WBEZ | Youtube

Chicago police have suspect in custody for Boystown beating, stabbing

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:26:00 -0500

Chicago police say they have a suspect in custody for helping a mob of people beat and stab a man on Chicago's North Side this week. Police say 24-year-old Darren Hayes from Hammond, Indiana turned himself in to authorities and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation. A resident video taped the mob beating and posted it on the Internet.

Sergeant Debra DeYoung said the video shows other witnesses also videotaped the incident and she hopes they come forward with their accounts.

"It is part of the investigation," she said. "It's a different angle or whatever and it might give us - it might shed some further light on the investigation. We'd really appreciate being able to see that."

The victim of the stabbing was released from the hospital earlier this week. The stabbing incident led to a raucous community meeting this week attended by hundreds of people about crime on the North Side.

Chicago police chief: Conduct in video ‘not professional’

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:32:00 -0500

The head of the Chicago police said Friday that it is always inappropriate for officers to use "scared straight" tactics. This came after WBEZ obtained a video that shows officers allowing bystanders to taunt a young man sitting in their vehicle.

Interim Supt.Terry Hillard said that the officers shown in the video have been put on desk duty and that an internal investigation is proceeding as fast as possible.

Hillard, who returned from retirement this month, called the incident in the Humboldt Park neighborhood "not professional."

"It's not what I remember — my first time around or this time around — what the Chicago Police Department stands for," Hillard told reporters.

The head of internal affairs, Juan Rivera, said he is not sure yet if the young man shown on the video was under arrest at the time. Rivera said the police who appear in the video are "veteran officers."

Hillard said, in general, if officers make an unintentional mistake, it is the department's job to help them improve their performance. But he added, "If they get out there and do inappropriate or unprofessional [things], going against our general orders, or [do] things that we perceive as being unprofessional, inappropriate, we're going to go after them. Simple as that."

Meanwhile, residents of the block who saw the incident said it occurred this past Saturday, March 19. They told WBEZ that two officers arrived on the block with the young man in a police SUV and that no other officers or police vehicles were present. After about 5 minutes, the residents said, the officers drove the young man away. About 10 minutes later, according to witnesses, the officers returned without the young man and spoke again with some of the onlookers. The witnesses asked to remain unidentified.

Police sources have told WBEZ that the two cops were patrol officers assigned to the department’s Shakespeare District.

Packers v Bears: YouTube videos

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:33:00 -0600

This is the #1 video on You Tube for the Bears vs Packers rivalry.

If you were going to pick a song and a video that would embody what and who Chicago is, local rapper Serengeti's "Dennehy" takes the cake. It's not specifically about the Chicago Bears, but it definitely sums up what it is like to be a Chicago Bears fan. And it was released in 2007. Just this week, I've seen the video on several FB pages and have had the video forwarded to me. So Chicago is tuning in, once again.

What a deep rabbit hole the internet can be. YouTube, especially. Searching Green Bay Packers can get you highlight packages, fan-made tributes and a slew of parody rap songs. The new Wiz Khalifa tune "Black and Yellow" seems to be the song du jour this season, as the rap talks about representing your home town (in this case, Pittsburgh). So probably every city that has a sports team replaces the lyrics with their team colors.

For those more into the cheesehead, honky-tonk, tons of Wisconsites dressed like..Wisconsinites, this is for you:

And don't forget a good-old fashioned polka song called "The Bears Still Suck."

But enough of the pro-Green Bay video, let's move over to the Chicago Bears side of YouTube. This is from the mid 80's and was chosen because of its authenticity. This is what we expect from an 80's commercial. And I would have put a Packer commercial up, but, well, there are none.

And finally, a call-out to the Bears fans. These little guys say it best. Or at least the loudest...