Off-duty Chicago police officer shot outside his home

[alp227]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- A Chicago, Illinois, police officer was shot and killed Sunday morning after finishing his shift, police said.

Officer Michael Bailey, a decorated 20-year veteran of the department, had returned to his home on the south side of Chicago. He was shot outside his personal vehicle about 6 a.m. (7 a.m. ET), police said.

Bailey was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:40 a.m., police said

Police had no one in custody as of Sunday afternoon, but suspect more than one attacker, spokesman John Mirabelli said.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/18/chicago.police.fatal/index.html

---

11 days ago, Officer Thor Soderberg was killed during a scuffle with a suspect. Bailey is the third Chicago police officer to be killed since May.

[virgogal]

1. What on earth is going on in Chicago ?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. two mexican gangs are fighting about pot

coke, and smack distribution and profits.

The weekends in Garfield Park (part of Chicago's south side) resemble a shooting gallery. last night, 17 shot, 3 dead. last weekend, something worse.

[virgogal]

5. Sad,sad,sad-----and a beautiful city too.

[amandabeech]

9. My thoughts exactly. n/t

[rfranklin]

15. Good thing we have those drug laws...

to keep enriching the criminals.

[Recursion]

18. 1/5th the level of violence that was going on 20 years ago

Give or take.

[Aristophrenia]

33. Really,

More people have been killed in Chicago than US soldiers in Afghanistan - and Iraq - combined.


Google it.

[X_Digger]

37. And 20 years ago it was quite a bit higher..

The homicide rate has continued to drop, see FBI's UCR for 2007, 2008, 2009. (Not Chicago specific, admittedly, but you could correlate 1995-2009 based on the tabular data if you like- http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm.)



See http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=kfa for more trends nationwide.

[Recursion]

47. Yep. Now double-triple that, and that was the murder rate 20 years ago.

The early 90s were not a kind time.

[slackmaster]

63. Prohibition has backfired

Again.

[Kievan Rus]

71. This isn't the first time Chicago has experienced violence due to some sort of Prohibition

Chicago was arguably the most violent city during Prohibition during the 1920s; and it is also one of the most violent during the "War" on Drugs.

It's a major city, centrally located in the U.S., and also a major airport and covergence for rail lines, Interstate highways, and sea traffic (via the St. Lawrence Seaway).

[rpannier]

2. That's amazing

3 in about 2 months
Tragic

[MissDeeds]

3. RIP Officer Bailey

Decorated officer with twenty years on the force, killed on a Sunday morning. Heartbreaking.


:cry: :patriot:

[killbotfactory]

6. Chicago police are notoriously corrupt from what I've read and heard

It wouldn't surprise me if he a chicago police officer was involved in shady activities which ended up with them murdered.

[OnlinePoker]

7. Was wondering how long it would take before someone blamed the cop

No proof, but he must have been corrupt because, you know, you can't trust the police.

[killbotfactory]

8. If it wasn't a lone nut killing a cop because of some grudge against cops

Or some pissed off gang, then the cop was probably involved in something shady.

Odds are it was the last two.

http://humanrights.uchicago.edu/chicagotorture/

[cowman]

16. As the father

of a police officer I find your remarks offensive and vile, shame on you.

[killbotfactory]

54. I have more sympathy for the numerous people Chicago cops have tortured into false confessions

Or the numerous people they have beat up for flimsy reasons.

[Jazzgirl]

72. Sorry but Chicago police have a terrible reputation.

I remember the corrupt cops (and I'm not just guessing) on the south side when I was a kid and would stay with my Dad. It was scary because these were the guys that were supposed to protect you. Yep....lots of corrupt cops in Chicago.

[MissDeeds]

62. I agree

As the sister of a chief of police, I find the poster's remarks disgusting, too. Nothing like a rush to judgment, or blaming the victim...

[onehandle]

10. Nice.

:eyes:

[Better Today]

11. Yeah, I will be withholding any sympathy till we find out more. With the rep that cops have

in Chicago, Denver, Detroit, and ever increasingly nationwide; my first thought is to wonder if it was revenge for some corruption or another, or whether this is one of those cops who is less than ethical in his performance of his duties.

If and when I find out otherwise in a reliable way, then I'll have some sympathy.

[Politicalboi]

24. My first thought was

Is he black? Not all cops are bad.

[-..__...]

27. My first thought was

Were the perps black? Not all blacks are bad.

[-..__...]

29. Slf delete...

Responding to myself here. :(

[alp227]

14. Oh c'mon this is a few minutes away from getting deleted.

Seriously...the cop "deserved" it? Do you also think that everyone deserves the bad things that happened to them (don't even get me started on others!)

[Skip Intro]

20. Yeah, he deserved it. This place sometimes...

:puke:

[killbotfactory]

55. No one deserves to be murdered, ffs

Or to be tortured, or beat up for refusing to serve a drink to an off duty cop, or shot or tazed for no reason when pulled over, etc

[ChairmanAgnostic]

23. if I may, I run into CPD folks all the time.

