Confrontation with a Cop

Just had a terrible experience with one of Chicago's "finest" and am curious to know if anyone has ever filed a complaint about a police officer's driving and behavior on the road.  I was riding south in the bike lane on Halsted between Roosevelt and 14th in the middle of the afternoon on NYE when a police van made a left turn right in front of me.  He was on the east side of Halsted and made a very wide left to head south onto Halsted, so wide that his van essentially was swinging right into the bike lane directly in front of me.  He stopped abruptly and so did I to avoid a collision.  It was an absolutely terrible left turn on his part -- it was almost like he was going straight at me -- and as I pedaled past him, I glared into the car.  Only glared --  no shouting, no fingers.  Then, as he passed me moments later, he yelled 'F*^$ YOU, YOU A$$HOLE' to me outside the passenger side window.  He then turned right on what I think was 14th and that was the end of exchange. 

Before even catching my breath, I immediately called 311 and have now filed an incident report with the Internal Affairs Division of the CPD.  Has anyone gone through this process?  I have been given a complaint number and I've been told to follow up in 10-12 days, at which point my case will have been assigned an investigator.  I want the officer behind the wheel of this police van painted held accountable for his actions on the road.  Any advice on how to navigate this process would be greatly appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on December 31, 2012 at 11:46am

Did you have the number of the police vehicle?  If you have that, they can confirm who was assigned to be driving it at the time. 

But, frankly, nothing will come of this.  Cops routinely get away with multiple brutality beefs and other complaints from citizens.  if the CPD even follows up, the cop will just say no such thing happened, or that you gave him the finger, and it'll be You Say, He Says, and when that happens, that's the end of it.  Without independent third-party witnesses to this kind of behavior, it will NEVER get the cop in trouble.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 31, 2012 at 6:21pm

Some of them are really good people, and some are assholes.  I'm sorry you had such an unpleasant encounter with one of the assholes.

Bill's right about needing an independent witness to get anywhere with this sort of thing.  FYI - the vehicle number he refers to is NOT the one painted on the vehicle.  You need the beat tag # - the one on the black and white tag on top of the light bar.

Permalink Reply by Joe Willis on January 2, 2013 at 3:56am

If the IA deem it as an actual issue expect a vist from some of the local beat cops "asking" if you really want to pursue it.

Permalink Reply by PFEggs on January 2, 2013 at 4:22am

Appreciate all the responses.  A few days removed from the incident I am certainly less upset than I was immediately after it happened.  As of now, I still plan to check with IA in a few days to see if the incident has been assigned an officer.  Though I don't really expect much to come of this complaint -- and I did report the vehicle and beat number -- I just want the officers responsible to answer questions about the incident.  I'd like to believe that some positive can result from reporting this confrontation.

Permalink Reply by El Dorado on January 3, 2013 at 5:35am

PFE, while I commend you on following through with the complaint. I have to ask, are you from Chicago?! No other metro city in this country has the free reign that our CPD does. Right or wrong "it is what it is." I was once almost run over by an unmarked car speeding down a one way street with their lights off at night.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on January 3, 2013 at 6:05am

Best to stay as far away from cops as possible.  Treat a cop car like it is an ambulance or fire truck with the lights and siren running.  This goes for cabs as well -very unpredictable and can do anything on the road without notice up to an including riding up over the curb and onto the sidewalk.  Stay out of their way and keep an eye out to identify them on the road.

A cop car (or even a fire truck or ambulance) can maneuver erratically at any time with or without turning on its lights or sirens.  The same goes for a taxi.

Remember, these cops are more important than you or I, as civilians.  We are expendable on the street, and if we get in their way while they do their duty they will not be punished or face any long-term issues other than maybe a little paperwork hassle. 

Inside a patrol car or on foot, I treat the police like a dangerous animal or a table saw running unsupervised without any guards installed.  They are just best left outside of arm's reach. 

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on January 3, 2013 at 6:24am

Mountie Captain: I do not approve of your methods! 
Ness: Yeah, well... You're not from Chicago. 


El Dorado said:

PFE, while I commend you on following through with the complaint. I have to ask, are you from Chicago?! No other metro city in this country has the free reign that our CPD does. Right or wrong "it is what it is." I was once almost run over by an unmarked car speeding down a one way street with their lights off at night.

Permalink Reply by PFEggs on January 3, 2013 at 6:36am

I have lived her for the past 10+ years, so I'm definitely a Chicagoan.  Thankfully, I haven't had any dealings with cops in the past.  For the most part, I agree that whenever I see officers I feel less at ease and more threatened than when none are around.  As for this complaint, the more I read postings to this thread, the more I want a record of this type of police behavior.  I sincerely hope there are never serious incidents involving cops and a cyclist -- or anyone and cyclists for that matter -- but if one does arise, records of incidents like the one I experienced could show a pattern of CPD recklessness and contempt for cyclists. 

I will be sure to post how my complaint is handled by CPD and Internal Affairs.

Permalink Reply by Kara B on January 3, 2013 at 9:45am

thank you for having the presence of mind and follow-through to report this guy. "it is what it is" isn't going to get us anywhere, and, with all the new bike lanes/new riders, built and planned, we actually have reason to believe we are going somewhere. 

PFEggs said:

I have lived her for the past 10+ years, so I'm definitely a Chicagoan.  Thankfully, I haven't had any dealings with cops in the past.  For the most part, I agree that whenever I see officers I feel less at ease and more threatened than when none are around.  As for this complaint, the more I read postings to this thread, the more I want a record of this type of police behavior.  I sincerely hope there are never serious incidents involving cops and a cyclist -- or anyone and cyclists for that matter -- but if one does arise, records of incidents like the one I experienced could show a pattern of CPD recklessness and contempt for cyclists. 

I will be sure to post how my complaint is handled by CPD and Internal Affairs.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on January 5, 2013 at 5:16am

Don't talk to the police -not even flipping them off...

Permalink Reply by globalguy on January 5, 2013 at 7:00am

And this from Slate for other cop "interactions": "Some Tips on How to Avoid 'Consensual' Police Encounters".


Serge Lubomudrov said:

Not directly related, but interesting:

http://youtu.be/Vxx6H7PzJOo
Permalink Reply by Anika on January 5, 2013 at 6:29pm
I had a similar incident with an officer in my beat this summer. I was with a child and slurs and threats were made to me after the cop forced us off the road with his vehicle.

I filed a report with IA the day after it happened after talking to several people (and posting here - not sure how to search and repost since there was good advice given). To this day, my file is still under investigation. I called the community liaison officer at the precinct with no response. I was asked to leave our beat meeting when the subject came up. And when I was doored 4 weeks later (also with both kids) it took 3 trips into the station to file a police report. The officer with which this incident occurred harrasses me on occasion still (I have a unique bike and am easy to pick out). I am glad there is a record as there should be, but I often regret ever having to go through the process since it has not made it easier to bike in my own community.

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