Released this morning by the Champaign Police Department:
On June 7, 2007, at approximately 7:42 p.m., Champaign Police Department Officers responded to the 300 block of W. Church Street, near West Side Park for a report of a man with a gun. When officers arrived at the location, they approached the suspect who began firing a weapon at the officers. Officers returned fire at the suspect. Three Champaign Police officers and the male suspect were wounded by gunfire and transported to the hospital for treatment.
The injured officers were:
Deputy Chief John Murphy, 21-year veteran, 44 y/o
Officer Shannon Bridges, 3-year veteran, 26 y/o
Officer Jack Armstrong, 3-year veteran, 29 y/oAt this time, all injuries appear to be non-life threatening and Officer Shannon Bridges still remains hospitalized and is in stable condition.
Suspect, Donnell Clemons, remains hospitalized in critical condition. Suspect has been arrested for Attempted Murder and Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm. His date of birth is 6/12/1960. Last address is unknown.
I have a mug shot, but posting it feels like sensationalism for no real purpose.
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Sounds like this guy spent some time in the area, so it might be good for people to take a look at the picture. If they recognize him, maybe they know something that can help the police understand his motives.
The picture can be found here: http://www.wcfn.tv/content/fulltext/?sid=870a79a04e89506dd5965cedd7e37234&cid=6451
Thanks for the update Gordy! Lord knows the Gazoo won't have anything up online until tomorrow. Thoughs and prayers to the officers involved.
Gazoo has had something up since last night
Yeah the NG did a fairly good job of at least getting a bit of a blurb on there relatively soon after the incident and updating as the press releases came out.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
I was talking about the press conference, not the blurb that was up last night, and early this morning.
And what is in the press release that is not in the Gazoo story?
Speaking of press conferences, I think Chief Finney deserves a standing ovation for refusing to put up with Brian Dolinar's crap this afternoon.
http://www.ucimc.org/node/1361&hidden=1
Say what you like about BD, but I think RT Phoney is the most disingenuous, insincere, self-centered jackass I have ever met. BD's approach may be a little coarse, but RT Phoney should be the bigger man and demonstrate some patience and tolerance.
RT Phoney is a pea-brained knucklehead who has simply realized that playing the game is more important to his career than providing excellent services to the community.
Finney seemed like a decent guy when I met him, and his department seems to be making a real effort to work with city residents. He's also put up with quite a bit from BD and Martell already - he's certainly been more patient and tolerant than I would have been. I think I'd describe BD's approach as "disgusting," rather than "a little coarse." Three CPD officers were shot, and one's still in the hospital because a bullet pierced her lung. But if you read the article, it's all about BD. Vomit.
"Should be the bigger man and demonstrate some patience and tolerance". It's always interesting to me how the biggest jerks ask everyone else to be nice, Try a little bit of your own advice.
I think RT Finney and other Police Officers show real restraint and integrity with all the venom some people spew at them.
I am not a PUBLIC SERVANT. RT Phoney is. I would never CHOOSE to have to deal with the general public in any capacity whatsoever. But RT Phoney DID. As such, it is reasonable for me to be a jerk and simultaneously demand that a PUBLIC SERVANT not be a monster.
No it's not reasonable. Their not being paid to be verbally abused. Just because someone chose’s to serve the public does not mean you have the right to attack them. If they are an elected official you have a right to question their actions and policy's. As a person who works for the City you can go to the City Council and make a complaint. There is no where anywhere that says you can just be a jerk to anyone else unless of course you are just a jerk.
Just because people work for the government does not mean somehow it's ok to attack them. I know allot of people do and it explains why some seats on city councils go unfilled. It also gets harder to find teachers and other people for jobs that work with the public. Layoff.
Was BD verbally abusing them? I didn't get that impression. To me, it seemed like he was merely challenging them in a way that they couldn't handle.
Nope, Finney handled BD's performance at the May 15 Champaign City Council meeting quite well. But three CPD officers were shot last night, and one was badly hurt, and I'd suspect that Finney's bullsh*t tolerance level was pretty low today.
ETA: BD addressed the 4/3/07 City Council meeting. The video is online at http://atlas-real.atlas.uiuc.edu:8080/ramgen/champaign/2007/cc_04_03_07.rm and the relevant portion is at 54:25 - 58:53
He also made a briefer appearance on 5/15/07. See http://atlas-real.atlas.uiuc.edu:8080/ramgen/champaign/2007/cc_05_15_07.rm (1:55:05 - 1:56:55).
Somehow, i doubt that Finney was in the mood to put up with this today.
So is mine, some how people getting shot even if they are lowly public servants gets to me. Public servant usually means they are serving the public, meaning me. In this case protecting me with their lives. Their life is something pretty important to protect me with, considering they have people that love them as much as my family loves me. Hey some of the people shot maybe off work for a while and need help and not be able to support their families. Of course Anon you will stand up and help out or will you stand in their front yard and yell names at them?
