Page 17 - December 2015

Better to be ‘fetal’ and free than aggressive and incarcerated
The “Ferguson effect” is real. As of Nov. 16, the City of Baltimore recorded 303 homicides for 2015 – the most since 1999, and we still have a month to go. This spike is not an aberration; it is the direct result of Bal- timore law enforcement officers being afraid of
Chicago officer who was charged criminally with three felonies aris- ing from his arrest of an individual at a convenience store. The inci- dent was captured on surveillance video. We were pleased the jury found the officer not guilty on two of the three counts, however he was found guilty of using excessive force in the case. We await sen-
LODGE 7 LEGAL CORNER
HERBERT
becoming a headline and/or a defendant in a criminal proceeding for doing pro-active police work.
tencing. The outcome here will not help lessen the “Ferguson effect.” In this case, my client and his partner were assigned to a tactical team on the southeast side of Chicago. They received information from a neighborhood relations officer who spoke with an elderly woman in the neighborhood who complained about drugs being sold out of a convenience store on South Coles Avenue. The woman further stated many of the offenders were armed with guns. The officers did exactly what they were supposed to do in this case – they followed up on the tip and entered the store and found several individuals loitering. Nobody was shopping in the store. Instead many of the individuals claimed to be working at the store. This tiny convenient store had more employees working than Costco. In fairness, they were in fact work- ing for the store; however, their duties did not include stocking shelves or working the cash register. They sold drugs out of the store,
Recently, various leaders have expressed opinions about the reality of the situation. FBI Director James Comey and Chuck Rosenberg,
DANIEL
acting administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration, came under fire for expressing their hypotheses attributing a corre- lation between rising crime rates and law enforcement’s hesitation to do police work for fear of scrutiny. Mayor Rahm Emanuel described officers as “fetal.” At first I, like many, were offended by the mayor’s characterization. However, upon further examination, I applaud the mayor and the other leaders for their candor. It would have been easier to cite the politically correct answer assuring the public that there is no reason for concern, that everything will be fine. That would be untrue. The public has legitimate reason to be alarmed.
with the unequivocal consent and knowledge of the store owners. Upon entering the store, the officers briefly detained several of the
I recently tried a case in federal court wherein I represented a
CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ DECEMBER 2015 17