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Adam LaRoche and binding summary opinions
In 2015, the Chicago White Sox made several off-season acquisitions that seemingly would make them contenders for the World Series. One of the key free agent signings was first baseman Adam LaRoche. LaRoche seemed like a perfect fit for the White Sox. He had a good season with the Washington Nationals in 2014, hitting .259 with 26 home runs and 92 RBI in 140 games with gold glove caliber defense. On
cases he reviewed that month.
The Lodge just received the results of the Summary
Opinion Hearing for March, and was – as they have been almost every other month – successful in reducing sus- pensions in nine out of the 10 cases. In fact, a case I per- sonally handled involved a detective who was suspended for 10 days for accessing an investigative file to find out the name of the detective assigned to a case; he wanted an up- date on the status of the investigation because he was one
of the victims along with several other Chicago Police officers. Most detectives routinely access files they are not assigned to review, often for the purpose of
KEVIN
KEVIN
KILMER
KILMER
Nov. 25, 2014, the Chicago White Sox announced that LaRoche had been signed to a two-year $25 million contract. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out the way many Sox fans had hoped.
being aware of a pattern of criminal activity.
The arbitrator agreed, stating, “The notion of formal discipline, much less a ten day suspension, for his actions is simply inexcusable. I conclude that the Department exceeded its authority by imposing dis- cipline upon the grievant.” The end result was the Depart- ment was directed to rescind the suspension and amend
its records to remove any reference to the discipline.
I had numerous conversations with the city on how this suspension had no merit. I explained to them how this de- tective is one of the most highly decorated members of the FOP, and should not be subjected to such heavy-handed discipline involving an alleged violation that had no basis in truth. The response I would receive would be “have him
serve or fight it.”
This position might have been effective were the city ac-
tually winning any binding summary opinions, but since they are not, they look just like Adam LaRoche, asking for considerations without any successes to fall back on. If LaRoche hit above the Mendoza line, having his child in the clubhouse would have been much more palatable. If the city gave out rational punishments, they would prove much more successful at Binding Summary Opinion, and have a leg to stand on. The end result: The White Sox are in first place with a 14-6 record, and the FOP continues to get these ridiculous punishments reduced or eliminated. d
points the finger at Lodge 7, but, truth be told, I have trained many of you and during that time not once did I feel a lack of respect for life from any of you. Did it really require a 190-page report to tell the Department it needs to do a 180?
Acknowledgment
I would like to wish all our members or their spouses a happy Mother’s Day. I would also like to wish the best to all of our extended families of officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice protecting our city, and those who are taking care of our catastrophically injured officers. Finally, I would like to extend a warm thanks to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation for all they do for our members. d
FOP is here to “Serve and Protect” you, so that you can better “Serve and Protect” the citizens of Chicago.
God Bless!
The White Sox finished the season 19 games out
of first place, with a 76-86 record, and Adam LaRo-
che hit a very pedestrian .207 with 12 home runs and
44 RBIs. Needless to say, many White Sox fans were disap- pointed in his performance and unhappy they were stuck with another year of his potential mediocrity.
Fast-forward to Spring Training 2016: Adam LaRoche caused quite a stir when he demanded the White Sox al- low his 14-year-old son Drake full access to the White Sox clubhouse, or else he would retire from baseball. As many know, his retirement was accepted and he was no longer a part of the White Sox organization, nor was he eligible for the over $10 million salary he would have accrued had he played the season.
This situation in Major League Baseball mirrors what is happening regarding the grieving of suspensions by of- ficers at the Fraternal Order of Police. When an officer is suspended, he or she has the right to grieve that suspen- sion. If the suspension is 10 days or fewer, the officer, with the help of a field representative, comes to the Lodge and writes a three-page “to/from” indicating his or her posi- tion statement, and then goes in front of an arbitrator, a representative from the city and an FOP officer to state his or her case for up to 15 minutes. After a month or so, the arbitrator issues the decisions for the 10 officers whose
THE ULTIMATE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
like every three-to-four years, which would give officers the possibility of taking promotional exams at least eight times during their careers. When exams are announced, it motivates officers to study, update their knowledge and stay current with the policies and procedures. It would also give them an opportunity to be promoted earlier in their careers rather than later when they would be on the way out of the Department.
The Task Force report also took a swing at the need for community policing. Call it what you may, but at the end of the day that would be more boots on the ground. Yes, hire more officers. That seems to be the elephant in the room.
We could go on talking about a flawed report which
FINANCIAL
Secretary
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