This article is somewhat in reply to Fly's un-comment-able post regarding today's Quad City Times article.
The article lists 3 cops and what their "problem" was with the police. In their defense, I don't know as much about VanFossen and Swanson's incidents, as they were before I was born.
Here's what they did according to the QCTimes:
Swanson: fired from the Davenport force in 1978 for allegedly lying about the shooting of a suspect who had been stopped for a misdemeanor traffic offense
VanFossen: indicted in 1973 for embezzlement while serving as a Scott County sheriff’s deputy in an investigation that eventually resulted in a guilty plea and the resignation of former Sheriff William Strout.
Gibbs: a series of suspensions, including one in which an alderman witnessed him delivering a bag of ice, while on duty, to a downtown ice cream parlor Gibbs owned.
Lying about shooting a guy, embezzlement.... dropping a bag of ice off to his wife. You pick the one that is the least serious.
The issue with Gibbs was extremely bad blood/vendetta between him and also former cop/then Mayor Yerington. The alderman who "caught" him was actually following him in his car. He delivered the ice to his wife on one of his allowed breaks. Police Officers in Davenport are allowed to drive to their home for their breaks, but driving somewhere to pick up ice and drop it off to your wife is clearly corrupt...? According to some, Phil Yerington may have run for mayor simply to get the power to fire Chief Lynn from the police department. He then tried to get hired as Police Chief himself while still Mayor. Instead Chief Bladel was hired, who later fired Yerington.
As someone who's interested in both, its would be hypocrtical of me to say that Police and Politics shouldn't mix, as Fly did... but when you lay it all out like that it does seem like there's a lot of controversy. Or maybe the problem was just Yerington.
4 comments:
You need to change your name to Quad City Images bong. You must be breathing too much skybridge air.
"Lying about shooting a guy, embezzlement.... dropping a bag of ice off to his wife. You pick the one that is the least serious." I'd say the one where charges were dropped: Van Fossen. That is the least serious! Innocent of all charges!
QC Times sure nailed Van Fossen! 32 years after the fact and an acquittal! That’s some yellow journalism! Next issue!
Swanson was fired because he arrested V.O. Figge and pissed off Charlie Wright. Charlie used the shooting as his vehicle to get rid of a thorn in his side, another Swanson that would not and could not be corruptable. What failed to be reported by the overzealous and underinformed QC Times, what's new, is that that shooting was later shown to be justified in a civil trial and the "victim" later was convicted for stabbing a cop to death, like he had tried with Mr. Swanson.
What we should do is thank Mr. Swanson for having the integrity to stand up for what was right, no matter the consequences, and continue life-long public service in other arenas throughout this area.
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