Officer Herrera Goes Public

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

(CBS)  And he says nobody taught him how to do that job better than Officer Jerry Finnigan, a decorated Chicago cop Herrera had known and admired since he was a child. Finnigan is now the alleged ringleader behind the raids that brought down the SOS unit.

"To me, he was like Superman. He was one of the best cops in the city," Herrera says.

Herrera says Finnigan took him under his wing. "Sometimes people called me 'Little Jerry,'" he says.

Caught on a security video, Jerry Finnigan and some 20 officers were taped during an SOS raid on a bar. They frisked the customers, and then arrested one of them, all inside the bar. But the police report told a completely different story: that the man was outside, on the sidewalk, and was arrested holding an "open bottle of Corona beer" and a bag of cocaine. When the security video surfaced, the case was thrown out.

Prosecutors have dismissed roughly 150 other cases made by the indicted SOS officers, including Keith Herrera.

"Was it a well known practice in SOS to write things in police reports that didn't actually happen on the scene?" Couric asks.

"'Creative writing' was a certain term that bosses used to make sure that the job got done," Herrera says. "I didn't just pick up a pen and just learn how to do this. Bosses. Guys that I work with that were older than I was. That had time on the job, you learn this stuff. It's taught to you. 'This is how it's done. This isn't right. Put this in there.' And you gotta listen to them."

"Nobody said, 'You need to chill out a little bit here'?" Couric asks.

"Not once," Herrera says. "I got high-fives and honorable mentions and department commendations."

And he wasn't just getting commendations: misconduct complaints against Herrera and other members of the SOS unit were among the highest in the entire department and almost nothing was done. The department's own data shows those officers were disciplined less than one percent of the time. Federal authorities are now investigating what role police supervisors and the Internal Affairs division had in letting those cops stay on the streets.

Police Superintendent Jody Weis, former head of the FBI in Philadelphia, was brought in by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley earlier this year to overhaul the department.

"Considering the low rate of disciplinary action against the SOS officers, are you concerned that an atmosphere existed where members of the department thought that they could commit misconduct with impunity?" Couric asks.

"I think there probably was an atmosphere that, 'Hey, we're above the law. We're getting great stats, we're pulling guns off the street, we're taking down drug dealers. Yeah, maybe we are breaking the rules, maybe we are breaking the laws, but look what we've accomplished.' They lost their way. And it saddens me. Because supervisors have a lot of power. And if they're encouraging their people to engage in misconduct or actually, in some instances, to even engage in criminal activity, that is horrific in my eyes," Weis says.

By the time Weis arrived in Chicago, the SOS unit had been disbanded, but he found the whole department needed shaking up.

An off-duty police officer seen in a surveillance video is facing criminal charges for kicking and beating a female bartender half his size; she claims she was kicked and beaten because she wouldn't serve him another drink. Cops videotaped in another incident have been charged with attacking a group of businessmen who were playing pool.

[tommyguntwo]

Journalists are you?

Flabbergasted that cops break the law?

The culture of elitism goes all the way to the top. Daley is one of the most strident gun control mayors in the nation yet to help out another elitist he supports a law just fot the elite. And this in the face of rising crime and murder.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/960265,CST-NWS-mell21-web.article

Why wouldn''t cops think they are above the law when they have such fine examples in Daley and Mell?

You need to read the article closely to see that the amnesty will not do what they use as justification and will affect only Mell.

A journalist worth his salt wouldn''t have missed such an obvious fact and couldn''t be caught staring open mouthed in wonder at cops following the play book.

[tommyguntwo]

Journalists are you?

Flabbergasted that cops break the law?

The culture of elitism goes all the way to the top. Daley is one of the most strident gun control mayors in the nation yet to help out another elitist he supports a law just fot the elite. And this in the face of rising crime and murder.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/960265,CST-NWS-mell21-web.article

Why wouldn''t cops think they are above the law when they have such fine examples in Daley and Mell?

You need to read the article closely to see that the amnesty will not do what they use as justification and will affect only Mell.

A journalist worth his salt wouldn''t have missed such an obvious fact and couldn''t be caught staring open mouthed in wonder at cops following the play book.

[apachegirl1]

In response to patriot12436: I do know about Herrera.. He will still be doing the time & if you think 30 years is light well you''re wrong. No deals were made I know this & that''s all I can say on this topic. He did the right thing by going public & for working with the FBI. He was strong enough to come forth for his fellow officers & their families. If he didn''t well the subject of 4 police officers being murdered would be the topic today. You think? Beleive me when I say I KNOW KEITH HERRERA''S CASE..

[nanging3]

Is everyone in Chicago so controversial ?

Obama
Wright
Farrahkan
Ayers
Dorn

[nanging3]

Petition to remove Pfleger at

www.thepetitionsite.com/1/removable-
of-father-michael-pfleger

[smurfcrusher]

One man stands to collect $4 million after a jury found two officers liable for sodomizing him with a screwdriver.

