Rachel Currie of Naperville was allegedly threatened by an off-duty 41 year old Chicago police officer near the Planned Parenthood facility in Aurora on Wednesday.
The man, who has not been identified by either Aurora or Chicago police, came to the facility with a 31 year old female.
When he was approached by Currie, one of the sidewalk counselors who offers suggested alternatives to abortion, he allegedly displayed a gun and then proceeded into the Planned Parenthood facility.
Aurora police say they found a gun inside the man's vehicle, but he claims he only displayed his badge to her, which he also had.
However, there's no explanation as to why he would be flashing a Chicago police badge in Aurora when he's off-duty.
Eric Schiedler of the Pro-Life Action League says while sidewalk counselors have felt threatened before, this is the first time anyone has used a gun.
Planned Parenthood says the incident happened outside of their property, but they will cooperate with Aurora police.
Criminal charges may be pursued against the off-duty police officer and it remains to be seen if any other disciplinary action will be taken by Chicago police as well.
Note: Video and photo courtesy of Daily Herald
40 comments:
He should be terminated and his pension taken away. That is a breach of the public trust and tarnishes all officers.
Chicago cops are well known for their lack of charm. Pulling a gun on an annoying person is a criminal act. He wasn't showing her his badge. She can tell the difference between gun and a badge. Even with the publicity this incident has reveived I doubt any serious charges will be brought. The brothers protect their own even when they're from somewhere else.
They better damn well protect the gal threatened with the gun, and NOT PROTECT some Chicago thug cop.
DANG!! Now, tell me this:...why would any off-duty cop (Chicago cop or not) flash a badge(or gun) when somebody approaches them?
Shouldn't there have been some form of escalating response depending on the level of perceived "threat"?
And if indeed a police badge (not a gun) was flashed..why would the girl call 911 to bring in more cops (with badges)?
This story stinks to high heaven...
Here's my version of the story...the Chicago cop did not want any "proof" that he got a girl pregnant and went out to the suburbs to have her get an abortion...the pregnant girl is most likely against the decision so the cop parked outside of PP (instead of going in directly) to convince the girl that "everything will be alright".
Counselor Girl sees them park behind her and might have seen a discussion going on (I highly doubt they're arguing on what to rent at Blockbuster or what to buy at Dominick's) and approached the driver side.
In his 'heightened' state of mind in trying to convince the impregnated girl of the decision...he comes face to face with the reality of what he wants done via the literature from the counselor. He pulls a gun to scare off the counselor and then drove into the PP parking lot.
Flashed a badge, my a$$...
This cop should be suspended. There are too many LEO's think they can get away with anything just because they have a badge and a gun.
I think 11:32 got it right.
A Freedom of Information request should get a copy of the police report to identify the Chicago police officer.
It will be interesting to see how the "law & order" pro-life states attoney in DuPage County handles this case.
Please don't protect this guy. Identify him. Don't let him hide behind the badge. C'mon guys, he assaulted someone in Aurora with a gun, he's no better than a King or a Duece.
Sounds serious. But i like to deal in facts. How many witneses are there? Is it just one? If so, is it ok to charge and convict someone with just witness and no other evidence. For example, if your neighbor said you're kid pointed a gun at him, should the cops arrest and convict him? Ah yes the due process afforded by the constitution. If you don't like it, move to Russia or Iran.
What are the chances that a sidewalk counselor
(1) would claim that a gun was pointed at them,
(2) describe the gun
(3) police find a gun matching the description in the car
and it didn't happen as they said.
How would the sidewalk counselor know that there was a gun unless it had been pointed at them or at least pulled on them to intimidate them.
The Aurora Police spokesman suggested that maybe she got confused because both the gun and the badge are silver.......bullshit !!..............common sense tells you that she didn't just make this up. This two-bit coward who pulls a gun on a woman should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. This isn't Chicago where the cops lie and get full metal jacket protection. This is Aurora, let's stand for something.
