I’m really tempted to suggest that there might be a fire making all this smoke. Several weeks ago, we had a solid citizen complain to the City Council that he was arrested for having the gall to ask an officer for his badge number. This past week, we had a solid citizen and business owner tape an officer screaming and yelling at him over a confiscated driver’s license. In both cases, the police department blew off the complaints saying everything went by the book. Now, we have a crowd of about 80 people saying police beat and abused a man after he surrendered after a drunk driving arrest. There’s audio and video tape that backs up businessman Terry Beachler’s claims of abusive treatment (Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard can excuse this officer’s behavior all he wants, it’s evident to all who listened to it that the officer was out of control). There may or may not be video of last night’s drunk driving arrest, and if so, let’s all do our best to make sure this video sees the light of day.
You can’t expect police officers to behave like robots, especially with their adrenaline pumping after an eight block chance in which two cars were hit. But there’s no excuse for beating a man after he surrenders, if that’s what happened. Nor should physical force the first resort — and certainly not the only resort — when you have a drunk who’s slow to obey orders. It’s not the greatest tragedy in the universe when police officers have to wait a minute or two, and if there’s a thread in many of these incidents, it’s that we might have a problems with officers losing all sense of composure when their orders are not instantaneously obeyed, like the way recruits are supposed to do in boot camp. Whatever crimes people commit or are accused of committing, people just don’t respond that way.
To those who would excuse this sort of (still only alleged) behavior, you need to think twice. We’ve made crime and fear of crime the the number one concern. The question is how far do we go to fight crime. Certainly it’s tempting to say to officers to get tough and not worry about niceties like, say, civil rights. The end result of that attitude is what those 80 people say they witnessed last night. Only that’s going to be be what happens ever night, and that’s the the community I want to live in. And contrary to what some may think, there’s no sure fire way to tell by looking at someone whether or not they’re a criminal. I’ve seen law abiding white kids from the ‘burbs decked out like gangbangers, driving their mommy’s mini vans. I can’t tell you how many delivery and service vans pull up to neighborhood crack houses in the middle of the day.
And for the record: I’m not seeing where the “race card” is being played here. Not when you have whites and blacks complaining.
Scott Janz has his take.
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 
Symptoms of a shortfall in the number of police officers? Too few officers, trying to do too many things, over too large an area, might just lead to … um … stress?
Mahkno is pretty accurate. We are staffed to only to respond to calls. Not enough in patrol to be proactive. And the Pop/Street crimes unit only has so many officers to be proactive. They are not on everyday or at all hours of the day. As busy as it has been and a homicide will tie up half the shift for a good hour or two (till enough detectives can be called in to take over the investigation), with so many officers on injury and many on overtime, many of us are overworked, stressed out and just exhausted. The new computer system is so buggy, that reports that used to take us 10 min are taking over an hour to complete. So seeing us sitting in a parking lot doing nothing is more than likely us trying to type up the damn report inbetween the computer locking up, crashing or losing our narrative in the report to cyberspace after its done and having to redo the whole thing. As for the incident last night? He actually hit 3 cars, ran from police, refused to let go of the steering wheel(that is not surrendering or complying and he is still dangerous.) Control tactics (i.e. police brutality as some call it) were not working in making him let go of the wheel or exit the car. He was tasered and fell out. He was then taken into custody but still resisting. Control tactics were applied and he was taken to the hospital since he was highly intoxicated and involved in 3 hit and runs. He was nearly 3 times the legal limit in his BAC too. What some people believe as police brutality are more often control tactics used to handle dangerous people. Ignorance, lack of understanding our job and just not liking the police lead a lot of people to misinterpret what people see police do. (yes the officer in the Beachler’s incident did step out of line, but so did Beachler. The officer was unprofessional, but still within the limits of the law. Beachler violated the law several times, his store policy of taking the person’s id (theft, had it been a fake, he would have been justified, but still needed to report it) and audio taping the conversation without the officers permission( violation of the Federal Eavesdropping Privacy Act) Police TRAFFIC stops are the only exemption without a court order. And when you do see us gathering for a min for coffee, its not only comradery, but sharing information of trouble spots, where troublemakers are hanging out, and telling each other where good people are having problems in the neighborhoods and asking if they will help patrol it if it gets too busy for one officer to handle. Hope this helps clarify some of the issues.
