Stories about Chicago police? (fingerprints, house, transfer)

[aragx6]

Cops can be *******s, but that's anywhere, believe me, not just Chicago.

[M TYPE X]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Apparently he matched a description of someone who had just committed a crime around there, but instead of quickly moving on they grilled him about his grocery store choices for 20 minutes.

We do Dominicks vs Jewel here all the time ...

[Milliano]

Cops will pull you over on the west side (Austin, Garfield Park, etc) if you're white. Because the drug trade. Also, if you're white and driving in those neighborhoods, expect to hear gang members yell out to you occasionally, trying to offer drugs to you. Of course there is no such thing as needing probable cause, so if you get pulled over just let them search your car, or else they'll assume you've got drugs on you and will hassle you, waste your time, etc..

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by Milliano

Of course there is no such thing as needing probable cause, so if you get pulled over just let them search your car, or else they'll assume you've got drugs on you and will hassle you, waste your time, etc..

Let them hassle me. If that's what I have to do to protect my rights then that's what I'll do, but if they don't have probable cause they're not going to touch a damn thing in my car without a fight from me.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

It's tricky. If you ask most folks if someone should do something about the crime in bad neighborhoods, they all say "Yeah!" If you try to actually fight the crime, you're hassling people. It's a catch 22. There's a balance.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by Milliano

Of course there is no such thing as needing probable cause, so if you get pulled over just let them search your car, or else they'll assume you've got drugs on you and will hassle you, waste your time, etc..

actually, YES, there is. if you choose to forfeit your constitutional rights its your decision. but if an officer cant give a good reason to search your car (smell of drugs, open container, etc), then you do not have to let him. yes, its easier just to cooperate..but you dont have to. as the previous post had shown, even cooperating can leave you in a crappy situation.

[Milliano]

Originally Posted by via chicago

actually, YES, there is. if you choose to forfeit your constitutional rights its your decision.

The constitution doesn't mean anything to the biggest gang in Chicago (the CPD)
In most places, I'd stick up for my rights just for the sake, but in Chicago? No, not worth it. I can see they're trying to do their job and maybe sometimes citizens rights get in the way of fighting problems in impoverished communities (like raiding public housing apartments when gangs are shooting each other - the ACLU had a fit when the cops were trying to keep machine guns out of deadly high rise projects)

[KevK]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Let them hassle me. If that's what I have to do to protect my rights then that's what I'll do, but if they don't have probable cause they're not going to touch a damn thing in my car without a fight from me.

Please allow me to tell you the rule- when entering Chicago, your rights end where the city limits begin. The Chicago Police do NOT want to hear anything like "my rights" or "you need a warrant". This can get you, at best a nightstick upside the head and a night in a jail cell for "disorderly conduct" and at worst something planted in your car. It is much easier to just be nice and go along with the program.

[aragx6]

As I said I don't care what they do to me. It is important for all Americans to stand up for their rights or they won't have any.

Obviously it is a lot easier for me, a 22-year-old white woman with a clean record and a college degree, to have a chance to stand up. But to me, that makes it all the more my responsibility.

[lenniel]

It's well known that CPD has many dirty cops on the take. Whether this is from drug dealers protecting turf or shaking down immigrants with the threat of green card problems and deportation. It's all part of the Daley "Machine". Chicago citizens put up with it b/c for the most part, the crime is fairly contained in the 'bad' areas where the white tax payers want to keep it. Sure, there's the occasional murder, mugging, etc. in Lincoln Park, North Center, Roscoe Village and Lincoln Square, but as long as the planters have flowers in the summer and streets get plowed in the winter, people don't clamour too loudly about Daley and his cronies running Chicago. It's actually a local joke about how corrupt the local govt is, still run with a wink and a nod.
As for Chicago cops, they rule with relative impunity. You can raise issues about your rights, etc, but as said earlier, that's likely to get you a knot on the head with a nightstick and an arrest for disorderly.
As for shaking people down, it's also well know that cops have given drugs dealers the choice of either arrest or their cash. Guess which option most dealers choose? Hey, $1000, here, a $1000 there can add a nice bonus to a cops salary.