The VAST majority, and I mean 99% of them are hard working, stressed out, diligent, and honest. They take their oaths, their jobs, and their duties seriously. The fact that the reality on the street continues to punch them in the face, well, they are used to it. Some of them are my friends, even though they know I am a pinko commie liberal attorney. They even come to me for legal advice, and never, ever never have they acted like I was their enemy. TO the contrary, they trust the system. Somewhat.

To say baldly that the CPD is notoriously corrupt, is to view Chicago from "greylord" or "Boss" - both important and wonderful books. But that is not today's CPD.

Not even close.

[proteus_lives]

25. You're disgusting.

[killbotfactory]

56. How many people were taken off death row due to Chicago PD corruption?

To me, that's disgusting. They earned their rep as far as I can tell.

[virgogal]

66. Niiiiice, Blame the victim.

[killbotfactory]

73. I am not blaming the victim. No one deserves to be murdered.

It is just highly unusual for a cop to be shot outside their own home, is it not? Chicago PD have a notorious reputation for corruption. 2+2 = ?

[Historic NY]

12. He was due to retire within a month..came home from guarding the mayor.

The officer, who had just gotten home and was still in his uniform, was cleaning the glass of his recently purchased 2010 black Buick when up to three men approached to steal his car, a source said. There was an exchange of gunfire between the officer and at least one of the men, the source said.

The officer was struck multiple times by gunfire, and the men fled and were being sought this morning, the source said. Three handguns, including one belonging to the officer, were found at the scene.

The source added that the officer's son, who was home at the time, grabbed his father's gun and ran outside after he saw his father on the ground. It was unclear if the son fired any shots at the attackers.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/07/off-duty-police-officer-shot.html

[EFerrari]

43. Why would anyone try to steal a car whose owner is right there?

Isn't that doing it the hard way?

Poor family.

[OnlinePoker]

44. You've never heard of carjacking?

Keys in the ignition make it a lot easier to drive.

[davepc]

45. carjacking a cop in uniform on his front lawn?

[OnlinePoker]

59. He had a windbreaker on over his uniform

They might have thought he was just an older guy with an slick car...an easy target. When he drew on them and announced he was police, they panicked and started shooting.

[EFerrari]

52. He wasn't in the car, though, and the keys don't appear to have been

in the ignition.

[Hawkowl]

49. Wearing his UNIFORM

I don't buy the car jacking thing for a minute. This sounds like an organized gang hit. Being originally from Chicago, I dislike cops intensely. However, it could very well be that some drug gang hit this guy because he wouldn't go along to get along.

Rocking the boat in Chicago gets you killed. Even the good cops know what can happen if you ask too many questions and start making waves.

[killbotfactory]

57. This tragic result is why it is generally advised to just give up your posessions when being robbed

Odds are no one will die if you don't fight back and just let them take whatever they came for.

[AKing]

13. Scumbags that are blaming the cop. This officer was within weeks of his retirement....

He was a guard at Daley's house. He lost his life because three mutts decided they wanted to steal his car. The South side of Chicago is a war zone.

[Recursion]

17. If cop shows taught me anything it's this: never be about to retire. NT

[Better Today]

19. I don't see anyone blaming, just not ready to be outraged. What does his retirement have to do with

whether or not he was a good cop or a corrupt or unethical cop? Based on what do you suppose that they wanted to steal his car?

Y'know I understand your outrage that some of us are not so initially sympathetic as you want us to be, but with all the news lately about police abuse, to the point of killing innocent people, to the point of killing innocent, handcuffed and laying face down on the ground people, ... well, blind faith in the goodness of the police collectively or individually is just foolish in my opinion.

[AKing]

21. The Officer had just bought a brand new Buick. It was a retirement present...

to himself. A month or two ago another cop,and a pillar of his community, got killed for his motorcycle. I'm no defender of the police,but this is a tragic story.

[Better Today]

22. Well, that's quite a leap to being related to auto theft, imo. I'll wait to find out how tragic

it ends up being. I'm not holding any hope at this time. The police are no longer generally good people, but instead power hungry, control freaks with guns and tasers to kill and torture with. Perhaps you are right, I'll stay open to the possibility.

[AKing]

26. Dude,I'm local and watch the news reports here. The cop had just gotten ..

off duty,and was still in uniform when 3 thugs came up to him and tried to steal his car. They didn't get it,btw. There is nothing sinister here,other than a good man losing his life.

[conscious evolution]

67. He was a guard at Daley's house

That little fact makes me think he was killed for a reason.
VIP security details see and hear a lot of 'interesting' things.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

28. Chicago is crazy now

I am seriously considering moving for the first time. Many of my friends have moved from the city I was just talking to an old friend about it today who moved to Los Angeles, he said it is like night and day as far as feeling safe.

I am really tired of it.

[-..__...]

