Berwyn Police

[yazmonium]

In light of recent events, I am hoping the members of this board will some stories about encounters with the Berwyn Police Department.

I moved to Berwyn less than a year ago and I have had two occasions where the law has been involved.  The first time, I got camera ticket at 22nd and Harlem while turning right on red.  I stopped, but only for 1 second instead of 3 seconds.  It was total malarkey, but I paid because I thought it was less of a hassle than to fight it.  Then right after I paid, I read a story in the paper about how Berwyn's city council was letting people off the hook because the camera's computer wasn't tuned properly.  Not as bad as Chicago, I suppose, but geeze..

Second time was the real thing.  My car was smashed by a drunk while parked on the street.  The cops who woke me up were sympathetic and filed their reports in a timely manner so I could get the wheels turning on the insurance claim.

Generally, throughout my life, this is how my dealing with the cops have been like.  Once, when I was totally broke, and driving around with expired plates, a Chicago Police officer took me the Wood St station and then let me go on my own recognizance.  He didn't even bother ask to search me or the car.  That's as close as I have come to getting arrested or having my civil rights violated by the police.

And one more quick one - A few weeks ago, I accidentally cut off a state trooper on the tri-state and did not get pulled over.  Unbelievable, right?  I really miss public transportation.

I am sure that my story must be atypical.  I am wondering what your stories are.

[Ted]

 The red light camera at 22nd and Harlem is a big money maker.  A lot of people have gotten caught by it because they do not stop at the white line while making a right turn on red.  You are not alone in regards to the red light at that intersection.

  I had not heard of the city council letting anyone off the hook.

[chandasz]

Not totally sure what that has to do with Berwyn Police but my encounters with them have been good. I do have a friend on the force and he's a great guy. That said-- I do have a friend who lives in NoBe who is Filipino but looks Hispanic I guess. He's young-ish. Has a home and a wife and child and is one of the people you want living here. He dresses like a young-ish guy- cocked baseball caps and the whole bit. He's been stopped and hassled twice in his own garage and alley due to profiling. He wasn't doing anything wrong-- just happened to be in his garage once and dumping garbage or the like in his alley. He was treated terribly. In a town like Berwyn-- the police do need to do some work on diversity training.

[mom]

The BPD do racially profile. African - Americans who drive luxury cars are also huge targets to be stopped and hassled in Berwyn. They are mostly helpful, but can be real jerks, and it goes way back. There used to be an officer who would hide near bars at the drop of 2 am to either bust the place for being open "after hours" at 2:05 or bust patrons leaving. When my dad passed away years ago, it seemed like every officer who was on duty came through the apartment and even tried to stop my son from going upstairs to see him. (He was elderly and passed away quietly in bed - nothing that would have "scared" a young child) When I was a young woman, I remember being stopped by a Berwyn cop while riding my bike so that he could "comend" me for stopping and waiting for a red light. I could feel him oogling me the entire time!

[pkd50]

I lived in Berwyn 30+ years, and never had a bad experience with the police.  The last couple of years in Berwyn my husband was very ill.  I had to call an ambulance a few times.  A police officer always came with the EMTs.  They were very kind and helpful.   From what I read on this board, Berwyn can be a rough place at times.  Whatever faults you find with the cops, be glad they're there when you need them.  I was and will always be greatful.

[markberwyn]

I lived in Berwyn 30+ years, and never had a bad experience with the police.

You're white.

[pkd50]

Yes I am.  So do you mean that nobody white ever gets stopped in Berwyn? 

[markberwyn]

Yes I am.  So do you mean that nobody white ever gets stopped in Berwyn?

Of course not. I mean only to say that you have no experience of being racially profiled by the police. (Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that the racial profiling generally works in your favor.)

[pkd50]

Ah..but that's where you are wrong.  I was on two different occasions, years ago,  racially profiled.  Two different police officers didn't think I belonged where I was, because I was white. 

[markberwyn]

Ah..but that's where you are wrong.  I was on two different occasions, years ago,  racially profiled.  Two different police officers didn't think I belonged where I was, because I was white.

