Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MARCH 2017 13 The Harrisonburg Police Department and the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office Motor Officers lead the 2016 NCAA champions from James Madison University during a parade in downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia on January 14, 2017. James Madison beat Youngstown State 28-14 in Frisco, Texas on January 7, 2017. It’s not uncommon for police officers and firefight- ers to not get along. Take the recent incident where cops who were first on scene at a house fire arrested a Fire Dept. chief after a dispute over who was in charge. But there are also cases where cops extend firefight- ers a certain level of profes- sional courtesy. According to a recent article from the Chicago Sun Times, six Chicago police of- ficers have been suspended for the way they handled a DUI involving the third- highest ranking member of the Chicago Fire Depart- ment. That official crashed his city-owned SUV near Lake Shore Drive in Lincoln Park. Chicago Police Super- intendent Eddie Johnson suspended all six officers for “improper processing and reporting procedures” in connection with incident last April. Former Deputy Fire Com- missioner John McNicholas had a blood alcohol level close to double the legal limit, even four hours after the crash. But the suspensions may get tossed. All six officers, three of them supervisors, have filed grievances challenging the discipline. Three of the officers were suspended without pay for five days while two more got 15-day suspensions. An- other officer was suspended without pay for 20 days. Chicago Police Depart- ment spokesman Anthony Guglielmi refused to com- ment on the suspensions. Chicago F.O.P. President Dean Angelo said he needs to know what the six officers are accused of doing before he can decide whether the suspensions are “harsh or not.” “I don’t know where the allegations of misconduct- are stemming from. Until I see them, it’s tough to say whether it’s fair or whether it’s warranted at all,” Angelo said. It wasn’t police officers who administered the Breathalyzer test. The test was actually done by the Chicago Fire Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau. Like at some other big-city agencies, Chicago Police of- ficers do not carry Breatha- lyzers on patrol. Instead Breathalyzer tests are done at police stations. But McNicholas was never tested. McNicholas was ticketed for negligent driving. Two months after that the agency belatedly charged McNicholas with misde- meanor DUI. The lesser charge was filed one day after the Cook County State’s Attorney de- clined to charge McNicholas with felony DUI. McNicholas resigned as deputy commissioner after the crash. He agreed to a “full sepa- ration” from the Chicago Fire Department after failing the Breathalyzer, which is mandatory after all acci- dents involving Fire Depart- ment vehicles. Internal affairs