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Finally some 60 or more citizens of Woodstock Illinois are not only going to "Coffee with the Chief, Robert W. Lowen Jr, Program" on Monday nights just to drink some free coffee and chat with the Chief but according to the Northwest Herald article by Northwest Herald reporter Tim Kane "to vent their frustrations" to him in regards to how a report of a man with a gun report was handled. The report was telephoned into the Woodstock Police Department by a lady in the 200 block of Fremont Street at about 9:15 am last Thursday. The lady went into her yard to fetch some wood from a wood pile and found a man hiding behind it with a handgun in his hand; now how often has that happened to you? The man told the lady that he was going to use the gun for his cat....sure! So what was he going to do...discharge a firearm within the city limits? Some officers were sent out to patrol the area and look for the suspect and when they found someone who matched the description the lady could not identify him for certain. So far so good it appears that they did what they, the police, could up to this point.
From this point on however I question the judgment of whomever made the final decision. Common sense would dictate that most Patrol Sergeants would have contacted a superior, either a Deputy Chief or the Chief and filled him in on the situation. That and armed man has been reported and that the police had not been able to apprehend or find and contain him and that all of this was happening not very far from Dean Street School. As a prudent Sergeant he should have called and let someone who was in a "higher pay grade" make the decision as to whether we notify and secure the Dean Street School and post a patrol officer there for the day just to be on the safe side or walk away and do none of the above.
The principal of the school did not find out about all of this until the following Monday. Some example of community policing and communicating potential threats to the civilian community. Ultimately the Chief is responsible for the Police Department and the buck and responsibility and final decisions should end in his lap.
Thank God nothing happened and maybe the only injury was to that cat....hmmmm. But this could have also turned into a real nightmare.
Pritzker Bans Some Semi-Automatics
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So, Fat Guy Pritzker has signed into Illinois law a ban on semi-automatic
weapons. Th7e ban affects long guns with a capacity greater than 10 rounds
and ...
1 year ago
1 comment:
The woman "could not" identify the man b/c she was afraid! Here was a man in HER backyard w/a gun. He knows WHERE she lives and WHAT she LOOKS like. The police bring her face to face w/the perp and ask her to identify him while she is standing a few yards from him. Since his offense is "trespassing," he'll be out by that evening. Put yourself in her shoes. Would you make yourself a target like that? Just poor, poor judgement on the part of the police! Then the guy goes and rapes the lady at the laundromat the next day. The police department has no one to blame but themselves.
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