Bogus Bond

Chicago Police detective Joseph Frugoli was drunk behind the wheel of his Lexus SUV, just before 4am Saturday morning, when he struck a Dodge in the break down lanes near 18th street, on the Dan Ryan expressway.

He killed the two passengers in the Dodge, driver Andrew Cazares and passenger Fausto Manzera. They were both in their early twenties, so they were just kids.

Kids.

It is reported that his blood-alcohol was 3 times the legal limit, which means that it was at least 0.24.

Pretty drunk.

He was charged, thank Allah, with two counts of reckless homicide, two counts of driving under the influence and one count of leaving the scene of an accident (that's right, he tried to split.)

Currently, and shamefully, he is free on $50,000 bond.

Turns out that this so-called officer of the law has had a few other, um, fender benders. Just last week, Frugoli had to pay $7100 to a guy named Joseph Cairo for a 2005 accident, also on the Dan Ryan.

Also a rear-end job.

Also early in the morning, around 3 am.

Also a nice car (BMW Sedan).

Interestingly (not really), alcohol was seemingly a non-factor. The officer, in one of his accounts of what happened that morning (that's right, he gave multiple accounts) said that he was on his way to a bar at that time.

On his way.

Riiiiiight.

Only cost $7100 to get out of that one.

There was yet another accident that happened in January of last year, also in the Beamer, also in the wee hours of the morning. This time, though, the accident was not on the expressway. It seems that officer friendly ran a stop sign at 37th and Wallace. He hit a police car and injured two officers (a family affair). There was no "evidence" of intoxication, so Fugoli was only given a citation.

Interestingly, according to the April 11 Chicago Sun-Times, "The officers who responded to the crash were investigated for failing to tell their supervisors in a timely manner that an off-duty officer was involved in the crash, but they were cleared of wrongdoing, sources said."

Guess the booze wore off by the time a supervisor knew it was one of his/her bad kids involved in the wreck.

So, to review: 3 accidents in four years, 2 of them were from behind (it's how rogue cops seemingly like to dish it out), and 1 has alcohol officially involved.

He was also driving very nice, luxury vehicles, and has shelled out at least $57,100 (between his previous fine and his current bond) in the last week.

(Does this guy earn a typical cop salary?)

So what is there to say about this? Cops protect their own, which they've tried to do in the past for this guy. They were relatively successful up until now, but I would not be surprised that in the end, he'll get off relatively easily. That's how it works here in Chicago.

As of this writing, his first hearing had already been postponed until May, of course, so he's free as a bird right now.

Figures.

Luckily, his police powers have been stripped.

So it goes...

Sorry Strikers

The Fraternal Order of Police is going to picket City Hall on Thursday, angry about and offended by the proposed 16% pay raise, over 5 years, that's on the table right now.

Also on Thursday, the International Olympic committee will be in Chicago, visiting the city as part of the "process" for trying to get the 2016 games.

Coincidence?

Of course, the cynical me (is there any other kind?) would never see it that way. It's obvious, isn't it? The cops want a better contract, so they're gonna picket on a day where the IOC has wide eyes and the mayor is (potentially? maybe?) vulnerable. It certainly could help 'em get what they want. It makes sense.

Very bold.

The FOP is not generally bold.

Very European, too.

In France, for example, there are strikes and protests all the time. People will take to the streets for almost anything. Say what you will about those crazy Frogs, at least they do something when they're pissed. Far too often, here in the good old U.S.A., folks are inclined to just sit and complain; feign outrage.

Write stupid blogs.

Nothing really gets done.

The French, though? When Paris was an Olympic bid city (for the 2012 games), the public transit workers went on strike during an IOC visit. No bus service. No subway service. It affected commuter trains, and ultimately, flights at the airports were delayed. All of the main trade unions went on strike as well. Paris was brought to a virtual standstill. What kind of impression do you think was left with the IOC?

London was awarded the games.

Now, the FOP has come out publicly saying that the timing of their protest IS, in fact, a coincidence, and that the visit from the IOC has nothing to do with anything. That's just how the chips fell. No hard feelings.

Huh?

Why would the FOP just give away a bunch of (very rare) leverage by claiming the timing of the protest is just coincidence. They could have taken the ball and run with it; they were already on a roll anyways. Last week, they gave Supt. Jody Weis a vote of "no-confidence." This week their protest will take place. Dare I say that they could have actually had the mayor by the proverbial you-know-what?

