Page 8 - July2019 FOP Magazine

First Vice President’s Report
The last thing Chicago police need is more oversight
On June 12, Lodge 7 Trustee Mark Tamlo and I made the trek to City Hall to address the mayor and recently elected aldermen about the newly formed transition committees to reform Chicago and the recent “unsubstantiated rumor” that the FOP had instructed its members to “Lay back” and “Do noth- ing” over the Memorial Day weekend.
The problem with rumors is that if you do not ad- dress them, the lie becomes the story. Do Chicago police need more oversight? That answer is “nega-
tive!”
Do we need another civilian committee to scrutinize each and
every action a police officer takes? We now have body cameras, in-car cameras, the inspector general, COPA and IAD, to name a few. We should pass an ordinance that all elected officials need to wear body cameras when dealing with their constituents.
Police officers work extremely hard to make ends meet. They struggle with tuition, mortgages and other bills to ensure that their children are provided the opportunities to become produc- tive citizens. They are held to a higher standard than even the common criminal!
Most police officers can adjust to the changing times in this country but, unfortunately, there are circumstances beyond their control. It is extremely easy to Monday morning quarterback and pass judgment after a situation is over.
The public comment section to the city council begins 30 minutes prior to the scheduled 10 a.m. meeting. Each individual speaker is allowed to speak for three minutes. Ten speakers are
allowed during the time frame.
In order to speak during the public comment section, you must
arrive three hours prior to the meeting and stand in line until one of the employees of the council appears and has you fill out a card to speak.
It is imperative in a short amount of time to address the sub- ject you are going to talk about. It’s extremely easy to point out what is wrong in a particular situation. And if you’ve never done it, speaking at the microphone is very difficult. Being a problem solver, rather than someone who attacks each and every person, is something you strive for.
I was the third speaker to address the city council that day. My comments were that in order to make reforms in any part of the city, “You must be willing to gather input from everyone, which includes the FOP!” Respect and communication go both ways, and false rumors happen when those actions aren’t reciprocated. In order to move forward, you must be willing to include every- one who is a stakeholder in the city.
The mayor has never responded to any speaker during the pub- lic comment section of the council meeting. On this occasion, she did respond to my public comments. Unfortunately, the Chicago media only published her comments prior to the conclusion of my speaking and did not report the comment that I had made in response to her.
My job as co-chair of legal defense is to ensure that an officer’s rights are protected. There are reforms needed within our depart- ment that would improve morale. My next article will be about what we can do to make this job better for everyone!
PAT MURRAY
8 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2019