That''s screwed up. Someone clearly has some screws loose, but in the top, not the bottom.

[patriot12436]

winsor1 and diatreme
As tempting as it might be to bend or break the rules, staying on the right side of the rule book is the difference between the bad guys and the police. You can''t imagine how frustrating this can be for a police officer at times but we have to maintain our standard and our honor.

[patriot12436]

questzalcrist
Next time you need the police to save your butt, call a monkey.

[patriot12436]

REDTAZ73
Didn''t i arrest you somewhere before, probably more than once. I would refer a cop with a badge be a gangster than these wanna be gangbangers .

[patriot12436]

apachegirl1
It is spelled LIAR, NOT LAIR.

[patriot12436]

fedupwithpols
How many police do you actually know. Your comment about police being currupt only shows your lack of knowledge. Maybe you are the type they were arresting.There is bad in all groups. They caught this group and are prosecuting them. Who do you think caught them, bad cops ? Be reasonable. most police are honesdt hard working citizens like yourself that only want to do the job right. My law professor in college stressed that we must maintain out integrity above all else. He was right. I never met a cop who took the job to make big money, unless he planned on doing crimes. I put my own partner in Leavenworth for this reason.

[patriot12436]

apachegirl1
You know nothing about Herrara. He is making a deal with the DA to testify so he will get off lighter than the others. AMCPD2 has been there and knows what it is all about. You do not have the experience in this area to know what you are talking about.

[memerider]

And Chicago wants to disarm ordinary law-abiding citizens? They need to issue guns to the citizens and train them all in gun safety and shooting skills. Since the police not only have no duty to protect you, as the Supreme Court ruled, and the police themselves ARE the criminals, the citizens are Chicago''s only hope.

[apacherights]

I wasn''t going to comment, because it lacks intelligence. He who lives in glass houses shouldn''t throw stones...

You say good coppers always spot bad ones... well how would you know? Watch it!

Posted by lean12 at 03:57 PM : Jun 02, 2008
These guys are going to have so much fun in jail, sodomy with a screwdriver sounds horrific but I bet the cons in whatever hole they end up in can come up with something a whole lot worse for these particular ***, and they deserve everything that''''s coming too them! Posted by lean12 at 03:56 PM : Jun 02, 2008
Herrera is a criminal. He was dirty from day one. He only told his version of the story because he lost his way in the dept and thinks this might help him out of a long, long jail term.

[apacherights]

response to tee-en-ay ...

Your right it is the tip of the iceberg.. The end results are within the truth and right or wrong the truth is told.

In the positions they find themselves, and when your in it all, the questions are, you either do as your told or you may end up hurt.

The story Kieth told was all in truth, we as a people know this through experience... dealing with cops and the bad guy in one way or another.

The system was that way long before he came along, and he just confirmed it by doing the interview. It takes a lot to speak the truth.

But I can say for a fact Keith not alone there are those that will stand behind him, and watch his back... Keith has a strong family. He''s got a lot of friends and family that will be here and never ever let anything happen to him...


Posted by tee-en-ay at 02:37 PM

Baloney. This is the tipp of the iceberg, and he fell into the fallacy of groupthink, where a group or organization believes they are infallible. The system was this way long before he came along. He better look out for himself, because noone else will.

[apachegirl1]

In response to lean12 : So what you are saying is that you know what goes on in Jail? I see you been there done that! HUH? GET A LIFE MORON!!!! OR MAYBE YET GO BACK TO JAIL YOU LIKE THAT FUN STUFF DON''T YOU...

[apachegirl1]

In response to rudy654: Why nail this guy to the cross he''s the one who came forth I beleive he has more courage then most of you cops & people that are writing bad *** on this comment blog.. Beleive me there are alot of people out there who has his back.. He has risk his life more than once & I''m sure he will do it again.. What you? Not!!!

[apacherights]

I guess your saying you can''t break the law anymore huh? Bad Apple, maybe you should have a look at yourself before you judge this one.. Cause the truth was always there. I think this guy just confirmed what we all know ... face the facts your busted.

This bad apple ruined the rest of the bushel. Only time will heal the very bad wound.

[apachegirl1]

in response to tee-en-ay : See you don''t see the whole picture here... Again you are not in his shoes & you can''t tell me if your life was on the line you wouldn''t do the same.. So shut up.. You know nothing.. Again he just saved some lives & familes involve.. moron.... Plus you can''t tell me that you never did wrong.. Judith...

[rudy654-2009]

This bad apple ruined the rest of the bushel. Only time will heal the very bad wound.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by tee-en-ay at 02:37 PM

Baloney. This is the tipp of the iceberg, and he fell into the fallacy of groupthink, where a group or organization believes they are infallible. The system was this way long before he came along. He better look out for himself, because noone else will.