Saturday, July 08, 2006

Timeline Of Crawford Events

Concerns raised

April 2000: Officer Scott Crawford hired by the Waukegan Police Department.

April 2002: Crawford resigns from the Waukegan department amid allegations that he punched and kicked an 18-year-old man in November 2001 after he was handcuffed during the course of an arrest. A federal lawsuit filed against Crawford and the city of Waukegan is settled for an undisclosed sum.

February 2003: The Marengo Police Department hires Crawford.

June 2003: Crawford is the subject of an internal investigation for excessive use of force, which exonerates him.

February 2004: An internal investigation into Crawford’s handling of a warrant arrest prompts a memo expressing “comments of concern” but does not evolve into a formal complaint.

October 2004: Brian and Kevin Gaughan are arrested on numerous charges at Marengo’s annual Settlers’ Day festival, including aggravated battery to a police officer. They accuse Crawford of using excessive force, a charge he is cleared of by an Illinois State Police investigation. In March 2005, the Gaughans are charged with felony counts of filing a false report.

April 2005: The Marengo department places Crawford on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of three internal investigations related to him lying on his employment application, creating a “hostile” work environment and his role in a high-speed chase.

June 2005: The department suspends him and schedules a hearing to ask for his termination. The hearing has yet to take place.

July 2005: A federal lawsuit will be filed against Crawford and the city of Marengo on behalf of the Gaughan brothers for civil rights violations, excessive use of force, malicious prosecution and negligent hiring. The suit will also name three others as plaintiffs who allege Crawford of abuse and name two other officers as defendants.

Source: Daily Herald interviews, documents

This is July of 2006. What has been accomplished since this time? Crawford has resigned. He was offered $30,000 as a severance package. Given has resigned. Both have received a good reference and can still go on to work at other police departments. Neither has had criminal charges brought against them.
Despite mounting evidence against the police officers involved and the way the State Police investigated this matter, including videotapes that were released on this website: http://marengogazette.blogspot.com/, the charges against the Gaughans have not been dropped. Instead they are still facing the same charges while the court in McHenry County issues continuance after continuance in order to delay the trial.
We need people in Illinois to write Lisa Madigan, the Attorney General, in order to have her look into this matter. Please help us out.


Lisa Madigan
IL Attorney Generals Office
100 W. Randolf St
Chicago, IL 60601
312-814-3000
www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov

July 10, 2006

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Obviously if someone is given a severance package they are a scapegoat. Why on earth would any company pay an employee who violated policy any money to "resign"? They dont need to do that. This story defies common sense... I am sure Scott Crawford is an awesome guy who is a great police officer.