Chicago Police Union Stands With Cop Who Killed Laquan McDonald
There is no question that Laquan McDonald is dead and no question about who killed him. We know he was down after the first shot and 15 more were fired. But the main Chicago police union is standing by Van Dyke.
On its website, the Chicago lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), has posted a bail fund appeal for the officer, Jason Van Dyke, who is accused of shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times just six seconds after emerging from his patrol car on a street in Chicago on Oct. 20, 2014. An earlier link on the FOP’s front page to a GoFundMe campaign was removed after the fundraising site said it violated a policy against its use by criminal defendants.
The FOP also is paying the lawyer representing Van Dyke, Daniel Herbert, himself a former FOP member the union pays to represent Chicago cops in misconduct cases. Funding such a defense is a common practice among U.S. police unions.
The FOP’s support for Van Dyke appears to have support within the union, according to email and phone interviews Reuters conducted with a number of white and black active-duty and retired cops, as well as union and black police association officials.
They stopped short of defending Van Dyke’s actions – which were caught in a graphic video made public this week – but did say it was important to place them in the context of a racially divided city beset by violence.
Copyright 2015 Liberaland
21 responses to Chicago Police Union Stands With Cop Who Killed Laquan McDonald
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tracey marie November 28th, 2015 at 18:18
So they know he was wrong but stand behind him because he is a cop, a killer cop.
whatthe46 November 28th, 2015 at 19:55
with a bad history if i’m not mistaken.
Lyndia November 28th, 2015 at 20:55
You are not mistaken. He had 18 complaints lodge against him, in 14 years. Some of the complaints, were about racial remarks. I am not surprised at the union. They defend bad cops all of the time.
whatthe46 November 28th, 2015 at 21:52
oh the priorities. yes siree, they have none.
Tommie November 28th, 2015 at 18:21
See this is why people say all cops are bad, how can they stand behind this killer of a child, just subdue the kid and take him in!
Karen Barton November 30th, 2015 at 06:14
FatRat November 28th, 2015 at 18:34
infallible
not fallible; exempt from liability to error, as persons, their judgment, or pronouncements
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7167/1854/400/Benedict.jpg
https://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/Wires/Images/2014-04-23/AP/NYPD_Twitter-05c55.jpg
http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-my-country-right-or-wrong-is-a-thing-no-patriot-would-ever-think-of-saying-except-in-a-desperate-gilbert-k-chesterton-36064.jpg
rg9rts November 28th, 2015 at 18:34
Another class act by the FOP
katkelly57 November 28th, 2015 at 19:47
My father was on the Chicago police force for 30 years…many years ago.
If he were alive, he would be beyond disappointed and quite ashamed of what happened to his dept….he’s probably spinning right now.
I believe he probably would have taken that killer behind a bldg. somewhere and let loose on him.
He was not a violent man by any means, quite the opposite, a gentle giant…however, this behavior exhibited by this heartless bastard and the others like him all across the US, would not be tolerated in the least by him.
I say shame on all the good cops who condone this despicable human being and all of the other murderous cops out there.
By not speaking up, you are in turn enabling this to continue.
See something, say something ffs!!!
Robert M. Snyder November 28th, 2015 at 20:25
This is why I love unions. In my local school district, a third grade teacher threw a desk at a student. The union defended him, so all he got was a one-year time-out. He sat in the elementary library for a year, correcting papers for other teachers, while drawing full salary. Then he went back to the classroom the next year. Yep. Gotta love them unions!
bpollen November 28th, 2015 at 22:54
This is so much worse than buying politicians to get legislation to give you immunity for white collar crimes? Or legislation to prevent communities from preventing fracking in their locale? Or massive tax cuts at the expense of the middle class and the infrastructure? Or water down Wall Street reform? Or attempt to eviscerate or eliminate the EPA, CFPB, IRS, Education? Or to protect the F22 Raptor or Abrams tank production, even though the Pentagon doesn’t want them? Or sweetheart no-bid contracts?
Which is more egregious? Protecting a fellow union member not yet convicted of a crime or screwing your fellow citizens for money or sinecures when you retire?
