Post by Site Admin on Sept 15, 2005 5:00:41 GMT -5
Official: Cop will be exonerated again
[published on Thu, Sep 15, 2005]
By JOSH STOCKINGER
jstockinger@nwherald.com
A state police investigation is expected to exonerate former Marengo police officer Scott Crawford from excessive-force complaints for a second time, McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi said Wednesday.
Bianchi said he was notified recently that state police had wrapped up a reopened probe into the agency's own handling of accusations against Crawford.
Bianchi said he had not received an official report, but an Illinois State Police official told him that Crawford again would be cleared of wrongdoing and that the first investigation was handled appropriately.
"I've heard that it exonerated the police that were the subject matter," Bianchi said. "And I was led to believe that the initial investigation was handled correctly."
Crawford said Wednesday that he also had not seen a report but was told the same.
"I heard the same thing," Crawford said. "But I expected it. I know I didn't do anything wrong, so I was pretty comfortable with them doing a second investigation."
Bianchi's office is prosecuting two brothers on charges of aggravated battery and resisting a police officer, among others, related to an arrest by Crawford at a Marengo festival last year.
After their arrests, Brian Gaughan, 22, of Marengo, and Kevin Gaughan, 19, of DeKalb, alleged that Crawford used excessive force against them, which prompted Marengo officials to call in the state police.
An initial probe cleared Crawford and led to charges of falsifying a police report against the Gaughans, but their father then accused the state police of a botched investigation that ignored numerous witnesses.
Authorities agreed to reopen the case in July, and the results since have been pending.
Bianchi said he expected to have a report detailing the investigation by next week. The probe would affect his case against the Gaughans only if it alleged obstruction of justice by authorities, he said.
"If there was something inappropriate, that would cause our attention and have us concentrate on the case perhaps in a different light," Bianchi said.
The Gaughans recently joined four other plaintiffs in a federal civil-rights lawsuit alleging excessive force by Crawford and another officer. It seeks millions of dollars in damages from Crawford and Marengo.
In August, Crawford, 26, resigned from the Marengo department before a hearing into separate allegations of misconduct could take place.
Attorney Kevin E. O'Reilly, who represents plaintiffs in the civil-rights suit, said Wednesday that the state police would have "whitewashed" its investigation if Crawford were twice exonerated.
"I think it's a shame that they go though these processes and do no real investigation into the case, but whitewash the allegations against Crawford in order to protect themselves and protect police officers," O'Reilly said.
"The thin blue line is alive and well, and it's unfortunate that our state police department is willing to go that far to try to protect bad cops. They can answer to their investigation in court."
Illinois State Police Spokesman Lt. Lincoln Hampton could not be reached for comment.
www.nwherald.com/MainSection/303124765380668.php
[published on Thu, Sep 15, 2005]
By JOSH STOCKINGER
jstockinger@nwherald.com
A state police investigation is expected to exonerate former Marengo police officer Scott Crawford from excessive-force complaints for a second time, McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi said Wednesday.
Bianchi said he was notified recently that state police had wrapped up a reopened probe into the agency's own handling of accusations against Crawford.
Bianchi said he had not received an official report, but an Illinois State Police official told him that Crawford again would be cleared of wrongdoing and that the first investigation was handled appropriately.
"I've heard that it exonerated the police that were the subject matter," Bianchi said. "And I was led to believe that the initial investigation was handled correctly."
Crawford said Wednesday that he also had not seen a report but was told the same.
"I heard the same thing," Crawford said. "But I expected it. I know I didn't do anything wrong, so I was pretty comfortable with them doing a second investigation."
Bianchi's office is prosecuting two brothers on charges of aggravated battery and resisting a police officer, among others, related to an arrest by Crawford at a Marengo festival last year.
After their arrests, Brian Gaughan, 22, of Marengo, and Kevin Gaughan, 19, of DeKalb, alleged that Crawford used excessive force against them, which prompted Marengo officials to call in the state police.
An initial probe cleared Crawford and led to charges of falsifying a police report against the Gaughans, but their father then accused the state police of a botched investigation that ignored numerous witnesses.
Authorities agreed to reopen the case in July, and the results since have been pending.
Bianchi said he expected to have a report detailing the investigation by next week. The probe would affect his case against the Gaughans only if it alleged obstruction of justice by authorities, he said.
"If there was something inappropriate, that would cause our attention and have us concentrate on the case perhaps in a different light," Bianchi said.
The Gaughans recently joined four other plaintiffs in a federal civil-rights lawsuit alleging excessive force by Crawford and another officer. It seeks millions of dollars in damages from Crawford and Marengo.
In August, Crawford, 26, resigned from the Marengo department before a hearing into separate allegations of misconduct could take place.
Attorney Kevin E. O'Reilly, who represents plaintiffs in the civil-rights suit, said Wednesday that the state police would have "whitewashed" its investigation if Crawford were twice exonerated.
"I think it's a shame that they go though these processes and do no real investigation into the case, but whitewash the allegations against Crawford in order to protect themselves and protect police officers," O'Reilly said.
"The thin blue line is alive and well, and it's unfortunate that our state police department is willing to go that far to try to protect bad cops. They can answer to their investigation in court."
Illinois State Police Spokesman Lt. Lincoln Hampton could not be reached for comment.
www.nwherald.com/MainSection/303124765380668.php