Chicago Cops Coach Youth Baseball League On South Side To Broker Peace

The best to them!

The Chicago Defender

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At a time when interactions between African-Americans and police are fraught with tension over allegations of excessive force by cops across the nation, a team of Chicago officers are making efforts to improve relations with youth on the city?s South Side, reportsThe Huffington Post.

The Englewood Police Youth Baseball League hopes the sport of baseball will help combat violence by uniting athletes in Englewood?one of the city?s most violent communities?with mentors from the police department, notes the report.

?Showing them that police are human, that we?re their friend, that they are safe around us. That?s an extension of being a police officer,? Angela Wormley, police officer and volunteer coach, told the news outlet.

The league launched in May as part of a partnership with Get In Chicago, a program that works to eliminate juvenile violence, and the community welfare organization Teamwork Englewood…

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5 Ft. Lauderdale Cops No Longer On Force Due To Racist Text Messages

Hat tip to Gronda.

ALERT: This article contains racial and other slurs that were used in text messages

Priscilla Perez was engaged to 22-year old Alex Alvarez. Alvarez was a police officer in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. They are no longer engaged. Priscilla and Alex had an agreement to check each others cell phones to make sure that neither were behaving badly. Priscilla wanted out of the relationship and in October 2014, she called the police for a domestic disturbance. Alex put on his police uniform. Priscilla was afraid of retribution, so she acted first, sending an email to Police Chief Frank Adderly saying there were racists in his outfit.   That prompted an internal affairs investigation.

In late January, Alvarez resigned before the investigation was completed and before he had to make a sworn statement about the allegations. The investigation also involved 3 other officers who last week, were terminated from their positions.

Screenshot of Fort Lauderdale cop Alex Alvarez’s video.

Priscilla sent screen shots of text messages between the four police officers and gave a sworn statement to internal affairs outlining Alvarez’s racist views against Blacks. The texts are alleged to have been sent while the officers were on duty. There is also a video in the investigation, allegedly made by Alvarez. The video, titled “The Hoods” uses the likenesses of his fellow officers (called “Savage Hunters”) cut with images of KKK hoods, vicious dogs, slave holders, blood, and President Obama with a mouth full of gold grills, pointedly calling the president a “n****er.”

Illinois Law Does Not Prohibit Recording On-Duty Law Enforcement

On Twitter, it started with circulating the headline of an article published on The Free Thought Project titled “Illinois Just Made it a Felony for Its Citizens to Record the Police and the Media is Silent.” The article claimed that Illinois passed a law making it a felony to record police officers. That is not factual. The emotional state of many Americans with the thought that a law prohibits the video recording of police officers using excessive force, was at the forefront of the headline that misrepresents the amended Illinois law.

Snopes has already printed about the apparent confusion of the law, which isn’t a new law at all but rather, an amendment to an existing law and does not prohibit the recording of on-duty police officers.

The Free Thought article states that the wording from the legislation is vague, and it included the following;

(a) Eavesdropping, for a first offense, is a Class 4 felony (from Ch. 38, par. 14-4) and, for a second or subsequent offense, is a Class 3 felony.

(b) The eavesdropping of an oral conversation or an electronic communication of any
law enforcement officer, State’s Attorney, Assistant State’s Attorney, the Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General, or a judge, while in the performance of his or her official duties, if not authorized by this Article or proper court order, is a Class 3 felony, and for a second or subsequent offenses, is a Class 2 felony.

Had readers clicked the link to the Bill, they would have read two words that should have stood out.  Those two words are;

1. eavesdropping

2. private

When I read the first tweet reporting this, (and expressing disgust that Illinois would legislate such a law), I didn’t respond.  I didn’t respond because my first impression that anyone reading the word “eavesdropping” would understand its meaning.  I was wrong, not taking into consideration that people passing the tweet around are not residents of Illinois understanding how “eavesdropping” is defined in Illinois law.

Not the Blind Side –Black Foster Child Attacked By Cops In His Own Home

The Blind Side

In 2009 movie “The Blind Side,” is a semi-biographical film about the life of Michael Oher, and offensive lineman who plays for the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. Oher has an impoverished upbringing, but high prospects in college football, and was without parents and homeless when he met Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy. Oher, who is Black, was adopted by the Tuohy’s, who are White. Actress Sandra Bullock won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film, and the Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by a Female in a leading role. The film itself received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Tim McGraw played the role of Sean Tuohy.

When I heard about DeShawn Currie of Wake County, North Carolina, (just south of Raleigh) I immediately thought of the movie, “The Blind Side,” although for DeShawn, it was not classmates that made him feel unwelcomed – it was the cops. For about a year, DeShawn has lived with his foster parents Ricky and Stacy Tyler, who are White.  They moved into their new home in July.

DeShawn Currie

DeShawn came home from school the other day.  A neighbor profiled him as “suspicious” and called 911. When the cops arrived, DeShawn asked them why they were there? He told them that he lives there. The cops looked at photos on the wall and seeing that the photos are of White people, accused DeShawn of lying.

A Policeman’s Kindness in El Paso

Kindness Blog

For more ‘protect and serve’ related police kindness, please see;

• This Way, Ducks
• Wet and Limping Little Dog Needed Some Help
• Boy With Brain Tumor Got a Much Needed Boost From His Heroes
• Tulsa Police Department Dedicates Day To Fixing Local Kids’ Bikes
• Police Officer Wraps $100 Bill In Traffic Ticket
• “…Dying Boy’s Family Told Police he had always Wanted to be a Cop…”
• Two Policemen Go Shopping to Help a Crying Girl on First Day of School
• A Police Officer and a Suicidal Man
• Policeman Tying an Old Man’s Shoes
• One Kind Police Officer, One Mama Duck and Some Ducklings
• Water for Daisy

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