.

The second set of charges stem from another pullover, on May 24, when he stopped a woman for making an illegal turn onto the 3900 block of West Eddy Street.

 According to Navarro, Allegretti told the woman she had a problem, and when she promised not to make the turn again, he pointed to her chest and told her: "We're not talking about that. Show me what you got there."

The woman did lift up her sweater, T-shirt and bra, and the Allegretti asked to see her underwear, and then told her to touch herself, Navarro said.

Allegretti then asked the woman, a Polish immigrant, if she had a boyfriend in her home county, but she refused to talk about it, Navarro said.

 Like the first incident, Allegretti had the woman follow him, Navarro said. As they drove, the woman dialed 911 and stopped her car, when Allegretti approached, she set the phone down and said she did not want to do this anymore, Navarro said.

 Allegretti drove away, and the woman detailed her allegations to the 911 operator.

Both women later identified the officer in lineups, Navarro said.

 Allegretti was arrested Thursday, according to Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

 Allegretti, who joined the department in 1994, has been stripped of his police powers, according to police News Affairs Deputy Director Pat Camden.

 The judge ordered that, if he posts the required $10,000 -- 10 percent of his deposit bond -- Allegretti would be forbidden from carrying any dangerous weapons, including his service weapon.

 Defense attorney Joseph Roddy objected to the order, saying the 11-year veteran has been out of work for the last couple of months, ever since the Police Department made him turn in his gun.

 According to Roddy, Allegretti and his wife have three children, and he is raising his wife's own four children.

 Two relatives of the defendant stood in the courtroom gallery during the hearing, and left without comment.  The defendant did not speak in court.

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    08/18/2005 - CHICAGO -- Charges were announced Wednesday against two Chicago police officers accused of excessive force against shoplifting suspects in separate incidents.  

 Chicago Police Department Superintendent Phil Cline and Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine announced the charges at a morning news conference.

 Officials said that in both cases, the incidents were caught on surveillance tapes, which were handed over to the police by store management.

 "We are not releasing the videotapes because our No. 1 priority is using it as evidence at trial. What I have seen on those videotapes is not police work. It's criminal behavior, and that's why we took immediate steps to make sure those officers are held accountable," Cline said.

 Officer Alexandra Martinez is accused of striking and choking a 14-year-old female on April 11 at a South Side J.C. Penny store.

 Cline said Martinez and her partner were called to the store after the girl was detained by store security. Cline said Martinez and the suspect were seated across from each other in a store office, and at one point, Martinez got out of chair and hit the girl. With the help of her partner, the girl was handcuffed forcefully pulled her back into the chair by her ponytail, according to Cline.

 Martinez is charged with misdemeanor battery and official misconduct, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.

 Officer Larry Guy was charged with striking a suspect in who was in custody and handcuffed on June 15 at a North Side Target store.

"Based on what I saw, the offender presented no immediate threat to the officer or anyone else present in the room," Cline said.

 Guy also faces misdemeanor battery and official misconduct charges, but he is also charged with attempted obstruction of justice for allegedly trying to get a hold of a copy of the videotape from the store, Devine said.

 "Even though the job is demanding and difficult, it must be done within the law, and when officer step outside the law, they will be held accountable," Devine said.

 Both of the officers have been removed from street duty during the course of the investigation, Cline said.

 Two officers who witnessed the incidents have also been removed from street duty while officials investigate whether they failed to notify their supervisors.

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  08/16/2005 - Suburban police officers are accused of using excessive force, and now a $30 million lawsuit is filed against the officers from Marengo.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the video tape was worth more than that to the man on the receiving end of Officer Scott Crawford's fists.

 He sued and settled for $30,000. The incident also cost Crawford his job with the Waukegan Police Department.

 But he was soon hired by the Marengo Police Department where Nichole Surber and five other people say he continued to act as if he was above the law.

“I thought I was going to suffocate,” Surber said.

She is referring to her 2004 arrest by Crawford for suspected underage drinking.

“He tackled me to the ground. He sat on me. He lifted me up by my handcuffs and ripped me out of the car by my ankles,” Surber said.

