ROCKFORD UNION FAILS IN ATTEMPT TO HAVE POLICE CHIEF DISCIPLINED
In November 2013, the Police Benevolent and Protective Association (PB & PA- Rockford Chapter) filed a Complaint with the Rockford Board of Fire and Police Commissioners alleging that Rockford Police Department Chief Epperson interfered with, endangered and undermined Officers conducting a Welfare Check in October of 2013. The Union withdrew its Complaint after being told by the Board that it would conduct a Probable Cause Hearing. In June 2014 the PB & PA-Union filed Amended Charges with the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners containing allegations of misconduct supposedly perpetrated by the Chief of Police.
In substance, the allegations of the Union were that in October of 2013 Officers were dispatched to the home of then National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)-Rockford Chapter President Lloyd Johnston after his ex-wife called the Rockford Police Department (from Syracuse, New York) to report a scuffle she allegedly heard between Lloyd Johnston and his adult son. The ex-wife failed to mention that the scuffle occurred some 5 hours earlier in the day. Three (3) Rockford Patrol Officers were sent to the home of Lloyd Johnston at approximately 10:15 PM. Lloyd Johnston came to the front door of his home and asked the Officers why they were at his home. He was told by the Officers that he would find out once they got inside. After repeatedly asking why they were there and not receiving a clear answer, Lloyd Johnston refused to give consent for the Officers to enter his home until they explained the purpose for being at his home. One of the Officers made a statement (in substance) that he would kick Lloyd Johnston’s door in if he had to. Unable to obtain consent to enter Lloyd Johnston’s home, one of the three (3) Officers called the Rockford Dispatch and asked that a Supervisor be sent to the Johnston home.
Being faced with three (3) Officers who refused to explain to him why they were at his home, Lloyd Johnston called the Chief of Police. Lloyd Johnston was acquainted with the Chief of Police due to the Chief and the NAACP-Rockford Chapter President having met frequently to better the relationship between the African American Community and the Police Department. Such relationship was extremely strained after the shooting of an unarmed black man by a white Patrol Officer inside a daycare center located in a Church. The Chief advised Johnston not to let the Officers into his home and that he would send a Supervisor to his home to take command and control of the situation. A Supervisor eventually arrived at the Johnston home and the situation was resolved without arrest and without further incident. Upon learning the reason for the Officers being at his home, Johnston asked his adult son to come outside and speak with the Officers. The Patrol Officers and the Sergeant determined that Johnston’s son was fine and the Patrol Officers and the Sergeant left the Johnston home.
Attorneys Thomas F. McGuire and Jolanta Zinevich of Thomas F. McGuire and Associates of Long Grove, Illinois contended before the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners that the Union Complaint was part of a long-running power struggle between the PB & PA-Union and the City of Rockford as to who was to run the Police Department; i.e., the City or the Union. The Union began its campaign to oust the Chief of Police within the first week he was appointed as Chief in 2007 by taking a no confidence vote to oust the Chief of Police. The Chief, unmoved by the PA &PA-Union vote, did what he thought was best for the community, first and foremost – and what was best for the Union, secondarily! Even after the 2007 no confidence vote and picket lines in front of the Police Station, Chief Epperson never backed down and continued to do the right thing; holding Officers accountable, bringing the department into the 21st century, bringing state of the art law enforcement equipment, and striving to better the relationship between minority groups and the Rockford Police Department. The Union, during contract negotiations, demanded hazard pay to patrol in the low-income African American sections of the City.
In an attempt to bolster their Board of Fire and Police Commissioners Complaint, the Union brought out the Police Department’s “dirty” laundry publicly scrutinizing years of discipline imposed by the Chief and questioning his leadership style. The three members of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, over a period of approximately a year and a half, focused on the issues before it as stated in the PA & PA-Union Complaint. The Board unanimously ruled that there was no Probable Cause to hold a full Hearing as to ALL allegations in the Union’s Complaint, and that even if there was, there was no “cause” to impose discipline upon the Chief of Police by stating in the Board’s Findings And Order:
“Based upon the evidence stipulated to, the evidence submitted at the evidentiary hearing, the testimony of witnesses, and the oral and written arguments of counsel, the Board concludes that the Petitioners have not met their burden of establishing probable cause to proceed to a full evidentiary hearing on the Petition. Indeed, the Board concluded that even if the Petitioners had proven the allegations which were reasonably supported, the conduct complained of would not have resulted in discipline.”
Attachments:
Law Office of Thomas F. McGuire, Ltd. 