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Do you think your police department has a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol?
Think again.
Many suburban Chicago departments actually have clauses in their union contracts which prevent any kind of discipline for officers with substantial amounts of alcohol in their systems -- even those nearing the state definition of legally drunk, an investigation by the Better Government Association and NBC Chicago reveals.
Read original story, watch video on NBCChicago.com
"I worry about it every day," said Sam Pulia, the mayor of west suburban Westchester, Ill.
Pulia, himself a former Westchester police officer, tried unsuccessfully to stop ratification of his department’s union contract which only allows discipline against officers when they hit an alcohol level of .05.
"I could argue that you are half-drunk," Pulia said. "I still believe that police officers are held to a higher standard."
Pulia argues that no one with alcohol in their systems should be driving a squad car or carrying a gun. And he thinks it sends the wrong message to officers to set a number which could be perceived as an allowable limit.
Westchester is not alone. Other Illinois police officers in Forest Park, Glendale Heights, and South Barrington also have a limit of .05. In Elmwood Park and Oak Park, the limit is the state definition of legally drunk: .08 or higher.
NBCChicago.com
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"I think it places the city at great risk," said Walter Zalisko, a retired police chief who now runs Police Management Consultants International in Fort Myers, Fla. "Zero would be the wise choice, that you can’t have any alcohol."
But how much alcohol really is too much? Although the Illinois State Police and Cook County Sheriff have set their limits at zero, many police departments say they believe some low limits must be built in to allow for incidentals such as a glass of wine at dinner before the overnight shift or even a shot of cough medicine.
"People who are more used to drinking will have less impairment," said Dr. David Zich of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. "However, we still believe in subtle testing, that there really is no safe level at which no impairment occurs."
Indeed, Zich says scores of studies have indicated that even at lower blood alcohol levels, some kind of impairment occurs -- especially regarding drowsiness, tasks requiring divided attention, or "tracking" activities, which would include driving a car.
"There have literally been hundreds of studies since the 1950s," Zich said. "Even at low levels, you cannot reliably perform without impairment."
James Fell agrees. Fell is a senior research scientist for the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Calverton, Md., and he says "impairment, and especially impairment for driving, starts at the first drink."
Fell’s organization conducted a study which found drivers 21 and older, with a blood alcohol level of .02 to .049, were three to four times more likely to be involved in a fatal single-vehicle crash.
Even the state’s own definition of "legally drunk" seems to be in the minority, when compared to other nations around the world. Among countries responding to a World Health Organization study, 28 percent set their blood alcohol content (BAC) limit at zero to .03. Another 39 percent set limits between .04 and .06. Only 26 percent of the nations surveyed have adopted higher limits.
While Pulia expressed outrage at his community’s standard, his police chief insisted that even if she can’t discipline an officer for blood alcohol levels below .05, she won’t let them get in a squad car.
"We’ve never had a problem," said chief April Padalik. "We would follow policy and procedure, and that employee would be removed from duty."
Padalik indicated the officer would be sent home. Pulia said he found that idea encouraging, but that he still believed such officers should be disciplined.
"Paying someone a salary for being sent home for consuming alcohol certainly does not sit well with me or the public who ultimately bear the costs," he said. "Alcohol/drugs and cops don’t mix."
Officials in Oak Park and Elmwood Park, where the limit was set at .08, insist they likewise would not tolerate an officer with lower levels of alcohol, even if they can’t discipline him for showing up at work in an impaired condition.
"If those test results come in in anything greater than zero, we are not going to put that officer on the street," said Paul Volpe, the Elmwood Park Village Manager. "We have a zero tolerance policy."
Volpe said the officer would likely be put on desk duty.
The Chicago Police Department sets its blood alcohol limit at .02. This week, the City of Chicago agreed to a $4.1 million settlement, payable to the family of a man shot by a police officer who reportedly had been drinking prior to his shift.
NBCChicago.com
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Elmwood Park and Oak Park look like the place to be if ya wanna be a drunk cop..
What does half drunk mean and which half is drunk?
Everybody's a pessimist! Don't forget that "half drunk" also means "half sober".
Police are already thugs, but a drunk police is intolerable, Perhaps they should be smoking a joint instead? Legalize cannabis, it's much safer... I would rather have a stoned cop save me in a hostage situation than a dumb drunk cop... I guess you just do not need an education to be a cop anywhere anyways.. This kind of pertains to all the drunk pilots being busted.... America is made up of a bunch of drunks.. wonder if they beat their wives too?