 Then she says Crawford and his partner allowed a police dog to attack her. She says the arrest left her scarred from the dog’s teeth and from Crawford’s pummeling.

And she's not alone. Brian and Kevin Gaughn say they were attacked by Crawford two weeks later.

“I had a cerebral concussion. I had a whiplash,” Brian Gaughn said.

 Brian’s father says hospital bills have already added up to $7,000. So they and three other alleged victims of Crawford have filed a $9 million lawsuit against the officer, his female partner and the city of Marengo.

They say police department officials should have known that Crawford was unfit to serve and protect.

“He's unfit to be a police officer because of his propensity for beating victims while they're in handcuffs,” said attorney Kevin O’Reilly.

Several of the young people involved in the suit have been charged with felony crimes.

 Crawford is on unpaid leave from the Marengo Police Department pending the outcome of a termination hearing.

He still works part time on the Round Lake Heights Police Department.

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 08/13/2005 - An off-duty Chicago police officer allegedly shoved one officer and bit another during a confrontation over the arrest of her neighbor for drinking cognac on the sidewalk, police said.

 The incident happened late Sunday in the 400 block of West Evergreen Avenue near the Cabrini-Green housing complex. The charged officer, Dyone L. Taylor, has been stripped of her police powers and was charged with two felony counts of battery to an officer, said police spokesman Patrick Camden.
 Taylor, 37, was allegedly part of a mob that gathered around the two officers at 11:45 p.m. as they tried to arrest Ernest Shed for drinking in the public way after the saw him drinking from a bottle of cognac outside his apartment building at 445 W. Evergreen, Camden said.

 Shed became combative, Camden said, and the crowd formed, shouting at the officers to let him go. The police called for backup because of growing tension, he said. Among the people yelling was Taylor, who lives at 435 W. Evergreen.

 According to the officers, Taylor shouted obscenities at one officer, a woman, and shoved her. At the time, the officers did not know she was a police officer, Camden said. When they moved to put her in handcuffs along with Shed, she bit the female officer's partner, a man, on the arm. He was later treated and released, Camden said.

In all, five people were arrested.

 As police walked her to the car to be transported to the East Chicago District station, she told officers she was a police officer, Camden said. Taylor is assigned to the Monroe District on the West Side and has been in the department since July 1998, according to police records.

 Once in custody, she declined to give a statement to detectives, Camden said. He acknowledged that a complaint had been filed on her behalf with the Office of Professional Standards alleging excessive force in the arrest. Camden said Shed gave police a statement in which he said Taylor shoved the female officer. He was charged with drinking in the public way and disorderly conduct.

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   08/11/2005 - A judge may have to sort it all out after Skinner was arrested Thursday for allegedly refusing to help a police officer who was trying to subdue a 15-year-old car theft suspect. 

 The stolen car is the one on which Skinner only moments before had helped to change a flat tire, as a favor to what he thought was a group of stranded kids.

 "I’m always trying to do the right thing and then something like this happens," Skinner said.

 The 40-year-old Wood River man’s unwitting scrape with the law began around 3 p.m. after he and another man helped to change the tire in the 800 block of Haller Avenue, a short distance from where Skinner lives in the 100 block of Thompson Avenue.

 Skinner was still standing by the car, along with three juveniles, when Wood River Police Officer Darrell Jose pulled up after spotting the car, a black 1997 Pontiac Grand Am that had been reported stolen in Alton.

  Police said when the officer approached the vehicle, the 15-year-old attempted to flee and the officer caught him.
 "A struggle ensued during which time the suspect attempted to remove the officer’s handgun," Deputy Police Chief William Webber said.

 Webber said the suspect was actually able to reach Jose’s gun holster and unsnap it, at which point the officer asked Skinner to help subdue the teenager. "After refusing to assist the officer, the male (Skinner) was ordered to assist the officer and again failed to comply," a department release states.

 At that point, additional officers from Wood River and East Alton police departments arrived and got the situation under control.