30. Watch and wait...

King Richard is going to exploit the officers death as proof positive that the McDonald decision was wrong and even more gun control ("See, I told you so"), laws are needed.

I'll give him 48 hours... tops.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

31. I hope so

I am tired of not feeling safe and witnessing shootings.

I saw a guy get shot dead in the middle of an intersection in the Logan Square neighborhood a couple of years ago.

I guess if I didnt live in a war zone I might be more pro-2nd amendment.

[X_Digger]

34. Sounds like you believe there's a correlation between stronger laws and decreased crime..

Crime has been going down, not up, since the early 90's. At the same time, many state gun laws have not changed, or have become more liberal (as in freedom).

[-..__...]

35. Yes....

because the total ban for the last 28 years worked out so well. :eyes:

[spiritual_gunfighter]

38. Like I said

Living in a community where you are in danger of being shot changes your perspectives when it comes to 2nd amendment issues.

[-..__...]

41. Yeah...

like it would make me think of moving the fuck out. If not that... at least arming myself.

If neither is acceptable or doable for you... how compromising or open would you be to restricting
the 4th amendment rights of others if it empowered the police to lay down the wrath of God on the gang-bangers and contain the senseless violence that way?

[AtheistCrusader]

50. Yeah, it caused me to buy a shotgun and two handguns.

[SunnySong]

68. Yes I would buy a gun,,, nt

[spiritual_gunfighter]

40. Says the DU member

with a fucking Hello Kitty holding an AK-47

Stay classy.

[-..__...]

42. LOL!

A tongue in cheek cartoon character gets under your dust ruffle?

Are you for real?

LOL!

[SunnySong]

69. Why pick on Hello Kitty???/

I believe that is the leader of MILF...

[ChiTownChavista]

74. A violent gun worshiping wingnut.

why hang out here when you can don white sheets at the neighborhood Klan rally?

[proteus_lives]

36. Yes, no rights for the serfs.

Such a noble position you have.

:sarcasm:

[spiritual_gunfighter]

39. You live in Indiana

If you live in Gary or parts of Indy you might feel differently, I know that most of the people I talk to in Chicago support the gun ban, as do I.

I dont think having a handgun ban in a city that has had 217 homicides so far in 2010 is a bad thing.

[proteus_lives]

46. So you're ok with King Daley deciding what rights you should have?

" dont think having a handgun ban in a city that has had 217 homicides so far in 2010 is a bad thing."

217 homicides despite the sleaze-bag's wonderful ban. :eyes:

BTW, I've lived in seedy areas before. Didn't change my opinion on preserving my rights.

[Fruittree]

53. I don't want to get in the middle of someone else's discussion but..

In this case the victim had a gun and he still ended up being killed. Having a gun was not enough to protect him. I think the strongest weapon a criminal has is not necessarily a gun but the element of surprise.

[proteus_lives]

64. Good point.

[SunnySong]

70. If anything it makes one more aware for the need of self protection. nt

[AtheistCrusader]

51. So if 26 years of banning handguns doesn't prevent all those murders...

what will?

(It's a trick question, the only answer is 'shoot back'.)

[Recursion]

48. Hmmm

I saw a guy get shot dead in the middle of an intersection in the Logan Square neighborhood a couple of years ago.

Sounds like that was a really effective gun ban you guys had going there.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

60. Yeah

So I guess the answer is to have more handguns in the city of Chicago, make'em legal so everyone can have one and defend themselves, right?

The old west? Is that what you prefer.

I guess it is fucking typical that I am on DU arguing about guns with "liberals"

[Recursion]

61. A) I don't have to defend my liberal cred to anyone

B) you said

So I guess the answer is to have more handguns in the city of Chicago, make'em legal so everyone can have one and defend themselves, right?

I do not believe that getting rid of a handgun ban will actually increase the number of guns in Chicago. I'd be interested in what evidence you have that it would.

[Ter]

32. All this with a strict handgun ban

The murder weapon likely was bought before the SC correctly jumped in.

[killbotfactory]

58. Since he was a police officer he had a gun and fought back

If he hadn't fought back and just let them take the car he would have likely been alive today.

[edgrosvenor]

65. We have to start addressing the underlying social problems that lead to this violence

There's so much desperation in this city. The gangs provide about the only opportunity that some of these kids have. They can't get a decent education. They have no hope at a good job in the future. But they can sell weed, coke, and meth. I swear sometimes when I walk through the streets here in E. Garfield Park (a very gang-infested neighborhood on the west side), it almost looks like the gangs are running daycare centers. They hang out with the kids, buy them candy, and keep them safe. No wonder the kids grow up and want to join. That's who's raising them!

Anyway, I've gotten to the point where I have no faith in this city's ability to fix itself through government. I'm resorting to busting my ass trying to get something put together to help non-profits have a bigger impact through technology. And I'm resorting to prayer.

Anyone who has a Facebook account and a faith in God is welcome to join me in a city-wide call to prayer at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117067168340334 . Short of Divine intervention, I think this city's in serious, serious trouble.