And I’ll repeast what MY concern is when officers use force when suspects don’t respond to commands. It seems to me officers are getting more impatient BECAUSE of the problems in staffing you mention. That causes stress. Lots of jobs have stress. Most jobs don’t come with a gun and the power to make arrests.
This is a serious issue that needs to be fixed. Now.
How come the PPD never has police cams in thier squad cars to catch some of this on tape? If this is accurate, (and I tend to believe it is) a vid from a squad car would be a credible piece of information being displaced by “witnesses”.
Again, I think thier is a credibility issue looming and it’s getting wider. Their are tasers for instance now on the market that have cams on the tasers themselves. When some perp does get tased, it’s on video. I know $$$$, however, how much is community support for the Police worth?
You didn’t get it Billy. What had this guy suddenly after being told to get out lifted up a gun and shot an officer or 2. How many of those 80 people would have witnessed that? I’ll bet they would have scattered like rats. What if this guy had been white? I’ll bet not a single complaint would have been heard. 3 times the legal limit? Yes, I would have been scared to approach this guy who had no respect for property or life. (3 cars were hit). I say go ahead and crack heads guys. In this case I stand behind you has an ordinary citzen. More head cracking is needed as these guys know that if they run, they may get away and if they don’t then “big bad police beat me” up can be use. Time to end this shit.
Em: “You didn’t get it Billy. What had this guy suddenly after being told to get out lifted up a gun and shot an officer …”
Tell you what, Em. Put that on a bumper sticker for your car. I prefer officers use force as a last resort, not first.
EM recognizes the 800lb gorilla in the room. The truth is, anytime a negro gets pulled over, some people will find a way to make it a racial issue. Some people make their living off of it – some just do it out of habit.
Well we don’t know exactly what happened although we have anon cop’s post (if real and I bellieve it is) that states that what looks like force to the bystander isn’t. Of course I too, would like force used as a last resort but comparing this incident to Beachler’s rude cop and to a complaint by another citzen (his view only) is apples to oranges. Still, what had this been a white guy? What would have happened had this guy pulled a gun? If you are going to compare this to those others and deem that there is a problem with the police then I have to ask you about the incident a few years back when a black youth was being chased by a white officer, pulled a gun and shot and killed the officer. Does that mean there is a problem within the black community? Then I think there is.
Billy, you are right and thank you for keeping a beacon of light on this problem.
Policing is ALWAYS stressful. That’s why police receive specialized training to deal with it. Not every individual is cut out to be a police officer.
Police want respect but around here they too frequently act in ways that engender disrespect. I’ve heard them brag about their own speeding. I know the mentality of thuggishness when someone has the audacity to ask for a badge number. I know they strongly beleive they and their families are exempt from all sorts of laws. I know they don’t believe they have to answer for their behavior. They are too high on testosterone too often. You are right that they expect an instantaneous response from civilians–civilians who are not well trained slaves conditioned to immediately obey orders.
We have too much of a seige mentality in our police force. Settingsgaard needs to go. I knew that when he started “preaching” instead of concentrating on enforcing the law. He has NO respect for due process when he is quick to publish the names of johns arrested but not yet convicted for soliciting a prostitute. His comments conclusively demonstrated that he strongly believes everyyone arrested is guilty. Cops did overreact to that incident at the black club a month or so ago. Settingsgaard is better suited to be a church preacher than the top law enforcement leader. Unprofessionalism in his department is out of control.
