A few bad Chicago DUI cops spoil everything

I was talking to a prosecutor the other day who was handling a post-conviction relief matter related to a defendant's arrest by former Chicago Top DUI Cop John Haleas, and he teased me about being a conspiracy theorist based on my defense of folks charged with a DUI.

I assured him that I had experienced my own realization long before the current scandals that Chicago Police officers don't always tell the truth.  You see, I used to be a prosecutor for the City of Chicago.  I came to  the world of defense believing that most police officers were doing the best they could and they were honest.  I still hold the belief that the police are supposed to rise above many things that everyday citizens would not, including name-calling, but that is another matter.  I had a case a few years ago with a highly respected Chicago Top DUI cop.  In that case, I had advised my client that his police officer was well-regarded in court and testified well so that we had our work cut out for us if we were going to beat his Chicago DUI charges.  It was important to my client because he held a job, as a civilian working for the Chicago Police Department and he assured me that he was not drunk when he was charged with the DUI by the Chicago Top DUI cop.

As I reviewed the Chicago Top DUI cop's police reports for my client, something immediately jumped out at me.  I recognized the location of the stop; several years earlier I lived in the area where my client was arrested.  I found it odd because the Chicago Top DUI cop mentioned arresting my client for running a stop sign...that I knew did not exist.  I immediately drove over to my old neighborhood because I thought perhaps there might now be a stop sign.  There was no stop sign there.  In fact there was no stop sign or stop/light within three blocks of the arrest location. It was immediately clear to me that this Chicago Top DUI cop had fabricated details in his arrest report. As I have said on more than one occasion, this is Chicago, there is more than enough real crime.  Chicago police officers do not have to make up charges against anyone.  

I went to trial, complete with photos of the area, and my client was found not guilty of all charges.  This one case did shake my core belief that Top Chicago DUI cops were above making up charges against folks.  Time, and time, and time again I find my belief in the trustworthiness of Chicago DUI cops continues to be shaken.