Monday, January 26, 2009

We're the Only Ones Adolescent Enough

A 14-year-old boy was charged with false impersonation of a police officer after entering a South Side police station in full uniform Saturday and “reporting for duty.” [More]
A proto-Chi-Town "Only One"...

And those in the know don't think station vulnerabilities are a fluke...

[Via An Illinois Voter]

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, just wondering here... Doesn't the watch commander have a roster of those who are assigned to him/her and supposed to report for duty?

I seriously doubt anyone could have dressed up and joined my nursing staff without being challenged within a few moments.

The kid sounds like a natural. Maybe they need to beef up the explorer program to keep him interested. He'll probably make a nice JBT one of these days.

Adam said...

I like this:

"Ever since he was 5 years old, he's wanted to be a police officer. I don't know why. But his whole life, his favorite [television] show has been 'Cops,'" she said, noting that mental health evaluations have shown that her son is healthy.

I believe it really says something when wanting to be a cop triggers the need for mental evaluations. However, it is unfortunate for the boy that his tests did not turn up enough instabilities to be an Chicago only one. He'll have to move somewhere else where they still have peace officers or at least moderately sane LEOs.

Anonymous said...

Talk about a breach of national security!

A 14 yr. old can now impersonate a uniformed Police Officer, gain access to a police uniform, squad car, police radio, police computers and unlimited unrestricted access to all kinds of secure facilities. This kid allegedly drove a squad car and issued traffic citations too. Hello, Homeland Security!

The entire truth of what occurred, is not being relayed to the media and the citizens. One of the reasons the kid is being held in custody, is to keep him away from the media and the talk show circuit. Downtown is embarrassed and desperate to contain the damage from this fiasco.

Thank God, this kid is just a 14yr. old wannabe and not an Al Queda operative with Jihad in mind.

The havoc that could have potentially occurred defies imagination.

I do not blame a 14 year old kid for wanting to play the police; but I do blame the complete collapse of the Chicago Police Department on management failures. This kids actions have probably saved lives by alerting the sleeping upper echelon to the glaring security failings throughout the CPD.

The simple truth is that the Chicago Police Department is on life support. The CPD is short 2,000+ sworn police officers, lacks effective management throughout the rank structure and is now the international laughing stock of law enforcement.

The officers and the rank and file have been fighting a loosing war demanding reform for years. Look at some of the Chicago police blogs and you can verify all of this, secondcitycop being the premier.

Chicago is turning into Detroit.

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO AFFECT POSITIVE CHANGE ON THE CPD?