10 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: OCTOBER 2017 NATIONWIDE What’s up in law enforcement across the U.S.A. THETOPTEN AG sues Chicago In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel was hoping to avoid a DOJ consent decree by implementing re- forms locally. But Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madi- gan is now suing the city, saying Emanuel’s reforms are not sufficient to prevent the Chicago Police Department from continuing a pattern of deadly and excessive force. Despite the lawsuit, Madigan and Emanuel appeared on stage together at a news conference where they de- scribed the lawsuit as “a partnership.” It’s unclear who will come out on top, but if Madigan wins, Emanuel, Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, will have to accept a federal judge’s oversight of the Police Department. Traitor Conservatives are in dismay after Illinois Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner recently signed legislation that limits local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration officials. The Illinois TRUST Act prohibits police from stopping, arresting, searching or detaining anyone based on race or immigration status. The law also bars local officials from detaining anyone solely on the basis of a federal immigration detainer unless a judge signs a warrant. “Illinois has been welcoming of immigrants for a long time, and this bill will continue that tradition,” Rauner said in a statement. “It also makes clear that stopping violent crime will be law enforcement’s mission rather than working on federal prerogatives.” Different approaches It’s a tale of two agencies in Los Angeles. Now that President Trump has reversed a policy that would keep local law enforcement from receiving certain types of military equipment, the LAPD says it will not seek tracked armored vehicles, armed aircraft, 50-caliber fire- arms and ammunition, grenade launchers, bayonets or camouflage uniforms. Those were the items previously restricted. LAPD leadership says the decision is about maintaining trust. The LA County Sheriffs Department, on the other hand, is taking a wait-and-see approach. “As recent events around the nation and the world have demonstrated, law enforcement must always be ready to face any threat,” the LASD said in a statement released to the media. Officer tragedy In one of many tragedies coming out of Houston in the aftermath Hurricane Harvey, a 60-year-old veteran Houston police officer died after he drove into floodwaters on his way to work. Sgt. Steve Perez, a 31- year veteran, got trapped by rising floodwaters and was unable to escape his vehicle while trying to report for duty. Police Chief Art Acevedo described the torment as fellow officers looked for Perez. “We couldn’t find him,” the chief said, his voice breaking with emotion. “The dive team was dispatched but it was too treacherous to go under and look for him. We could not put more officers at risk.” Perez drowned after driving his patrol car into a flooded underpass. 1. She’s a psychiatrist. 2. He’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen, he’s super sweet and the sex is great. He wants to borrow $80,000. 3. You met her in the citizens police academy. Three years later, she’s about to become your sergeant and her uncle is the chief. 4. She won’t let the kids play football because of CTE and you were an all-American running back at Auburn. 5. You won the lottery. (Google “divorce rates after winning lottery”) 6. Your dog won’t go anywhere near him/her. And dogs know things. 7. You’re checking out his old Facebook page and it turns out he used to have a different name – coinci- dentally, the same name as a friend of his that died under mysterious circumstances. 8. He treats you great, takes you to the finest restau- rants and routinely flies you to Vegas for fights or to the tropics for getaways. For some reason he won’t tell you what he does for a living. 9. You’ve had two mother-in-laws previously, and next to the third they seem like heaven on Earth. 10. You ask her parents what’s wrong with her and they ask if she’s still taking her meds. You reply, “What meds?” reasons the relationship is not going to work out The Kentucky House of Representatives recently held a secret meeting, closed to the public, to talk about a report lawmakers commissioned that recommends huge reductions in pay and benefits for ac- tive duty and retired officers alike. “This is beyond frighten- ing,” David Smith, executive director of the Kentucky As- sociation of State Employees, said. Kentucky’s Open Meetings Act requires any meeting of a quorum of any public agency to be open to the public, but as people are finding out these days, rules are mostly for the little people. Laura Hendrix, general counsel for the House major- ity leadership, told reporters that this type of meeting among lawmakers is “exempt from the law.” At least Democratic State Rep. Jim Wayne had the cour- age to walk out of the meeting after he said his request to make it open to the public was shot down. He was the only lawmaker to take a stand. “It’s not the right way to do things,” Wayne told the AP. “We’ve seen under the leadership of Jeff Hoover a number of opportunities for transparency to have basically been kicked off the road.” So if you’re a cop in Ken- tucky with a pension, hang on to your hat. It looks like there will be radical changes coming to your contract and your quality of life. We’d love to be able to tell you what the details are, but it’s apparently a state secret. Meeting in secret to screw cops Houston Strong: Hats off to all the police officers saving lives during Harvey.