On the other hand, I understand the difficulties of the job. I strongly believe cops deserve the benefit of the doubt. I know this sounds contradictory but it isn’t. If in the heat of the moment things happened that are questionable I would back the police. The problem is the heavy and widespread PREDISPOSITION in the Peoria Police Department toward toward covering up for fellow policemen/women and prejudging situations and citizens. Far too often their contempt for citizens spills out and they just seem incapable in doing their job in a respectful manner.
I for one actually believe that for high speed car chases where a driver consciously tries to evade, and is reckless in doing so, that it ought to be mandatory that the cops beat the shit out the perp when finally caught. That might make would be evaders think twice, and in any case it is a fitting beginning punishment for endangering lots of lives.
The Beachler incident is unforgiveable and to hide behind federal electronic recording statutes is shameful. The officer shrieked like a Gestapo agent and would have denied he did so to highest degree if it wasn’t for the recording.
Peoria’s police are well paid. Far better paid than Sheriff’s deputies. They need to act like the professionals they should be. I am tired of hearing them whine and whine in the media nonstop. If they hate their job then get a different job. They won’t find higher paying police jobs that’s for sure. We could hire lots more officers if we paid our police the same wages Peoria County pays Sheriffs Deputies. I’m not suggesting that but that is a valid response to the incessant whining about not enough police officers on the force etc.
We need a tough crack down on crime. But before that begins we need a giant leap in the professionalism of our police force. They need to be cool, calm and professional in all situations and be no-nonsense in arresting people no matter that persons walk of life, and without gratuitous disrespect–(except for high speed car chase evaders! )
You guys should address the problem for what it is. A shortfall in staff. Anyone who has worked in a heavily understaffed environment knows how testy, impatient, and at times unprofessional people can be. Fix the root cause and some of this will go away. We will also have safer streets for it.
I watched two officers have to abruptly leave a residential complaint because of the drunk driver incident. It was an ‘oh f***’ moment. Not sure they got the residential problem resolved.
There is also nothing particularly safe about a large drunken man, who went on a chase, hit some cars, who gets out of his car standing with his hands in the air.
Would you approach that man?
We better get used to this, the police department is not going to get more staff any time soon; we have 35 million dollars worth of libraries to build. We are probably going to seen incidents likes this escalate as the city has no choice except to start diverting public safety money to fund the library expansion. Just remember you get what you pay for. Police, fire & basic city services are all going to pay the piper. I just don’t see the city raising property taxes the near 20% the library wants. If the library gets it 35 million it is going to come at the expense of other services.
So, if they are so understaffed, why in the hell are they running around with undercover cops doing stings of alcohol and cigarette sales?
Priorities?
If I understand it MDD, the stings are ‘overtime’, and not part of their daily shift.
And I ask again … was this sting funded by an outside agency? I hate it that so much “law enforcement” exists because someone else will find overtime. It warps the priority setting process. And furthermore, officers cannot claim they are overtired and stressed when they work every minute of overtime they can.
So we, as taxpayers, pay for OT for something like that? This just keeps on getting better and better.
Anyone ever notice how many parked police cars sit at the downtown station every day, all day and all night, unused?
Where can I find one of these over zealous police officers? The ones that visit my neighborhood in the East Bluff just don’t care. They know where all the drug houses are but all we hear are excuses and that they are getting evidence for the “big bust”. Well that “big bust” never comes but more excuses do. The police chief is full of shit. If you read his mission statement about crime and quality of living issues you’ll get a good chuckle. I know I did.