 A misdemeanor charge filed in Madison County Circuit Court against Skinner states that Jose requested the man’s assistance in helping to subdue a 15-year-old juvenile and he refused. The charge states that Skinner "knowingly failed, upon the command of Officer Jose, to give reasonable aid to the officer in apprehension."

Skinner said he never heard Jose ask for his assistance.

 "I was zoned in on the kid who was lying on the ground bleeding," he said. "I really didn’t hear much of anything."

As the teenager struggled, Skinner said he yelled at him to cooperate and not resist.

 Within minutes, Skinner himself was being whisked to the Wood River police station, where he spent the next four hours in jail -- in only a pair of shorts -- before being released on $75 bond.

 "I saw my life flash before me as I sat in that jail," Skinner said. "I’ve never been arrested before."

 Webber said Illinois law allows police to seek charges against someone who does not assist an officer if asked as the officer is making an arrest. It might seem extreme, he said, but some circumstances warrant it.

 The Grand Am, owned by a 24-year-old Jerseyville resident, had been reported stolen around 12:30 p.m. at the Shop ’N Save in Alton.

 When the officer pulled up to the Haller location, he saw Skinner, the 15-year-old, a 16-year-old male and a 12-year-old female.

 Skinner never asked the teenager if he was driving a stolen vehicle or even if he was old enough to drive.

"That’s not something you think about when trying to help someone out," he said. "To me he just looked like some kid who was driving his parent’s car."

 Skinner said the whole ordeal of being jailed has been overwhelming, He said that six months ago he moved back to the area from California to be near family. He said he is a responsible citizen, works full time and received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army and Army National Guard, in which he served more than 10 years.

 The pending charge has so far cost him time and money -- neither of which he can afford to lose.

"Who knows how much more it could cost me?" he said.

 Webber said detectives with the Alton Police Department are jointly investigating the case with Wood River. All three youths are from Alton.

 He said the 15-year-old is being charged in Madison County Juvenile Court with offenses relating to motor vehicles, attempting to disarm a peace officer and resisting a peace officer. He said the youth was treated for minor injuries by Wood River Fire Department paramedics and then taken to Alton Memorial Hospital, where he treated and transported to the Madison County Juvenile Detention Home in Edwardsville.

 He said the 16-year-old and 12-year-old were being charged with offenses relating to motor vehicles and were released into the custody of their parents.

Police officer Jose received minor injuries and refused treatment.

  >>>>>  Expecting a citizen to help out a police officer should be the choice of the citizen to risk their life, not the choice of a police officer. The police are trained in life and death situations, and expecting a citizen to risk life or limb is ridiculous. The police officer must have been scared shitless to the point of begging a "suspect" to step in and put his own life on the line. I say the citizen made the right choice.  That's a scary Illinois State law.

   Should be interesting if this goes to court, just to see how the government would rule.  I would expect charges will probably be dropped on this case at some point.  As far as a police officer commanding someone to risk their life or do something dangerous is ludicrous. The Supreme Court has always ruled that the police have NO RIGHT to protect citizens from harm, so why should a citizen be punished for not risking their life? 

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   08/13/2005 - Officials said charges against a 40-year-old man for refusing to aid an officer could be dropped; however, police first must complete their investigation into the matter.

 Peter Skinner, of the 100 block of Thompson Avenue, is charged with a misdemeanor for refusing to help Police Officer Darrell Jose when asked for his assistance on Aug. 4. The charge states that Skinner "knowingly failed, upon the command of Officer Jose, to give reasonable aid to the officer in apprehension."

 Skinner’s scrape with the law started after Wood River police caught up with a juvenile who allegedly stole a car and then resisted arrest. Moments before police arrived, Skinner had helped the juvenile and two other youths change a flat tire on the car, which he did not know was stolen.

 Police said Jose spotted three youths -- a 15-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl -- near a reported stolen car in the 800 block of Haller Avenue.

 Deputy Police Chief William Webber said that when the officer approached the car, the 15-year-old attempted to flee and the officer caught him. Webber said a struggle ensued, at which time the suspect attempted to remove the officer’s pistol.

