Comments on: Officer Herrera Goes Public

Indicted Chicago Police Officer Tells 60 Minutes His "Bosses" Knew Of And Encouraged Lies

[whatithink-2009]

Bad cops get away with things because many in the general public let them. Just add the name "officer" to a bad person and they can do what they want to do.

[ohearn3]

I APPLAUD OFFICER HERRERA''S COURAGE TO COME FORTH & HOPE & PRAY HIS BOLDNESS HAS A IMPACT ON POLICE OFFICERS ACROSS OUR NATION.
HERE''S A GREAT RULE OF THUMB......
YOU POLICE OFFICERS HAVE A WONDERFUL CODE OF SILENCE WHEN IT MISCONDUCT AMONG EACH OTHER.
WHEN WE PRIVATE CITIZENS COME FORTH W/ INFO TO SOLVE A CRIME....WE OFTEN TIMES ARE NOT PROTECTED & ACCUSED OF WRONGDOING....TAKING ATTENTION AWAY FROM WHATS REALLY HAPPENING.
KATIE HOW ABOUT A FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEW WITH SOME VICTIMS & HOW THEY ARE AFFECTED BY OFFICER HERRERA & THE OTHER POLICE OFFICER''S CONDUCT. I HAVE EXPERIENCED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF BACKLASH FOR SPEAKING OUT AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN...FORCED FROM MY HOME TWICE, ENDURING TREMENDOUS FINANCIAL HARDSHIP,
& ALSO RECEIVING HARASSMENT FROM THE POLICE DEPT. FOR REPORTING INFO. RE: DRUG TRAFFICKING. MY CHARACTER WAS FALSELY JUDGED & I FALSE MADE UP ARRESTS BY MY LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT WHO IS PART OF COOK COUNTY.
IT SEEMS NO MATTER WHAT BRANCHES OF OUR SYSTEM I CONTACT..FOR 2 YRS NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE!! I HAVE HAD TO RESORT TO ASKING THE MEDIA FOR HELP. THANK U KATIE FOR DOING THIS INTERVIEW & FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME!!!

[patriot12436]

b

[carlylaine]

Cops are here for no other reason but to enforce the law, which is Constitutional. Most cops suffer from TARTUFFE syndrome and get away with because most of you suffer from the same affliction.

The bad cops are all over....not just a few. AND YOU GUYS VOTE IN RESTRICTIVE LAWS so that even the most benign of disorders becomes a felony.

Cops are NARCISISSTS AND TARTUFFES. Remember those words....

[tootall10142]

We need five thousand more just like them but they need the authority to excute and if they break the rules of honest exucution well shoot them too.

[onceagirl]

My next door neighbor is a retired police officer, a very gentle man with a heart as big as gold. I asked him about this case and he told me that as long as the courts don''t do the people''s will and the system protects the guilty, eventually a lot of good cops will surrender to the frustration of seeing their life sacrifices being ridiculed by a good law firm. It''s difficult to tell kids to obey the law when all you have to do is look on the streets and you see the young dealers driving Escalades and living the good life, snubbing their noses at us..ergo the system we have allowed to prosper is the very system that degrades the rights of the good honest people. I know in my heart he is right!

[patriot12436]

andor3
I don''t know what you are high on but i could find no logic in your statement.

[andor3]

"In Russia, the policing and prison system is so harsh,..."

in the USA we have the most people in prison per capita. Our "law enforcement" is corrupt and arbitrary, protecting the rich and harassing designated groups. Funny growing up, I was told it was the USSR that operated this way. I do not know about the USSR, but the USA clearly does.

[andor3]

cops who break the law or do evil? it is pretty much guaranteed and happens everywhere. there are NO "good guys" or "bad guys"

every cop is a criminal and all the sinners saints...

