For Chicago police, beating suspects is just a way of life

Cryozombie

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As if Chicago police need another black eye.

This one could come from a punch extended halfway across the country, from a former Chicago cop who allegedly has been recorded on tape telling students at Colorado State University that beating suspects and paying off informants with drugs is just a way of life for police in "Chi-town."

Dexter Yarbrough, a former Gresham District community policing officer, allegedly made the remarks to students in 2008 lectures taped by a graduate student, according to the campus student newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian.

Yarbrough, who took a leave of absence from Chicago police in 2000 and officially resigned in 2005, is chief of the Colorado State University Police Department and associate vice president of the Department of Public Safety. He was placed on indefinite paid leave last month "pending the outcome of a personnel investigation," according to a statement from the university.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-crime-policeabuse-columnjan26,0,1683644.story

As if Chicago/Illinois needs any more Allegations of criminal behavior on any level of its Government...
 
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Empty Hands

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Oh yeah, this guy is a real piece of work. Another one of his gems: "women want the dick, even when they say 'no.' They want the dick." So we can add probable rapist onto his questionable character traits. What a ****ing scumbag.
 

seasoned

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Because of a few idiots who are power hunger, and just not suited to serve, and don’t take their oath serious, it puts a cloud over all Law enforcement, and tarnishes the work of the dedicated.
 

Drac

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I'd like to catch this POS myself and have a " chat "..This kind of press we don't need...
 

tellner

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It makes the the job a lot harder for the vast majority of decent ones. And having people like that in charge makes it much harder to be decent. In the words of Philip Zimbardo who ran the infamous Stanford Prison experiments "You can't be a sweet cucumber in a pickle barrel."

Rot like this poisons everyone and destroys the trust without which the police can't do their jobs.
 

redantstyle

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especially these days.

all kinds of 'confidences' are running low.
 

tellner

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Indeed. One of the problems with the militarization of police forces starting in the 1970s is that it replaced confidence with increasing doses of fear.

The problem with that model of law enforcement is that it doesn't work. If the police "Go cloaked in the Majesty of the Law" people will, of course, be a little afraid of them. But most will cooperate. The police will get a lot of vital information and have if not the praises at least the default good will and respect of most. And they will not have to get in clip-swapping contests very often.

Once the level of trust dips a certain amount people will not talk to them. They will not call or cooperate with them. And there can never be enough cops with enough guns to function as an army of occupation.
 
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Cryozombie

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I read that. Depressing. It'd be nice to know how widespread it truly is...

The real problem, is that Chicago has a reputation for this, so even if it's not true, this guy is continuing to spread that reputation.
 

Archangel M

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This is a big dose of IMO so keep that in mind:

Ive always believed that the largest (not ONLY) risk of this stuff happening is in the largest departments and in the smallest. When you have a dept the size of a small army to staff, it usually comes with the lowest pay and the largest impetus to fill slots with "the best you can get". Conversely, the little 2-3 man departments have a little bit more of the "old boy" school going on, and its easier to cover your tracks when its just you and another guy or two that you have to deal with.

Thats not to say that the IA departments are not busy to the gills in metro PD's, but thats part of the problem too.
 

searcher

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With law enforcement like that guy, the people need to take their personal security into their own hands.

At least he is no longer with the Chicago PD, but he seems to fit in with the ones in charge in Illinois.

I am kind of scared for the people that he is supposed to be protecting NOW. I guess he is in law enforcement somewhere.
 

jks9199

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I agree with ArchangelM.

Huge departments are staffed with "numbers." The find bodies, and some slip through the cracks, either in initial selection, the academy, or in FTO. Some are just barely competent, others are outright criminal. On top of that, most of the huge departments end up (for understandable reasons) in rougher areas. And there is truth that you have to "speak" in terms that the public you're dealing with understands. I deal with gang members in ways I wouldn't think of dealing with the majority of the folks in my jurisdiction. NOTE: I AM NOT JUSTIFYING BEATING SOMEONE UP OR GIVING AN INFORMANT DRUGS or anything else like this.

In smaller departments -- the good ol' boy effect can get real strong. My agency is smallish mid-size, ; more than 20, less than 50. We all know each other, and can probably predict the preferred standings in any promotional/specialty process. It gets even worse in the smallest agencies. (We've got one very small agency that's the one where "they'll hire you if anyone else will let you resign".)
 
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Cryozombie

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There are a lot of Near suburbs in the Chicago area that are well known to be staffed with the Families/Friends of some of the Major gang players in the area.

Someone I am close friends with works for a department that was "cleaned up" of that kind of element, they basically removed the entire department and replaced it. I think this is where a lot of the police rep in Chicago proper comes from.
 

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