PPD shooting itself in the foot

December 21, 2004
By Billy Dennis

WHOI: Community Wants Faster Police Service

Residents living blocks away from where Brian Alexander was shot and killed think they have a basic understanding of what happened late Friday night early Saturday morning leading up to his death.

But the police will not commit to their theory, which is creating a rift between public and public safety.
For Kim Jackson, all the evidence she needs is right on her computer.

Pictures she took of bullet casings strewn across Arcadia Street in Peoria?s east bluff.

She said, “You could see the fire from the gun as it was going off as this guy’s just firing away. You could see the flashes.”

From her front door Jackson watched two cars drive by shooting at each other and then race up California Street.

Jackson said, “A guy got out of the car window, leaning out and he’s on top of the car just shooting at this guy.”

She believes that was after the cars riddled another house with bullet holes, and hours before one of them shot and killed 44-year-old Alexander.

Peoria Police Officer Ann Ruggles said, “We don’t know if those are related. There is about 7-8 blocks difference.”

Behind the scenes, police may very well be working this case on the assumption that the two murder and the drive by shooting are related. It would seem idiotic to assume anything else, without concrete evidence to the contrary.

The PPD has huge public relations problems on its hands right now. Being tight-lipped isn’t necessarily helping their case and it certainly isn’t making a case that they are on the job in Peoria’s neighborhoods.

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2 Responses to “ PPD shooting itself in the foot ”

  1. AmyAllen on December 22, 2004 at 11:26 am

    Interesting post, sir. So what would the defense be, “Your honor, I was only breakdancing?” I don’t now about non-Illinoisans(in other states elected prosecutors are just that-not called “State’s Attorneys) but if I were appearing before an elected prosecutor as prominent as Kevin Lyons, I’d request his autograph.