Harvey's police are missing more than a gun

Harvey's police are missing mor

Wednesday, September 6, 2006



Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg didn't know what was going on in his police department, but now that he does, he's going to fix it.

For example, a gun disappeared that was taken into evidence in a criminal case.

Apparently, there were no rules for handling criminal evidence, or if there were, those rules were ignored.

That essentially was what Kellogg had to say during a news conference in Harvey last week.

He also said he had nothing to do with making the gun disappear, although a police detective who has been charged in the matter told prosecutors the mayor instructed him to hand the gun over to the suspect's stepfather.

Or maybe there was no gun.

As I recall, someone during the news conference, the police chief or Kellogg's attorney, referred to it as the alleged gun, meaning there may never have been any gun at all.

But an arresting officer said there was a gun when he filed a report accusing a convicted felon of illegal possession of a firearm.

So maybe maintaining the proper chain of evidence is not the problem.

Maybe the problem is that Harvey police officers lie on police reports or lie to prosecutors.

Four or five Harvey police officers need to be disciplined as a result of the alleged missing gun, according to Sam Adam Jr., the defense attorney who is representing the mayor.

That's a lot of people to punish if there was never a gun.

Adam also indicated the Harvey Police Department's policies and procedures are in dire need of review, so he's contacting several downstate police chiefs he knows to study the situation in Harvey.

For several months now, the Daily Southtown has been writing stories calling into question the professionalism of the Harvey Police Department.

Yet, Kellogg seemed stunned to discover that members of his department may have lied about his involvement in this case or the existence of a gun.

None of this, the mayor said, is his fault.

Nor is it the fault of his police chief, who apparently hired police officers who would lie about the mayor's involvement in this case, make evidence disappear or fabricate evidence out of thin air.

In any event, Kellogg said all of that is history, and this is a new day.

And, starting today, he's not defending the police department's misconduct, ineptitude or criminal behavior, although neither he nor the police chief take any responsibility for it.

In fact, Kellogg said he would welcome an outside review of the police department, something the Southtown has called for repeatedly.

When this review will be conducted and who will be responsible for it have yet to be determined.

I just hope that, when the review is completed, no one in the police department makes the report disappear.

After the news conference, I tried to explain to Kellogg that he seemed to be reacting to all the news stories like a guilty man or at least someone who had something to hide.

In the past, he either refused to comment (on the accusation that he asked the police officer to return the gun) or attacked the news media.

Kellogg wanted me to believe he was sincere in proclaiming a new day in Harvey and, I assume, to pass that information on to you.

But to convince anyone he is sincere at this point he has to bring in a respected third party to investigate his department and make real, substantial changes.

And he has to do it quickly.

He has to act like a man who is willing to take responsibility and cares about the image of his city — not like a fellow who is merely offended that a police officer would implicate him in a crime.

This incident involving the disappearing gun is symptomatic of bigger problems in Harvey.

Kellogg's own attorney, Adam, seemed to indicate as much.

And last week, for the first time, the mayor did so as well.

"There's been some serious problems here in Harvey," Kellogg told me.

If only he had said that months ago and understood the implications for city residents.

Adam, a criminal defense attorney, certainly does.

He's planning to notify lawyers of defendants arrested by the police officer in the missing gun case that there may be irregularities in their cases as well.

The mayor seems to feel he's the one who has been targeted by the news media and a rotten police officer.

Well, maybe now he knows how some of the citizens in Harvey feel.

When residents feel bullied, badgered and harassed by police, the only people they can turn to for help are civilian officials.

Kellogg should have felt the burden of that responsibility.

"Crime is down in Harvey," he told me.

Unfortunately, it may be up in the police department.

Phil Kadner may be reached at pkadner@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-6787.