I was a little hesitant to support removing BD from the press conference, primarily because I think independent journalism and reporting should be encouraged, but given the nature of the sensitive subject of the press conference and his past interactions with BD, I could see how he may have wanted to avoid any disruptive or unrelated accusations being tossed about.
But is that enough reason to do so? I believe that public officials do have the power to choose whether or not they'd like to discuss a matter with a journalist, and for a press conference (as opposed to a public meeting where they are making a statement) they have the power to choose which particular journalists they'd like to discuss the event with. The White House Press Corps is probably one of the more well known and publically witnessed situations of this nature.
It can however reflect poorly on an official who refuses to speak to anyone other than journalists who may only throw softball questions at them or refuses any interviews during a scandal. Is that the case here? Or is it as BD suggested that the public official in question didn't consider him a legitimate journalist.
I decided to peruse some information about what may or may not make one a credible journalist even in the eyes of their peers. I found this page to be fairly enlightening: Code of Ethics at the Society of Professional Journalists.
To be fair this code of ethics is intended for professional journalists as opposed to freelance or independent journalists, but I believe that an independent journalist who wants to be taken seriously among their peers and public officials as legitimate journalists should adhere to these guidelines as much as possible. Going down the list of guidelines I find myself fairly well convinced that Finney probably made a good call on this one. But I'd hope that the decision to block an independent journalist from the press conference was based more on doubts that the person was a legitimate journalist as opposed to being based on the independent factor. Hopefully the action was also based on good reasons.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
WCIA has an article out with more details on the suspect of the local shooting that left three officers wounded. One officer is still being treated for bullet wounds including a pierced lung but is in stable condition. The suspect as I understand it is still in critical condition.
Witnesses described the suspect as being mentally unstable, sometimes aggressive at times and with a tendency of talking to himself. It remains unclear if he was ever diagnosed or hospitalized for mental illness.
WCIA has also reported that he had prior firearms violations and served time in prison for them. The Champaign County Circuit Clerk lists a convictions for unlawful use of firearms and lack of a Firearm Owner ID card for a man with the same name and approximate age back in 1996 that resulted in fines and 300 day jail sentence, as well as an additional firearms charge in 1997 that resulted in a 2 year prison sentence. Another charge in 2000 for property damage resulted in 45 days jail time and 2 years probation.
Details on how a potentially mentally ill convicted felon acquired a firearm illegally have yet to be revealed. I'd also be interested in finding out what if any mental heath services he had access to or may have received though such information is often unavailable due to obvious privacy concerns.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
Possible correction may be needed, according to the other press reports here and here, a Department of Corrections spokesperson indicated that he only served a 6 month jail sentence for a firearms offense in 1997. While the WCIA report indicated that he served time in prison and the Circuit Clerk information seems to mesh with that, there may be more to the story than those records revealed. How much actual time he actually served and whether that was in prison or jail seems to be a bit up in the air right now.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
This shows what a bad manager RT Phoney is.
He's got problems with the community because he's a cocksure jackass who is only concerned with his "career" (as if being a cop is a career) rather than the needs of the people he is supposed to SERVE. He gets a bunch of shit about that. So he goes out and hires someone to run interference from him - this new gal. Empowers her so that she can straighten out his messes. She starts doing her job, and along the way grants press credentials to BD. OK.
Instead of supporting this new, supposedly hard-working, competent person, he yanks the carpet out from under her - overrides her in a public and humiliating way. DUMB.
So now we know how it's going to be. RT Phoney is going to continue being his good old a-hole self. She's going to run interference for him, but he's still going to do all the jackass things he's always done.
Basically, she's going to be his bitch.
I think you'd find more supporters of your views if you didn't use every opportunity to call the Chief of Police names. You're even mocking his name, an extremely juvenile move.
Wow... what a self-negating post. It effectively helps the Chief of Police's image by making his detractors look childish and vulgar.
Really no need to even attempt a retort. It effectively does that to itself. Just... wow.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
It effectively helps the Chief of Police's image by making his detractors look childish and vulgar.
Quite true.
It effectively helps the Chief of Police's image by making his detractors look childish and vulgar.
“Quite true.”
I also agree-I think it makes BD look the same, when it seems his motives are self serving. Does any one who wants too call them a journalist, no matter what their actions get to call themselves a journalist and show up at press conferences?
Glock, Wayward I am really coming to appreciate your posts more and more for their thoroughness, research, and balance, please don't change.
Lets review:
There was a report of a man with a gun at WSP. Officers were told that the person was in a vehicle that had left the scene and it was described as something different that was there when the arrived. They got out to speak with Mr. Clemmons, not as a suspect but rather as a potential witness "hey did you see a guy with a gun" as they approached iwthout saying ANYTHING he opens fire. Now how is that provoking. After all if htey knew he had a gun they sure as heck would not walk right up to it. Look at the video... the squad car BEHIND the suspect car does not have it red lights on... it wasnt a VEHICLE stop... It was mearly a "hey what have you seen type of call"
I will of course understand BD if you and your group refrain from calling the police for the fights that break out at the IMC in Urbana. After all, call some gangster to come and help alleviate the situation.