Vice and Lquor enforcement handle the undercover details and are staffed seperately from patrol. Many of their stings for liquor and cigarette enforcement on overtime details are paid as federal grants, but i don’t know if this is the case with the Beachler incident. Patrol (the first responding officer, district officer, or normal patrol officer) as a unit is the first to cannabalized to supplement other divisions. Vice pulls in a lot of money through drug siezures. So they are always staffed fullest and are not considered part of patrol. They do not respond top normal calls unless the shit has truly hit the fan (has often before). Patrol is the most utilized, and visible unit. But by far the most understaffed. with CID our detective division running a close second. Hiring more officers is a solution, but we need close to 300 to effective police this city. we have maybe 247. Not counting retirees, those on injury, or those recruits that dont make it through the training program. It takes about a year to hire, train and put a new officer on the street. So if we hire a full staff of what we need now, we can anticipate 20% of them will not make it through the training program. then other officers retire. Or others might be injured. So we are never fully staffed unless we hire to anticipate officers leaving or not making it. But like Chuck said, there are library’s to pay for so thats something we’ll never see. And yes, we argue the point all the time to the Chief and City council. The chief agrees, but can only do so much with what the council will allow. We wish he would argue for more officers as well. Peoria has many good officers. By far the most efficient in the State considering our resources and crime rate. There was a quote we were given in the Academy years back to anticpate some of the brutality accusations we were told we would recieve. Was supposedly given by a civilian professor with no police experience:
“There is no ‘nice’ way to arrest a potentially dangerous, combative suspect. The police are our bodyguards, our hired fists, batons and guns. We pay them to do the dirty work of protecting us, the work we’re too afraid, too unskilled or too civilized to do ourselves. We expect them to keep the bad guys out of our businesses, cars and houses, out of our faces. We want them to ‘take care of the problem.’ We just don’t want to see how it’s done.” Charles Webb, Ph.D
I’m not going to defend the police nor the victim here. But what gets me is this: On or about Saturday morning at 2:37 am (July 15, 2006), a Peoria man was shot to death at Harrison Homes early Saturday as a CROWD OF RESIDENTS looked on. Ingersoll said police were called at 2:37 a.m. to 2719 W. Trewyn Ave. {A witness said} “He just came up to the SUV and shot the boy; it was a big crowd, and they were shooting in the crowd”.
Now if I remember correctly, no one knew or saw anything. There was no one in custody within 24 hours, but a “big crowd” witnessed it. However, 80 people managed to witness a potential police brutality situation and knew every detail. Hmmmmmm…………..
Oh, my bad. At 2:37 am it would be night time and the lack of light probably hindered people’s vision.
Ok every police car has a video camera in it that is activated the moment the red/blue lights are. We’ll just wait and see if there is a video and there should be something and see what it says.
Remember the young black woman who claimed the police pulled her over with guns drawn and scare her children? Turned out from the video she lied.
One other question. if 80+ people witnessed this, then why did 100+ people who witnessed the fatal shooting of a black man at a Bellevue bar see nothing?
I read endless complaints about crime in this forum. Until all the facts are in, we should at least give the cops the benefit of the doubt. Until people realize the cops are serious about crime, people will test the limits.
Billy,
One of my cop buddies told me many of these operations are paid for by outside grants. Also, that much of the dui patrol is also paid for by grants.
Guess you want those to stop too, huh?
Did anybody watch 60 minutes last night? The new ghetto slogan is “Stop Snitching” i.e. never ever cooperate with the police on anything.
The police should have beaten all 80 witnesses too. What the hell are 80 people doing hanging around the police cars anyway? If there was a crime, no one would have seen anyone- complete hypicrates. Wah-wah, poor little me, I am going to defend someone who was 3 times over the legal limit in BAC, who hit and ran 3 TIMES, resisted arrest. Thats why there is inequality- Law abiding good tax paying citizens would not make that stupid of a decision!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“That might make would be evaders think twice”
Most people who commit crimes aren’t smart, aren’t thinking, or are altered (usually with substances). Deterrence is disappointingly useless for many crimes; it works a lot better on white-collar crime where people think it through before they act than on violent or spur-of-the-moment criminal behavior. Most criminals are idiots. (And I don’t mean they’re idiots for breaking the law — I mean they DO A REALLY BAD JOB when they try to break the law. And then frequently post pictures of it on MySpace.)
If some jackass is dumb enough to engage in a high-speed chase (particularly if he’s dumb enough to get behind the wheel of a car drunk!), he’s not going to be particularly deterred by the idea of a beating. He’s not smart enough to consider the consequences to start with or he wouldn’t be engaged in the chase in the first place.