I'm not for abortion, but maybe the "sidewalk counselors" should be a little less assertive.
The Mayor needs to order the police chief to do a full investigation!
Where is Judge Roy Bean when you need him?
Nothing will be done. They'll wait until it all blows over, and people forget about it.....business as usual.
Gee I wonder how the f-ing police would react if a citizen flashed a gun at a pig?
The "Sidewalk Counselor" needs to get a life. Go home and leave these people alone.
9:40pm you are indeed an idiot. NO ONE should ever get away with pointing a gun at anyone. I hope APD is not playing a game of "protecting the boys in blue brotherhood". If they try sweep this under the rug, I want to see this lady go after them legally as well as this thug cop. Don't you ever justify someone pulling a gun on someone else just for handing them some literature by saying someone should "go home and leave these people alone". This is still the USA not China, North Korea or any other police state. If the APD and City of Aurora pulls a fast one covering for this thug cop they should be gone after legally as well. This has nothing to do with whether you are pro-abortion or not, this is a criminal act. Terminate this guy and take his pension like 5:53am said. Release this thug cop's name and stop covering for him, if anyone else would have done this they would have their name all over the news. Stop the coverup. He could have chosen any of the many abortion mills in Chicago to cover up his deed, but he chose Aurora because it is considered a dumping ground for unwanted "medical waste". He committed a crime while he was here and thought he could get away with it. Do not let this crime be swept under the rug.
The citizens of Aurora gave the APD a new 120 million dollar police station. APD shows their appreciation by choosing to protect a bad cop instead of protecting a citizen in Aurora. They won't even release the guys name for christ sakes. APD= No Accountabiltity.
8:55am you have got it right. WE NEED TO HAVE A TOTAL INVESTIGATION OF HOW THIS MESS WAS HANDLED. NO COVERUP!!!
Personally, I would really like to see the Mayor and City Council step forward and let it be known that "pulling a gun" on someone in Aurora is totally unacceptable. Someone needs to hold this guy accountable, it seems that the Aurora Police Department isn't going to do that. Please do SOMETHING. PLEASE.
Gee, in other threads, many of you talk about the virtues of carrying a gun for "protection". Sounds like you're talking out of both sides of your mouths on this one.
10:21am are you the same idiot as 9:40pm? No one needs to be "protected" from someone handing them a piece of literature, all any sane, respectable person needs to do is refuse to take it if they do not want it. I take it you are a promoter of baby-killing, so killing (or at least threatening to kill) a side-walk counselor sounds like a good and justifiable idea to you. You are indeed a sick person. By the way, I am NOT in favor of anyone carrying a weapon on their person.
and Aurora Police did nothing. Except complain how overworked they are. As usual.
APD did what is done in many instances where there is no clear probable cause. They took a report documenting all the statements and referred the victim to go to the State's Attorney's Office of the county of jurisdiction, in this case it is the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.
The fourth amendment to the US constitution states that the police need probable cause to make an arrest. With no independent witnesses and conflicting statements between the victim and the offender, it does not appear that there is PC for the arrest at this time. The offender, off duty officer, still has the same rights that you and I do. In cases like these, the victims are referred to the State's Attorney's Office to file charges. It is then up to the SA's office to decide if there is proabable cause for them to pursue the case. It is done every day in every PD for all types of situations. Remember, it is the State's Attorney who prosecutes and authorizes charges, not the police, and the SA's office then has to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. If they don't have that, then they cannot proceed. It doesn't mean that the victim was lying or that the off duty officer was correct in what he did, it just means that they cannot prove in court that he broke the law.
