North Chicago’s new interim chief wins job on 4-3 vote
by Judy Masterson jmasterson@stmedianetwork.com February 7, 2012 8:04PM
James Jackson
VOTE DETAILS
Votes against the appointment of interim North Chicago Police Chief James Jackson came from 3rd Ward Ald. Valerie DeVost, 4th Ward Ald. Bobby Allen and 7th Ward Ald. Charles January, all who had urged the in-house appointment of veteran Lt. Curtis Brame. The council members also voiced their displeasure at paying two chief salaries — to an interim and to Mike Newsome, who was placed on paid administrative leave in the wake of numerous allegations of police brutality in his department.
Mayor Leon Rockingham passed on Brame, who is embroiled in a whistleblower suit against the city, and hinted that Newsome’s days may be numbered, now that an interim is in place.
Second Ward Ald. Bonny Mayfield had also pushed for Brame.
“It was the mayor’s choice, so we had to either vote it up or vote it down,” Mayfield said. “Because of the turmoil in the city, I felt we needed leadership in the police department. We needed someone who’s capable and accountable. Jackson’s credentials are strong.
“He got initiated last night,” Mayfield said, referring to the angry crowd that witnessed Jackson’s appointment. “I told him ‘You can take it. There’s going to be more.’”
Updated: March 9, 2012 8:13AM
North Chicago’s new interim police chief stood silent against the wall wearing a dark suit and an inscrutable expression during his first full meeting of the City Council on Monday night.
James Jackson, the former second in command of the Chicago Police Department, had just won official appointment in a close vote, 4-3, and he was now witnessing the weekly display of vehemence, anger and mistrust over allegations of brutality against officers he now commands, a display that helped speed the departure of the previous interim after just six days on the job.
Citizen comments on Monday included accounts of beatings by alleged victims and demands for results in multiple ongoing investigations into the Nov. 13 death of Darrin “Dagwood” Hanna, who was taken into custody by police Nov. 6.
Paul Smith, 42, of Lake Villa, who made news after a booking room video from his July 2010 arrest for disorderly conduct was publicized, said he may sue the city, along with a reported 18 other plaintiffs who have alleged excessive force.
“They beat me,” Smith said. “They made me clean up my own blood. I’d like to know why that man is still on the force.”
Smith was referring to the officer in the video, who, after performing a routine search on him, appeared to punch him in the back of the head and slam him into a wall. Smith said earlier, in front of news cameras, that he had been under the influence of Thorazine, an anti-psychotic medication, that he had repeatedly asked for medical attention and that he “might have called” the officer “an a**hole.”
“They need to stop it,” Smith said. “They can’t just go around beating people up.”
The video, obtained by Ralph Peterson, Hanna’s cousin, was first shown during a council meeting Dec. 19. On Jan. 3, Mayor Leon Rockingham placed former Chief Mike Newsome on paid administrative leave.
Peterson on Monday continued to push Rockingham on whether police officers were up-to-date on training for use of Tasers, the type deployed on Hanna, according to preliminary autopsy results, and that were also allegedly used on a prone and handcuffed Stevie Wilson during his 2009 arrest.
Wilson, who lost consciousness after being Tasered and woke up at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, was at trial in federal court on Monday over a lawsuit filed in 2009 alleging excessive force against Officer Mark Keske and the city, and a liability claim against manufacturer Taser International.
According to sources inside the department, officers are no longer carrying Tasers or batons.
Jackson, who could not be reached for comment on Tuesday, supervised nearly 400 sworn officers as a five-year district commander of the Garfield, Humboldt Park and North Lawndale areas of Chicago, said in a brief statement after his appointment that he would bring “leadership, stability and accountability to the police department and the community at large.”
“I understand there’s a big rift,” Jackson said. “We have to earn your respect, understanding and appreciation through professional police service.”
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