Tawana Brawley.
This time I agree with anonymous homo-sapien 100%
The fact that you even compare the Beachler incident and this, destroys your credibility, Bill. Two totally unrelated incidents, that have absolutely nothing in common with each other. A criminal who destroyed thousands of dollars in property, put numerous lives in jeopardy, and then got the snot kicked out of him when he resisted arrest, cannot be compared with a law abiding store owner who asked for an officers badge #. Btw, the fact that anom. cop stated federal communciations laws in his colleagues defense, proves to me that his buddy is guilty. Leave it to a cop to find some far fetched law to hide behind. Dude, if he hadn’t been recorded he would have lied and the truth would have never came out.
Anyways, I think that there needs to be more police violence towards violent criminals. What we have been doing in the past has obviously not worked. Hell yeah, drag that bastard out of his car and beat him senseless in front of 80 people. Maybe just one of those lowlifes will actually think twice before driving drunk next time. Jail does not scare these people. It has become part of their culture, and most consider it just part of the game. Prison is just an unavoidable part of these criminals lives. It is not a deterrent, it is just a fact of life for these people.
We need to establish deterrents, and I think that violence is one of the biggest deterrents out there. No one like to get hurt, I don’t care what they say. Or we could just build a big ass wall around the southside like they are doing in Baghdad, and let them all kill each other.
OH, poor police officers. So stressed out at their jobs that they take those frustrations out on the citizens they are being paid to protect. Boo hoo. Maybe if some of them weren’t so jacked up on steroids they could manage their anger better. But seriously, the problem is that many cops no longer treat the people of this city as if they are people. They treat them like animals, especially if they are from a certain area, of a certain skin color and from a certain socioeconomic level. Cops are the worst stereotypers around. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect. And you wonder why information sharing with police is at an all-time low.
Vonster… I saw something along that lines on Drudge.. regarding some rapper dude who wouldn’t call the cops even if he knew there was a serial killer next door.
I think that mindset is growing and exists here in Peoria. The chief keeps saying crime is down but I am not buying it. It may be more like, people calling stuff in is down.
Billy this was force as a last resort. They had tried to stop this person who was using a 3 or 4 ton vehicle as a battering ram with no consideration of any lives involved in his hit and run rampage. They tried to stop him. They tried to get him out of the car by telling him to put his hands up. The force they used was a last resrot in order to protect the public from a possible gun or other weapon, as well as themselves. At this point the person they were chasing had not responded to their orders to stop or surrender. They had no knowledge of whether he was armed or not. Just driving his car in this hit and run method means he was armed with a lethal weapon. It was not reasonable to wait to see if he had another weapon, thus the use of force to protect everyone. If this person didn’t want to be taken by force he never should have gotten drunk and behind the wheel of a vehicle. What would you say if he killed one of your family members in his state? Would you ask, “where were the police when this was going on?” IMO this had nothing to do with race. The man was drunk, and dangerous. The police did what they had to do to protect and serve.
First: I have to agree with “scott” also
Second: Joe cop; Respect is earned. If you are going to bring skin color into this, then let me lament on the fact that for some reason most of the crimes here in Peoria are committed by blacks. It seems that life is very cheap in this culture as a gun shot or stabbing is easy payback for a precived offense. If they are such a small part of the population here (a minority) then why are they the majority when it comes to shootings, robberies, gangs, eluding police and on and on?
I don’t blame the police for a second for yanking someone out of a car that refused to stop, hit 3 other cars putting other people’s life in jepordy, (where’s the respect for those people?) and then when refusing to exit the car get’s his dumb ass dragged out and beat. A respectful citizen would obey the order’s of a police officer and comply. It’s not a socioeconomic level at all in 99% of the cases (yes there are bad cops) but it is a matter of respecting the laws of a civilized society whether you are white, black, orange, or yellow. It just seems that the black culture in Peoria is too quick to pull the gun or pull the race card. That hurts the people who are really victims of racial unjustice.
