On Saturday, an off-duty member of the Chicago Police Department, who was also allegedly drunk, ran over a 21-year-old woman who was waiting to cross the road. The woman is now in critical condition, clinging to life.
And while you might think the police officer, who has not yet been identified, would be in very serious legal jeopardy as a result of his actions, so far he?has only been charged with two misdemeanor drunk driving offenses related?to the accident.
Yet according to Illinois law, as stated in an official publication titled?2015 Illinois DUI Fact Book, aggravated?DUI is clearly defined as a drunk driving offense which results in great bodily injury. The charge for such an offense is listed as a class 4 felony. The penalty for such a charge?carries a sentence of up to 12 years in prison and fines of up to $25,000. So the misdemeanor counts are little more than a slap on the wrist.
Now imagine if a civilian had been drinking and struck a police officer with his or her car. Can you conceive of how the cop’s fellow officers would be wailing for the maximum penalty to be applied to the drunk driver? You can also bet that the name of the accused would also be released to the media ASAP.
And yet in this case, the officer, who is still not known to the public, will make an appearance in traffic court sometime next month.Traffic court! If the charges remain as misdemeanors and no others are brought, he will probably pay a fine and be back on duty within a few weeks.
I admire and respect what the police do for our communities. They do not have an easy job, and it is certainly not a job that I wish to do. But shouldn’t they be subject to the same laws as the rest of us? If not, then we are saying there are two classes of people in this country–cops and non-cops; us and them–and that will only lead to more resentment and anger.