And did they run you in or protect you?

[markberwyn]

What do you suppose happens to black people who police stop because they're in a place where "they don't belong"? What are the reasons a police officer would give to explain why don't they "belong" there? What are the reasons a police officer would give to explain why a white person doesn't "belong" in another place? And how different do you think those reasons are?

[markberwyn]

"Justice? You get justice in the next world, in this world, you have the law." --William Gaddis

[pkd50]

I have no idea how different the reasons are.  Do you?   I only know what I was told.  I was asked for my ID and told to go back to my car and get my registration and insurance card.   I didn't ask why or get an attitude.  I just gave them, there were two, what they wanted.  They checked everything, asked me some questions, and it all ended well.  The second time the officer wasn't as polite, but I gave him the ID, etc.  It also ended well.   You'll probably say it ended well because I'm white.  I think it ended well because I hadn't done anything wrong, gave them what they wanted, answered their questions, and didn't have an attitude about anything.   I know you enjoy an argument, but I don't.  I'm through with this discussion.

[yazmonium]

Why should anyone have to cooperate with police to be left alone?  I don't have the time or energy to fight the system.  Cooperation is so cheap; and that is the trap of America.

[markberwyn]

I have no idea how different the reasons are.  Do you?   

Sure--they're quite different. Black people in white neighborhoods are under suspicion of making a place unsafe. White people in black neighborhoods are under suspicion of being lost.

I only know what I was told.  I was asked for my ID and told to go back to my car and get my registration and insurance card.   I didn't ask why or get an attitude.  I just gave them, there were two, what they wanted.  They checked everything, asked me some questions, and it all ended well.  The second time the officer wasn't as polite, but I gave him the ID, etc.  It also ended well.   You'll probably say it ended well because I'm white. 

Hey, you said it all happened because you're white. No reason to walk that back now; you had it right the first time.

[pkd50]

Yaz, I cooperated, because it was a reasonable request.   I parked my car down the block from where I was going.  The officers knew I was driving, so license, registration, proof of insurance was a reasonable request.  If you see something, say something.  We've all heard that one.  I was a white woman walking in Chatham.  BTW, not that it matters, the neighborhood was nice back then.  They weren't hassling me.  They weren't protecting me.  They saw something out of the ordinary, and decided to check it out.  They were doing their job.  I cooperated.  It ended well. 

[seebee]

They saw something out of the ordinary, and decided to check it out.

Other versions of "something out of the ordinary:"

Someone with too much pigment in their skin driving a car that seems too expensive for that skin type.
Someone with too much pigment in their skin driving a motorcycle.
Someone with too much pigment in their skin in a neighborhood that has nice houses.

These are out of the ordinary because traditionally, the instrinsic value of ppl with different skin tones is questionable (to put it lightly.) Therefore, odds are, that the person is up to something.

I'd expect to see more and more footage of brutality in the coming years. Good cameras are getting cheaper and cheaper and smaller and smaller. That's the only reason it can be seen more. People have been screaming about this for hundreds of years. It's hard to be heard when you are not viewed as a full human. And please do not kid yourself into the thought of, "I'm not racist, and I do not encounter racism, therefore racism doesn't exist." That only adds to the reasoning that people of color do not matter, since people have been screaming about this for hundreds of years.

Also, pkd50, this is not aimed at you in any way. I don't know you. I just used your quote for a lil' rant.

RACIAL HUMOR TIME!!!!

Q: What do you call a black guy flying an airplane?

A: You call him a PILOT, you racist!

Come on, that joke was funny.

[markberwyn]

A reminder that Berwyn hasn't historically covered itself in glory when it comes to race. And it wasn't so long ago that a local Berwyn historian on this board said the presence of nonwhites in Berwyn prevented him from living a "normal life."

How Regular Folks In Berwyn, Ill., Tried To Fight Prejudice --- After a Black Family Moved In, Leadership Ducked While Four-Year-Olds Stood Up
By Alex Kotlowitz. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Jun 3, 1992. pg. PAGEA.1
Full Text (1301   words)
Copyright Dow Jones & Company Inc Jun 3, 1992

BERWYN, Ill. -- At first, this looks like a familiar story: A black family moves into a virtually all-white community, receives threatening phone calls and has its front porch torched while the town's leaders run for cover.