UHHHMMMM…… Key word “Bellevue” any more questions?
Regarding the Beachler incident……after having spoken w/ him on a personal level numerous times over a ten year period, I can assure you his picture is used for the definition of asshole in the dictionary. He is a very arrogant insulting person and this was told to me by a close relative of his. I have no doubt he goaded the officer. I’ll take an officer like Jordan anytime over that lying prick.
I am a member of the new group called PAPA (People Against Police Abuse).I am speaking as a victim of Peoria City Police Abuse. I was shot by the Peoria city police in my kitchen for asking the officer David Logan why he wanted to know where my apartment is when I was in my home. And if there was a problem at my home he should have address that problem, not be concern with where my apartment was. Now the peoria city police are suppose to be well trained individual who are suppose to know how to communicate with people who might be a little upset. They are suppose to be trained to deescalate domestic situation and not take sides. Well I see that peoria police are not well trained in many area, One being cultural diversity as well as intervening into domestic situation in residential homes. When will the so call activist for people of color,all colors and poor people, people who are oppressed by Peoria city police and the peoria court system.
Where are the so call leaders of the people in Peoria. Are they paided actors, what causes are they fighting, do they just pick and choose issues that will benefit themselves, so it seems.why haven;t there been a cry for justice against the police department for all the brutality they have afflicted on poor people black, white, latino and other minority groups. How long will justic go unanswered. Tell me have you been to court lately, have you seen the injustice in our court room, Why has no one written about it. why has no one investigated any of the officers who have used tasers on people. How many time has that officer used his or her taser, is there a pattern well why don’t some one check. And what if the innocent person shot with a taser suffered from congested heart failure, Well I do and I almost died, who will stand up with me protest,protest,protest.When will the public here my story.
When you learn to spell.
Actually, the spelling is pretty good. Now, there’s a problem with when to pluralize and what tense should be used, and there’s also a rather large problem with punctuation, but there’s nothing wrong with the basic spelling.
So, as usual, Vonster is wrong.
Gee…I “HERE” you, Stoner. Asshole.
Ha ha! Good ol’ “I don’t call anybody names” Vonnie strikes again.
You know I don’t usually. Sometimes it’s well justified.
So did you catch “here” instead of “hear”??
Will you admit I was right?
Mr. Fred Young, if you were unjustly tasered in your kitchen, then why would you plead guilty to the crimes for which you were ultimatley arrested for? Stop playing the race card to make yourself the victim of brutality. Don’t hide behind the computer and cower in the face of the courtroom.
There are a enormous amount of politics, and consorting business people who run the sheriff departments police officers. Let it be known that a certain developer in East Peoria has a great amount of pull with the sheriffs department. In many occasions he has used the old fashioned back pocket politics to get things “Taken Care of” in his own way. This person I speak of is Gary _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, owner of numerous developments, land, and brokerages.
One phone call, and he gets what he needs done, without question. Just watch and wait on this one. The truth will rise to the top, like cream, bastards, and money always does. It’s the poor black neighborhoods who will never have these opportunities, and as the violence rises in these areas, the police will still come running for the rich, and drive slow for the poor.
It makes me, a hard working black man sick. I have witnessed the stupidity of the police force here, and I am sick of it. They treat all blacks the same, but one single white developer get treated like a movie star. Why?
Is it the color of skin, or the amount of money, or both that makes this man stand out, and be treated like a god?
Shame on this town, this police force, and the sheriff department. Shame on this racist pig, and all the white police officers who back him!! I want justice for all the blacks, and the poor people who get treated like cockroaches by this disgusting sheriff office!!
It needs to stop, and I will be standing on any corner I wish, at any time of night, with out drugs in my pocket, and I will be harassed by a cop, or two in a matter of seconds. Why? Because I’m a black man!
Now do the same with a white man, what will happen? Not a dam thing!
How do I know this, because it’s true!!!!!
Race card? No. racism!!!!
Rosco _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _!
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