The real question seems to me is where did he get the gun at, and why would he have it at the park when as everyone interviewed ( and I have walked by him numerous times) says that he seemed to be unstable. It wasnt that he was being "harrased" by the Police, he wasnt breaking any laws. He parked, he sat , he paid the meter. Nothing wrong in that.
But of course BDhas his own agenda and I get that by posting the fact that Officer Bridges fought some idiot at a Park earlier this year, that she has gotten what she deserves.
You simply make me want to throw up you little pathetic individual. I will be with Officer Bridges tomorrow. Hope you find time out of your busy schedule to come by and express your sorrow that a true warrior was injured. She has probably contributed more in the past 3 yrs at CPD than you have in your life up to this point.
The News-Gazette has an updated article on their website now...
bhss73... I wouldn't let the beligerent folks get to you. They pretty well discredit themselves. It's painfully frustrating though, I know.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
Look at the video... the squad car BEHIND the suspect car does not have it red lights on... it wasnt a VEHICLE stop... It was mearly a "hey what have you seen type of call""
"Look at the video"? What video?
"...as such, it is reasonable for me to be a jerk..."
Congratulations! You've far exceeded "reasonable"! "Overwhelming" might be a better description!
From the tv stations who responded.... all the other squads have red lights flashing. One directly behind the suspect vehicle does not. Hence it was not a vehicle stop for the lights would have been on......
Good Lord, there's a comment that basically suggests that Finney should have been shot: "....Too bad he didn't respond to the call - he's the most expendable individual in the department." ML and Gehrig have hidden other posts that criticize BD and UCIMC, but that one remained untouched. Just when I thought that site couldn't get any scummier....
Of course, there's also BD's questionable allegation that Shannon Bridges beat the 17-year-old kid that was pepper-sprayed on March 30. I witnessed the tail end of the arrest, and do not believe that Bridges or any of the other officers there beat the kid. But posting that garbage while she's in the hospital because a bullet went through her lung is an extra-classy touch.
http://www.ucimc.org/node/1361&hidden=1
*Sigh* I went over there and posted a comment critical of the one wayward pointed out, and of course it was hidden. I don't know why I even bother.
Anybody heard anything about Channick vs MTD? There doesn't seem to be any action at all on it. It's case 05L 00267.
*Sigh* I went over there and posted a comment critical of the one wayward pointed out, and of course it was hidden. I don't know why I even bother.
I took a look at some of the hidden comments. One thing I'd like to point out in response to one of them is that Illyes is not one of the web editors, and I believe that he has raised questions about some of the things going on with the website. So it's really not fair to blame him.
"If they recognize him, maybe they know something that can help the police understand his motives."
Idiots don't need reasons.
Is there anything which suggests that the shooter is dumb? I'm not sure there is.
This thread is a waste of time.
A person goes into Burger King. Orders fries. Employee makes fries. Another employee serves them. Customer eats Fries.
=
Bad guy shoots at cops. Cops shoot at bad guy (and apparently not very well - he's still alive).
So what?
People just doing their jobs.
Not worth discussing.
wayward... I left my own 2 cents, as respectfully as possible, on the latest thread over at IMC... as an independent hopefully they'll take it into consideration.
Anon 9:24pm... obviously lots of other people consider it worth discussing. This is the first time in a long time that a CPD officer has been shot in the line of duty and obviously no where as routine as ordering food from a fast food joint. We live in a relatively safe and diverse community where incidents such as this are fairly rare. It is far from perfect but ignoring major events like this hardly seems appropriate. If anything the Paris Hilton coverage should get this kind of response. Drunk young weirdo gets thrown in jail for driving on suspended license after a DUI... not worth discussing. Three of our local police officers wounded in the line of duty? Now that's news.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
Glock, I thought you were very polite. However, I had a brief exchange with Chief Finney on the topic, and it sounds like the issue with Brian was the history of inappropriate behavior at City Council meetings. Allowing an individual to disrupt a press conference could be a real disservice to the other members of the media there, since it would waste their time and make it harder for them to get their questions answered. It sounded like in most cases, Chief Finney would be willing to consider admitting citizen journalists and bloggers as long as they could behave professionally.
wayward... seems to make sense and good to hear. Though of course there seems to be some debate over what is "asking tough questions" versus being disruptive. I'm somewhat reminded of Helen Thomas at the White House press corps, though I'd like to stress "somewhat."
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Glock21 Op/Ed
This thread is a waste of time. Anon 9:24 I am glad you feel that way, so you have left.
FWIW, I thought that this article about gatekeeping and press credentials was interesting:
http://www.drudgeblog.com/archives/2005/06/16/keyholders-and-gatekeepers/
This is the final paragraph:
At the meetings I have had the fortune to be able to attend, the only person I saw behaving inappropriately was the mayor. I was underimpressed with the Police Chief, but I don't see how butchering his name is going to do anything but hurt the speaker's argument...