Robert M. Snyder November 28th, 2015 at 23:02
That’s like saying a wife beating is no big deal because ISIS beheads people. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Nothing you said justifies a union defending a member in circumstances where he has committed an egregious act. The local school teacher *admitted* to throwing a desk at a third grader. Would you want that guy teaching YOUR child? The cop was documented on video putting sixteen rounds into the teenager. Do you want HIM back on the street? Unions need to police their own ranks. When a member behaves in an egregious manner, they need to have a clause that says “If you cross this line, you’re on your own, buddy.”. Some things are more important than solidarity.
bpollen November 28th, 2015 at 23:23
No, it’s NOT saying that at all. I asked you to tell me which is the most egregious. Now you are telling me that I TOLD YOU which is the more egregious.
I think his actions were reprehensible. I think he should be locked up. But I don’t find his local’s support to be nearly as damaging to this country as is our democracy being available to the highest bidder. This local’s reach, as you would expect, is local. The repercussions of government directed by financial motives is felt worldwide. But even more close to home, cutting support for the vulnerable and healthcare for 9-11 responders, while calling for tax cuts for the wealthy, more money for the military (including hardware unwanted by the people congress buys it for) and boots on the ground throughout the Middle East will have more impact on your neighbors than a union in Chicago.
Robert M. Snyder November 28th, 2015 at 23:37
“…will have more impact on your neighbors than a union in Chicago”
You wouldn’t say that if you lived in Chicago and you had a teenage son.
bpollen November 29th, 2015 at 00:18
Oh, no… of course I wouldn’t. Did that union local cause that death? Did that union local create the execrable school system? Or take kickbacks for steering no-bid contracts for the school system to your cronies? Did that union local create the problems with the pension system? Or the funding problems with the school system? Is the union local responsible for local income inequality?
Now, tell me, who controls the police? If the government has the fortitude to make the police accountable, the militarized police environment wouldn’t exist.
To give you an analogy, you are outraged by the actions of the soldiers who devastated Iraq. I am outraged more by the people who lied to them and us and then ORDERED them to do it. You decry the people who tortured, but I place the most blame on the people who told them to do it. Both may be heinous but one is orders of magnitude greater a threat than the other.
Finally, you are saying that if I had teenage son, I would be more worried about the police union being assholes than crime in the neighborhood, feeding him, clothing him, having him enlist and become fodder for the never ending war, getting the appropriate medical care, getting an education, having a chance to do better than his father in life, being happy…. Well, I tell ya, Bobbie, people can be dickheads. This is a truism. And dickheads will frequently operate in groups. The more power the dickhead has, the greater potential for harm. I think your whole shtick here is “unions bad.” I don’t think you are particularly concerned for a black kid in Chicago.
arc99 November 29th, 2015 at 00:01
Yes, those of us who appreciate 40 hour weeks, time and a half overtime, paid vacations, health insurance and other benefits love the legacy of organized labor.
So you go right ahead with the lame attempt to disparage labor unions with this one act where like it or not, the union is fulfilling its obligations to a member in good standing. Go right ahead and ignore the fact the union’s action is the essence of American justice where an individual accused of the most heinous crime has every right to the most zealous defense possible.
I am quite familiar with conservatives’ antipathy towards labor unions. I see it as no accident that conservatives routinely villify unions and government which happen to be the two primary institutions available to the individual citizen to challenge the influence of corporations.
Yes, I love them unions. Anyone with a brain and who gets time and a half for overtime should too.
Robert M. Snyder November 29th, 2015 at 00:03
Same tired old crap.
MarcoZandrini November 29th, 2015 at 10:30
Yup, that’s what you and Fox spew.
Robert M. Snyder November 29th, 2015 at 10:41
I am bitterly opposed to any organization that would defend someone who pumps sixteen rounds into a teenager who is lying motionless on the ground. And I am proud to “spew” that opposition, because some things are more important than solidarity.
Carol Hill November 29th, 2015 at 03:43
Till I saw the draft that was of 8368 dollars, I accept that my friend’s brother was like really generating cash in his free time with his pc. . His aunt’s neighbor has done this for only 8 months and by now repaid the loan on their home and bought a new Car .Why not try this. ttb…
http://www.WiseEmployment.info.nu
robert November 29th, 2015 at 15:32
there are unions then there are police unions ( FOP & teamsters ) Before a tax reform there needs to be 2 union reforms