The key issue here is the elements of disorderly conduct 720 ILCS 5/26-1(a)(1) "A person commits disorderly conduct when he: (1) Does any act in such an unreasonable manner as to alarm and disturb another and to provoke a breach of peace" Those are the elements of DC. Now you have to break the incident down. The victim was clearly alarmed and disturbed, so that element was met, but did the off duty officer act in such an unreasonable manner? Is it such an unreasonable act for an off duty police officer (who is legally allowed to carry a gun off duty anywhere in the county) to be in his own vehicle holding his own gun? Did the off duty officer knowingly possess his firearm for the purpose of alarming and disturbing the protester? I think given that she approached him, this may be difficult to prove. Had the officer initiated the contact and then he pulled a gun, it would be a slam dunk case against him and probably for bigger charges. But he did not initate the contact, he was in his vehicle, minding his own business, and, as a police officer, he can have a gun. I don't think it is unreasonable for an off duty officer to be in possession of his gun in his own vehicle and I don't think the officer had knowledge that he would be alarming and disturbing this protester because he never knowingly initiated any contact with her.
12:30 - please, now the Aurora police care about probable cause? Oh come on, these clowns violate law after law every day with impunity and rouse innocent citizens based on what they were, what time of day or night they are out and about and pretty much do as they damn well please. What is different now if it involves another cop, so suddenly law and order matters.
If he's not being protected then why don't we know his name as of yet ? There's absolutely no reason for his name being withheld from the public. He's clearly being given a "professional courtesy".........at the expense of a woman who was threatened with a gun. Congratulations APD.
12:53
You have committed libel. We can't wait to find out who you are and explain y9our comments. Hope you have a lot of $$$$$.
The "sidewalk counselor" (and by sidewalk counselor I mean annoying fuck who tries to push their beliefs on other people) is a fucking idiot. Yeah, let's walk up to people we don't know and tell them crap they don't want to hear. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
Yes 4:29pm we can see how intelligent and articulate you are by your command of profane language. Go read the U.S. Constitution. Everyone in this country has the right to free speech (even an idiot like you) and NO ONE has a right to threaten someone else with a deadly weapon even if you don't agree with what that person has to say. I would suggest anyone with an iota of intelligence not bother to argue with someone who considers threatening someone else with a gun, (which is a crime by the way) a reasonable way to get someone else to "mind their own business".
Blow me.
3====D~~~~
how many innocent people have been murdered by these anti abortion fanatics over the years.the majority of these terrorists have no life and need to get one
"how many innocent people have been murdered by these anti abortion fanatics over the years"
-----------------------------
Compare that number with the millions of unborn American babies killed by aborionists in the US and see where you end up...
IF you total ALL the American deaths from ALL the wars the US has been involved in from the Revolutionary war to the present
...you wont even come close to the number of unborn babies killed by Abortion since Roe V Wade...
Too bad
If some radical extreamist approachs my car in some psycho manor I'm pointing my gun at them too. If you don't want to look down the barrel of a gun stop running up on peoples cars.
Its funny that nobody knows what really happened. They all want the cops name. Who was the lady who ran up on him. Where does she work. Whats her background. Has she stabbed or shot someone before. We all want names but none of us will but are names down on here!!!
8:11 and 8:18...I totally agree with you
to 12/19/09 1242pm
abortion is legal murder is not so take your stats from all the wars and stuff them.t
The woman's story doesn't ring true to me at all. The term "sidewalk counselor" is a new one. Is she a certified counselor? Who employs her?
I certainly wouldn't assume this woman is any kind of credible witness. She sounds like a person waiting to act out her personal beliefs at a very stressful time in other people's lives. I'm sure the people she accosted were rightfully put out.
This is what the citizens of Aurora for their 120 million investment in the APD....a police department that refuses to protect someone who was clearly threatened with a gun.
The Chief of Police in Aurora doesn't have the balls to do the right thing and protect the citizens of Aurora who are being threatening with a firearm. He doesn't even the balls to make a statement on the issue. Instead he hides behind the media spokesman by telling him to tell the public some bullshit story about the lady not being able to tell the difference between a badge and a gun. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. APD is embarrassing. I hope they enjoy their new station that was paid for by the citizens they're supposed to be protecting.
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