But there's more to this story, such as a white man named Dennis Gilbert, owner of Bartunek Construction Inc. and a lifelong Berwyn resident. Not only did Mr. Gilbert volunteer to fix the family's porch for free, but he planted his company's sign prominently in the yard during the work. "You don't want your kids to grow up thinking you're apathetic," he says.

Other Berwynites sent flowers or visited. They wrote town officials and urged the family to stay. One minister took in the family's three children for a weekend. "We were so encouraged," says Clifton Campbell, 34, an engineer who works at a local switch manufacturer. In deference to that outpouring of support, the Campbells initially chose to remain in this Chicago suburb.

Clifton and Dolcy Campbell came upon Berwyn by accident. Mr. Campbell emigrated from Jamaica four years ago, followed by his wife and children. They rented a small apartment in another suburb and earlier this year began to look for a bigger place. Having been denied one spacious apartment because, they felt, of their skin color, they decided to buy a house. They found a two-story, $106,000 home in Berwyn, big enough so that each child could have a room.

Berwyn is a blue-collar enclave of tidy red-brick homes and ethnic restaurants just west of Chicago. Its population of about 45,000 consists largely of immigrants from Eastern Europe, though that has changed some in recent years as a growing number of young professionals have settled here.

Berwyn, historically, has not been welcoming to blacks. According to the last census, only 54 blacks live in the town -- most, if not all, in apartments. In 1975, the state suspended the licenses of 17 Berwyn real-estate brokers and salespeople for allegedly steering blacks away. And in 1986, the U.S. Justice Department entered into a consent decree with Berwyn and 13 other suburbs, requiring them to recruit more blacks for city jobs.

On March 1, the Campbells and their children -- Paul, 12, Ricardo, 11, and Kadeisha, 7 -- -moved into their bungalow-style home. The next day, as they were unpacking, a rock crashed through a window. Two nights later, someone doused the front porch with gasoline and set it on fire.

But what happened next defied Berwyn's reputation. Within a few days, the family received five bouquets of flowers. A man from down the street stopped by and invited the family to use his swimming pool. Children came by to ask the Campbell boys to play basketball. People offered to contribute money. And more than 50 neighbors visited to offer support.

"I've been through enough prejudice myself," says John Lorenz, who has been in a wheelchair since an automobile accident 21 years ago. Mr. Lorenz and 10 friends dropped by to urge the Campbells to stay. "We didn't want them to think that all white people felt that way," he says.

The Campbells received more than 30 letters from Berwyn residents. One letter simply read "We Care." Another read "Welcome . . . sorry for the ugliness." Many pleaded with the family to stay. One four-year-old girl sent smileyface stickers to the Campbells' kids. A psychotherapist offered her services to the family for free.

But the family continued to receive hate mail and threatening phone calls. One night, Mrs. Campbell, 33, was followed as she drove to her job as a nursing assistant. The churches in the area then got members of their congregations to escort her to work every evening. And one pastor, Rev. R. Michael Winters of the Presbyterian Church of Berwyn, took the children for a weekend so that Mr. and Mrs. Campbell could collect themselves.

Touched and emboldened, the Campbells decided to stay. This was the first house they'd ever owned; they described it to others as their "dream home." Mr. Campbell remembers a policeman who was assigned to guard the house saying it made him feel proud. "We decided maybe we should stick it out and give the neighborhood a chance," Mr. Campbell says.

But while the average Berwynite was speaking out, the local leadership kept silent. Only the city clerk, Thomas G. Shaughnessy, visited the Campbells' home, but he didn't come inside. He left his card with a local policeman, according to the Campbells. Mr. Shaughnessy declined comment. The alderman for the area, Ronald Pechota, neither visited nor phoned the Campbells. When called for this article, he would only say, "It's a police matter." He then hung up the phone. The head of the Merchants Association, Mary Kalfas, says, "I don't think we have a place in any discussion like that." She wouldn't comment further other than to say, "I think it's too touchy a situation."