Nobody gets that opportunity.

The CTA already stinks, so a strike by them couldn't possibly carry much weight.

Not that I'm pulling for the cops pay raise OR the Olympics in 2016, anyways.

So it goes...

Rent-A-Cop

The Sun-Times, today, ran a headline saying, "Rent-A-Cops to the Rescue." The headline goes on to say that a couple of aldermen on the Far South Side "want to give private security guards the power to write tickets".

Alderman Anthony Beale (9th) said, "It gives the community more control over illegal activity. Police are there to serve and protect. If we can give them some extra help to serve and protect, that's a win-win for everybody."

Everybody that's on the receiving end of the city payroll, that is.

Selling off yet another part of the city.

Just another example of fascism. We already see it at the airport (it's only a matter of time before O'hare gets sold off too), the benchmark standard for the illusion of security, overseen by TSA rent-a-cops. They're running the metal detectors, x-ray machines, eyeball scans, etc.

Eyeball scans? You gotta be kidding me. Who the hell would do that?

TSA workers are mainly minimum wage workers with little education and often-times shaky backgrounds. Not exactly an attractive combination.

Hmmm. Let's see. Overworked, underpaid, un-motivated. Yep, I feel safe. It already pisses me off that they feel that they have the right to treat you like a chump using "national (in)security" as their justification. God forbid that you should SAY anything during your hassles, lest you want the ol' "up your nose with a rubber hose."

I'm assuming that the rent-a-cops from the private security firm that would get this contract are not trained like cops. I'm guessing that their background checks will be minimal, and so will their pay. They will, however, be given a dose of power that could be detrimental and set a very bad precedent.

(Isn't the city broke, by the way? Who pays for it. Oh, yeah, right. The taxpayer. My mistake. My government can't give me health care, but they'll supply mall cops. Yippee.)

This amounts to nothing more than vigilante justice; gang mentality; Lord of the Flies and all that. Jimi Hendrix said that the only way to know peace is when "the power of love overcomes the love of power."

This is not the direction for our society to be moving in.

So it goes...

Police Brutality- Enough Already

"On Friday in Seattle, the King County Sheriff’s Office released video showing a sheriff’s deputy kicking and throwing punches at a 15-year-old girl in police custody, after the deputy was charged with fourth-degree assault in the case and pleaded not guilty."

This is the opening quote from the NY Times blog, The Lede, from today, March 2. You can see the video here, as well.

She's 15.

It's horrifying.

On New Year's day, this year, in Oakland, CA, a kid named Oscar Grant was shot and killed in a crowded BART (subway) station. He was subdued and handcuffed before he was executed.

That's right, executed. Shot in the back. It's easy to find this video on You Tube, if you haven't seen it yet.

Also horrifying.

Just last week, Lorenzo Wiley (possibly drunk, probably mentally ill, likely cold in the dead of winter, and definitely not being aggressive) was verbally and physically assaulted on a CTA bus for not paying his fare (fair?).

The video shows the cop slamming the man's head into the bus window. He's also punched, and "challenged" to a fight.

Are you kidding me? Is all of this real? This is going from sublime to ridiculous. What is happening to us? Has this country gone so security crazy that now anyone with any type of "official capacity" is someone we should fear? For our lives? Should we worry about meter maids and crossing guards kicking our asses soon?

Yes, i know that civilized societies need laws and law enforcement. Yes, I know that being a cop means putting your own life on the line every day, dealing with the dregs of humanity up close and personally, something most people are not willing to do. And, yes, I know that, in fact, most (meaning the majority- here are the cops' props) officers are not bad cops and should be highly commended.

But there are enough bad cops out there. More than enough. Which of course means way too many. This is what fuels distrust and anger and a general lack of respect for the police. It's outrageous. It's wrong.

It's completely fascist, and out of control.

It's your own fault, too. No matter what you say or think, (what exactly do you think, Mayor Daley and Jody Weis?), you cannot convince me that the guy on the bus deserved to get his head smashed into the window.

Same goes for the 15 year old girl in Washington.

Same goes for Oscar Grant.

You all are on notice, and on camera. Don't forget who you work for.

So it goes...