Chicagoist: Horrible Holiday Happenings

Te

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 13:22:44 -0600

all i got to say is that this is my cousin and i hated to see her die like that.The fureral was sad.and you news reporters and police are so rude,how dare you take pictures of her in her casket,that was so disrespectful.and next time this happens DO SOMETHING ABOUT I!!!!!peace!

james

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 18:56:28 -0600

But what's the point of having HBT and SWAT teams at all if they just sit and wait?

settecase

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 11:38:34 -0600

If you ask me, this is another example of how the holidays make people go insane. Maybe it's the tryptophan(sp?) in the turkey, but I remember I always used to turn into a wack job from right around Thanksgiving until January 1st (not to be confused with Januaryist, the upcoming blog from Gothamist LLC). What cured me? Well for one, not freaking out, a la this guy, every time something doesn't go 100% perfectly during the Christmas season. Anyway, if you enjoyed this POV (WARNING: SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT), be sure to check out my own weblog. It's like the Chicagoist, but with a bit of college humor in there. It's called You Better Believe It! http://settecase.blogspot.com

Kevin

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 01:05:49 -0600

I really think that it's unfair to try and blame the author of this post. Isn't the point of the blogosphere to get someone else's opinion? And for you to be able to chime in with your own? If you just want raw facts, you can read the news. But if you want someone else's opinion, and the chance to kick in your own two cents, if not more, then you come here. And yes, it is all to easy to play Monday morning quarterback, especially when there aren't a lot of details. But I fail to see how any of the statements in this post are irresponsible. It's not like the author is calling for massive demonstrations in the streets in an effort to overthrow the leadership of the CPD because of their actions in this case. That would be irresponsible. This is just another taxpaying citizen positing her opinions, and questioning the police, a responsibility all of us have in a democracy, even when we are wrong.

jocelyn

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 23:21:33 -0600

c'mon, now. this is a horrible tragedy, but not one of shannon's making. first of all, this is not the first time 'protocol' has ended up in tragedy. we just had a situation this summer where the chicago police ignored a family's pleas to help a woman that was mentally ill and she ended up jumping to her death from a public housing project. and now this terrible scene. i think what this goes to show us as a society, time and time again, is that large institutions generally have little instruction for dealing with the mentally ill. it's not to blame the police for one man's terrible actions, but it definitely illustrates a larger problem that is pervasive -- in schools, health care, jails/institutions and amongst the professions that are entrusted to deal with those populations. i don't know what the answer/s are, but i know that the first step needs to be some sort of discussion and dialogue -- not a blanket denial of the problem, nor just trying to fit everyone into the same kind of protocol.

magilla gorilla

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 20:03:40 -0600

yes, it's the cops fault this moron went on a little murder spree. why didn't the police stop the baby from crying at the beginning? someone needs to be compensated for their incompetence

K.

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 17:26:13 -0600

Perhaps the police are providing the public with a rote response because they are still reviewing the case and the outcome? It's really easy to play monday morning quarterback, which is not to say the police should never be questioned, but at the same time, with the scant details we've been given, it seems a bit presumptuous to question their tactics at this point.

geekgrrl

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 15:13:54 -0600

you're right, i don't know all the details. i understand that the gunman was unpredictable. still, the rote response the police is giving is that they merely followed protocol, and following protocol ended up with two people dead. no one will ever know if there could have been another outcome.

tom sherman

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 14:20:51 -0600

"Isn't that more reason to try to defuse the situation through any means possible?" Given that you don't know the details of the situation, this is a highly speculative, irresponsible statement.