So you could conceivably be pulled over for suspicion of drunken driving by an officer who is drunker than you.
Oh great the biggest mouths in the country saying they know whats good for the US .. Obama a fellow Chicagoan , Ram Emmanuel the King of Illinois . Gun controls that don't work , Unions getting paid more than CEO's and now their owqn cops getting drunk on the job ... Ah Senator Durbin ... You should be taking care of your own state first , Oh HE already tried didn't he .. Isn't Ram Emmanuel the Mayor ?? Boy the names keep coming !!! God bless the cops tho as they do have it very tough in a city so corrupt with Politicians that cannot govern their own households !!! I would drink too !!!
ok...so if your driving with a blood alcohol above the "legal" limit you can be pulled over and arrested by a cop who is over the legal limit...seems fair to me...
No tears here when a Chicago area cop gets taken out. One less drunk on the streets and one less drunk cops pension to pay out. Good riddance Chicago Swine!
This may explain the article last week that said Chicago police would no longer be responding to 911 calls unless it was an immediate physical threat. All that crime was cutting into happy hour. lol
What the heck? these poor officers are only allowed to work 1/2 drunk!!!! Wait until the union hears about this...
Chalk another one up for criminals. The next law passed in Chicago will be the apprehended have a right to have the arresting officer take a breathalyzer upon request.
A shot of cough syrup. Lol well the fact is cops get away with everything. Just like when I seen cops and I mean dea fbi boarder patrol seizing millions of dollars every year and seizing larg amounts of dope and coke. Your going to tell me they don't take a little of the top. Its not like the drug cartwl is going to call the pd up and say there should be 4 million instead of 2 million. Okay yeah
Democratic control = no one is responsible for anything.
That's one of the scarier scenarios I can think of - some half drunk cop with an attitude and a gun getting into an argument with a fellow bar patron over something like a football game. They're bad enough to deal with when they're clean and sober. This is not good. A friend of mine and his wife were murdered by a cop with an attitude, when a court case a neighbor and his daughter was involved in resulted in a not guilty verdict. So he took matters into his own hands and murdered five people in cold blood, and then killed himself. Yeah, I don't have a lot of respect for any cops after that. My advice to all civilians is to stay as far away from cops as you can.
WHAT??????????????????????? They are at work!!! Smh what has our world come to that it's ok for police officers to drink on the job??? This is ludicrous..
Does anyone know what the limits are for DuPage County? What about Itasca, Medinah, Bensonville, or Roselle?
your ether drunk or your not. not half drunk. and alcohol is a drug. what we have cops that do drugs all the time. why do they have to do anything to get high at all. that Chicago is a freak show. all the crap runs down hill to Chicago.
half drunk = half pregnant ?
Who cares? Cops have terrible jobs. Do you want to be hated by most of the population?
Too think cops never drink booze or smoke marijuana at work is ridiculous. They spend all day dealing with the scum of the earth cut them some slack. People are too uptight. I heard about this Saint Louis MO City cop in the 1980's who would drop a hit of LSD everyday before work. What do you think cops do with all of the drugs they confiscate . If they ain't taking you to jail they are getting high.
@barrybonds
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bf3_1360862664
Watch this and get back to me.
i would be more impressed with the police if they did not have to do anything to get high. nobody should have to especially to do their job. its like athletes doing drugs before they compete its ridiculous to even think they have to do drugs to work effectively.
Only other place you can be half sh*t faced and go to work is Congress. Watch Boehner. Half in the bag most of the time.
Obama and Hilary are the only ones we have documented proof of drinking on the job.
Well.... all right then... just as long as he was only half drunk.
Isn't Chicago the greatest model for the rest of the nation (insert sarcasm here)?
That's OK. The drunks in Chicago are allowed to work half-sober!
Chicago - the "armpit" of the municipal government universe! Guess these cops think they HAVE to drink to deal with all the idiots out there!
i would be more impressed with the police if they did not have to do anything to get high. nobody should have to especially to do their job. its like athletes doing drugs before they compete its ridiculous to even think they have to do drugs to work effectively.
I do not place the blame on unions, but see this as yest another example of Chicago's apathetic approach to public servanthood. How should we ever take seriously ANY stated committment to improvement-such as with putting more cops on the streets to deal with gun violence, when the ones you have, are drunk.