This is the most amazing thing I’ve read in a long time. C.J. Summers writes about how Terry Beachler, owner of Beachler’s Servicecenter on War Memorial Drive and North University, ended up getting arresting after one of his clerks took a fake ID away from someone trying to buy cigarettes. Turned out that it was a sting operation, and Beachler ended up getting arrested by an agitated officer. The article isn’t clear for which department this officer is employed, the Illinois Secretary of State, the Illinois State Police or some local department. In either case, there needs to be an investigation, not that there will be, since it’s my experience that at the state level, these guys enjoy immunity from any sort of professional code of conduct. My advice to C.J.: Try to NOT get pulled over anytime soon.
UPDATE: It was a Peoria Police officer. First it was a pogrom against used book stores, now they are arresting business owners who are trying to discourage lawbreakers. Judging by some officers’ tendency to harass local business owners, pretty soon, we’ll all have to drive to Dunlap for full service gas.
UPDATE: My question is this: Was this sting being orchestrated as part of a grant of some kind? They do that for drug and alcohol enforcement. The money is used to pay for overtime so that “normal” law enforcement — i.e. police activity that actually helps make the city more livable — is not curtailed. I can imagine a police officer getting miffed that all that sweet overtime ends because one of their targets refuses to play nice and insists on his rights.
UPDATE: Go comment over at C.J.’s site. It’s his story. He deserves the hits.
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Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
Yes, they did-C.J. should work for homeland security-the audio is hard to fight that perspective.
I brought this up on C.J.’s site, who do these kids work for? How are they insured? Undercover work of any kind is dangerous and unpredictable. If the kid gets shot during a robbery while trying to buy some smokes what happens then? Bad idea all around.
In the Quad Cities they recruit from Augustana College for under age drinking stings. They get paid 75 bucks for an afternoon or evening.
Billy,
And you scream and whine about what is and is not good journalism. First, a reference to the book story is pure red herring. That issue was explained and turned out to be much ado about nothing and a bunch of screaming chicken littles (but I do have to admit it did concern me at first).
Now on to this blown up tale. There are all sorts of things being left out in your whine. The first is, listen to the tape again. Beachler is obviously baiting the officer and not only that, most likely broke a law himself by ordering his employees to seize IDs.
Also, from the tape, it sounds pretty clear that Beachler is playing dumb as to the cop’s ID and obviously knows the guy from past experience.
Lastly, all sorts of agencies get funding for things like this all the time so it’s probably not really taking a cop off the street.
Talk about hyperbole.
Scott: Perhaps one day an armed and angry police officer will visit you at your place of business and you can taste some of the same treatment.
SCOTT: YOU ARE THE GRAND MASTER THEREOF.
Bars and liquor stores have been keeping I.D.’s for many years at the behest of local law enforcement and not word has ever been said about the legality of that. Why now would it be illegal or wrong for a gas station owner to do the same in this situation.
Raoul: The ONLY answer to this question is that this time, the ID was being used by the police to induce criminal behavior (i.e. a mistake) by Beachler’s clerk. Apparently, if you annoy a police officer, you get arrested. Rules for thee and rules for me.
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