[amcpd2]

Herrera only did this to deflect the blame from himself. I call ***! Not once did he apologize for his OWN actions & inactions. It''s egomaniacs like him and the rest of the ''crew'' that give the real police a bad name. He may have initally walked in blind, but once money was tossed in his lap he shoulda walked away & done the right thing. He didn''t, and now he''s playing ''let''s make a deal'' to lessen his jail time. This wasn''t an act of courage, this is him trying to save his own *** now. To hell with him!

There are good and bad within any group - the police, sadly aren''t exempt from this. The vast majority of police officers are hard-working, decent, ETHICAL people. We (CPD) are just as sickened by these acts as are the general public.

[patriot12436]

feelfree4u
Give credit where due. Where there is one bad cop there are a thousand good ones. I agree this guy went public to make a deal with the DA so he will get off at least lighter than hs coconspirators.

[scclover]

Katie, why don''t you go on a ride along for a month this summer on the Westside? It will be fun for you!

[scclover]

Katie, why don''t you go on a ride along for a month this summer on the Westside? It will be fun for you!

[patriot12436]

goodcop2
I guess obama is too busy to help with problems in his home town, or maybe he is part of th problem. I wish you luck. What you are asking is very hard to get. I hope you succeed. I also agree for every bad cop there is a 100 good ones. Keepup the great job , we need more honest cops like you.

[goodcop2]

FYI:

The unsanctioned Chicago Police "Second City Cop" blog site follows with extensive commentary on this "60 Minutes" segment:

www.SecondCityCop.blogspot.com

Come visit. God bless the First Amendment.

The above blog site often includes the posts of invariably anonymous CPD officers, active and retired, commenting as citizens on matters of public concern. It also contains the drivel of impostors and trolls.

The reader must sort the wheat from the chaff.

[goodcop2]

On behalf of thousands of honorable Chicago Police with integrity and courage, consider this a desperate cry for HELP.

Under Mayor Daley, Chicago is the MOST POLITICALLY CORRUPT major city in the USA.

To casual visitors, tourist areas of Chicago give the appearance of a beautiful city of skyscrapers with a magnificent lakefront.

Beneath this facade, Daley''s corrupt political "CLOUT" has a stranglehold on the Chicago P.D.

Morale is non-existent. The corruption described in Ms. Couric''s interview displays only the bottom tip of "the Chicago Way". It starts with the first "domino"--Daley. Like a metastasizing cancer, political connections, nepotism and outright bribery are the determining factors in promotions, assignments and other perks in the CPD with no regard for ability, excellence and leadership qualities. Ergo, we have incompetent political hacks running the CPD.

While U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald, has many convictions of politicians, he can''t walk on water. Many officers perceive local media to be "in bed with Daley". He makes Machiavelli come out as a boy scout. While he is not a bright man, he is a political genius run amok.

Policing is a most noble calling in which we took great satisfaction in defending the innocent and defenseless and locking up the bad guys. Indeed, all too many officers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

We desperately need outside help. Any "top cop" appointed by Daley is merely a puppet.

PLEASE HELP US!

[rlm965]

Maybe we could look at LAPD closer too.

[patriot12436]

Yopur right i takes a lot of courage. In a case like this his life could well be in danger. He should be in protctive custody.

[patriot12436]

I resigned from my deparment because of politics. Two years later i testified for a person who was suspected of having family ties. I had been told when i first went to work to bust this guy every chance i got because he was dirty, in 6 years i never caught him doing anything wrong. My department tried to hang him with false charges and i tesitified onhis behalf that they had told me to get him. All charges were dropped and i was austracized by my department for telling the truth. I did the job the way i was told we had too. We took an oath to be honest and i was. They didn''t like it when it worked against them. The man was known to have connections but now days the family is getting awy from illegal enterprises and going legit. If i couldn''t catch the man by playing by the rule book then too bad. I took an oath of honor.

[bigboy1069]

This is a dirty miserable excuse for a human being. Whether we like it or not, the Constitution protects the rights of the accused. There is no excuse for his behavior and he needs to do some serious jail time. No protective custody for him becasue he is a cop. Cast him down with the sodomites so he can find out what a truly bad person is.