Page 10 - September Issue

Accountability and transparency
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT
RAY CASIANO, JR.
Brothers and Sisters, Labor Day marked the end of summer for many of us, but in reality it's much more than just that; it's a celebration of the labor movement in America, the social and economic accomplishments of workers. Much has been accomplished this summer by our members working the streets despite all of the stresses put on them by management, ranging from the body-cams to the most recent agreement between the city of Chicago
are a few that would like to take any opportunity to incite injustice and chaos threatening the lives and property of others.
Medical Corner
During August, much work was accomplished from my office. Through mediation and several telephone calls with the city, I have been able to reach successful settlements resulting in thousands of dollars coming back into our members’ pockets, and restoring benefits that had been denied. There has been an ongoing effort from the Lodge to ensure that the settlement awards are honored by the city in a timely manner to relieve possible financial burden on our members. We have also been in constant commu- nication with MLAS to ensure proper coding of Medical to IOD time.
This past month, we demanded arbitration on behalf of an affected member. It was a medical grievance that was clearly an IOD, in which a member was involved in a roll- over car accident while on duty that resulted in several injuries. Unfortunately, after several reasonable offers by the Lodge, the city did not want to honor a referral related to the IOD and future benefits for that injury.
If you are a member for whom the Lodge has reached a successful settlement in the past few months and you have not received your award from the city yet, please feel free to contact Maggie or myself at the Lodge.
Acknowledgments
Our annual golf outing at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in August was a huge success. This was due in part to all of our generous sponsors and all of the volunteers. The weather was ideal for golfing. The food was great, and, with so many raffle gifts, many left with their hands full as well. I would like to give a special thanks to our office staff and members of the Board of Directors for all their hard work. If you were unable to make it this year, we hope to see you next year! d
and ACLU concerning the stop-and-frisk encounters by our members.
The Lodge has concerns about the Department miscon- struing a member’s dark humor that may be caught on the body-cam recording prior or after making contact with the public. But, at the same time, the Lodge recognizes that it will also discourage citizens from making false accusations against our members and turn public perception around. As far as the agreement with the ACLU, the concern among many is that it will discourage good police work, resulting in gun pinches and overburdening our members with more paper.
This is all being done because of an outcry from across the nation for accountability and transparency of law enforce- ment resulting from a couple of incidents when proper force was used by law enforcement officers, yet the public dis- agreed with the actions taken. As a result, people took to the streets to protest and riot over such actions, putting pressure on our politicians to take action. There will always be a seg- ment of our society that feels that police officers are always targeting minorities or abusing their power. We are not to retreat, but instead we are expected to stand fast in the face of danger to protect those who cannot protect themselves and stay true to our oath.
We should always remember that when we step out of the squad car to provide service that people are watching. Many understand that we are there to serve and protect, but there
FOP is here to “Serve so that you can better “Serve and Protect” the citizens of Chicago.
God Bless!
and Protect” you,
10 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2015