Even the statement by Mayor Joseph J. Lanzillotti, which he delivered a week after the arson, equivocated. While he provided police protection for the Campbells and denounced the "unfortunate incident," he also decried those who might turn the incident into "a media circus for either political or personal gain." The mayor would say little beyond his official statement except that he was in constant contact with the police as they investigated the arson. "I did everything I could," he says. An aide, Larry Zdarsky, the city attorney, says the town leaders chose to "take a measured approach" rather than "throw fuel on the fire."

And some of the church leaders, who at first showed a collective compassion, began to back down. Two priests who had visited the family early on refused comment for this article. A citywide Palm Sunday service organized in support of the Campbells never materialized; those involved said that was mainly because of logistical concerns.

The leaders' reaction left some residents feeling frustrated and alone. Chris Lorenz, John's wife, says she visited the family only one time because she didn't know what else to do. "If the Campbells decided to stay, I just felt I couldn't personally assure them that they'd be welcome and not harmed," she says. "If I had felt some kind of support, I think I would have been more active."

Larry Pilkington, pastor at Berwyn's Emmanuel Bible Church, worries that the lack of leadership may only further the town's image as intolerant. He and the elders of the church wrote the mayor urging him to meet with the Campbells and the neighborhood residents. He says he got no response. "I'm naive enough to think that at least half of Berwyn would have given more support to the Campbells with more leadership," he says. "I fear that there could well be a next time."

The Berwyn Homeowners Association, which represents 150 property owners, is trying to get the city to form a human relations commission to help prepare the city for economic, ethnic and racial change.

As for the Campbells, they ultimately decided to put their house up for sale. Coming home one day from school, their oldest child, 12-year-old Paul, saw a television crew parked in front of the house. His mother had been threatened on the phone a few nights earlier. Paul told his father that he couldn't take the constant pressure -- and that he wanted to kill himself. "It just cut right through me," says Mr. Campbell, who soon moved the family into a two-bedroom apartment in a nearby suburb. But the move left him with a tinge of sadness and regret.

"We feel like we betrayed the people who wanted us to be there," he says. "But when we realized that we had no official support for being in Berwyn, we felt like outside intruders."

[Ted]

A reminder that Berwyn hasn't historically covered itself in glory when it comes to race. And it wasn't so long ago that a local Berwyn historian on this board said the presence of nonwhites in Berwyn prevented him from living a "normal life."

How Regular Folks In Berwyn, Ill., Tried To Fight Prejudice --- After a Black Family Moved In, Leadership Ducked While Four-Year-Olds Stood Up
By Alex Kotlowitz. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Jun 3, 1992. pg. PAGEA.1
Full Text (1301   words)
Copyright Dow Jones & Company Inc Jun 3, 1992

...

....Larry Pilkington, pastor at Berwyn's Emmanuel Bible Church, worries that the lack of leadership may only further the town's image as intolerant. He and the elders of the church wrote the mayor urging him to meet with the Campbells and the neighborhood residents. He says he got no response. "I'm naive enough to think that at least half of Berwyn would have given more support to the Campbells with more leadership," he says. "I fear that there could well be a next time."

The Berwyn Homeowners Association, which represents 150 property owners, is trying to get the city to form a human relations commission to help prepare the city for economic, ethnic and racial change...

  I laughed when I read Pilkington's comment about tolerance.

  FYI, as a result of this incident, in 1994, the city of Berwyn created a Community Relations ordinance that prohibited discrimination in housing and employment for certain protected classes.

  However, when the ordinance was being considered for passage in December of 1994, Pilkington objected to the ordinance having sexual orientation as a protected class, so the city council took out sexual orientation from the ordinance and then passed the ordinance.

Tolerance, indeed.

[markberwyn]

I wonder if they ever caught the arsonist(s) in that particular case. I suspect this is one of those cases where police found it oh so very hard to figure out who was responsible.