 Webber said the suspect actually was able to reach Jose’s gun holster and unsnap it. He said it was at that moment that Jose asked for assistance from Skinner, and he refused.

 Delores McLaughlin, 55, told The Telegraph she watched the arrest from her apartment. She said that when she heard the noise outside, she went into the kitchen and looked out the window.

"I thought it was a fight of some kind," McLaughlin said.

She said it surprised her when she saw that it was a police officer trying to subdue a teenager.

"The young man was lying on the ground, and the officer was on top of him," she said.

She said the teen wouldn’t lie still and kept bucking to try to get the officer off of him.

"I could see (Jose) was getting very upset," McLaughlin said.

 She said she watched Jose use a Taser on the young man several times but that the youth didn’t seem to stop moving around. She said that during the whole time that Jose struggled with the juvenile, she never heard him ask Skinner for assistance.

 McLaughlin said she believed the officer was in control of the situation because of his use of force and didn’t need Skinner’s assistance.

 Skinner, who had left the immediate area after helping to change the flat tire, told The Telegraph that he approached Jose and the youth during the struggle.

 "Officer Jose was already out of his patrol car and violently subduing the suspect," Skinner said. "At this point, I moved to within seven yards of the scene to better witness what was going on."

 Skinner said Jose’s squad car blocked his view. He said he believed that by staying back, he would not be interfering.

"My concern was for both the teen and the officer," he said.

 He said he could see that Jose was extremely well-trained and appeared to be in charge of the situation and in no apparent danger from the youth.

"My focus was on the bloodied face of the teen, whose head was turned toward me," Skinner said.

 He said he never heard Jose ask for assistance and was dumbfounded by the charge. He said he yelled at the teen to stop resisting. He said he saw the youth shocked with the Taser at least four times but he would not lie still to allow Jose to handcuff him.

"I told him, ‘Just lay down, man, stop resisting," Skinner said.

 He said the 12-year-old girl started yelling and that at no time did he hear Jose ask for assistance.

 "Would I have assisted upon Jose’s command to assist? Yes," he said. "I would have done anything to stop watching the kid get hurt."

 Webber said he understands Skinner’s plight; however, the charges cannot be dropped until the investigation is complete. Because the case is ongoing and involves juveniles, Webber said he couldn’t comment about specifics.

 However, he said he is concerned because people are saying they saw the event and alleged wrongdoing by Jose but no one is coming forward. He said when the Police Department receives a complaint about an officer’s actions, it is taken seriously.

"If there are witnesses, they should come forward," Webber said.

 He said people should not forget the seriousness of the charges against the 15-year-old and the fact that he resisted arrest and tried to grab an officer’s gun. He noted the youth continued to resist even after Jose used his Taser on him.

 Webber said Jose is an outstanding officer who was shot and wounded in the line of duty several years ago.

 Skinner said he doesn’t want people to criticize Jose or the Police Department for doing their job. But he said police should explain their actions to those who witnessed the events.

 "I would also like to know what we all might have done differently -- police and public alike," he said.

 Skinner said his simple act of kindness last week has turned his quiet life into chaos. He said he would like the charge against him dropped so he can move on.

 >>>> Deputy Police Chief Webber mentions "he is concerned because people are saying they saw the event and alleged wrongdoing by Jose but no one is coming forward. He said when the Police Department receives a complaint about an officer’s actions, it is taken seriously." 

  I’m wondering if Deputy Chief Webber has investigated and questioned any residents in the area, to what they might have saw or "heard" that afternoon.  The media doesn’t seem to have any trouble getting statements.

  I’m trying to understand officer Webber’s statement on "complaints," what complaints are you speaking of?  The officer was obviously trying his best with what he had. A stun gun that was uneffective, or was it?  On top of that the officer is allegedly being over powered by a 15-year-old, who is trying to disarm the officer. Perhaps the complaint you speak of is, the citizen could be telling the truth and didn’t hear the officer make such a command, or officer Jose never made such a command. Does you department use dash cam’s? Is there a recording of that afternoon from the officers car? This would probably help greatly don’t you think? This was a felony stop, was the cam turned on?

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