The police blotter . . .
In the wake of a controversial Cook County judge’s verdict clearing a Chicago cop of involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed woman, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy has come out swinging two bats.
OPINION
One is aimed at Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
“She should never have indicted police officer Dante Servin in the first place,” McCarthy told Sneed.
“It was wrong. The judge did the right thing by issuing a directed verdict,” he added.
RELATED: Courtroom erupts after CPD detective found not guilty in fatal shooting of unarmed woman Protesters march across West Side to call for justice for Rekia Boyd
But his second swing was a pitch to improve the Chicago Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, which probes complaints against police officers, by naming a new commander — Lt. Brendan Deenihan — to “root out corruption and misconduct in our department!”
“We need to improve the department’s ability to make sure when people file complaints against Chicago Police officers, they are adequately investigated and brought to a conclusion,” McCarthy said.
“Detective Deenihan is a crackerjack investigator. The best. Internal affairs is incredibly important to the legitimacy of our department,” he added.
• Backshot: Servin was an off-duty Chicago Police detective in March 2012 when he fatally shot Rekia Boyd, 22, as she stood with a group of people by Servin’s home in Douglas Park.
• Buckshot: When Judge Dennis Porter issued his verdict Monday, clearing Servin of the charges before his attorneys even put on a defense, the courtroom exploded with criticism.
Pssst!!!!!
Sneed hears film director Spike Lee hits town Tuesday to scout locations for his new film, “Chiraq,” which chronicles violence in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood.
• The upshot: Police Supt. McCarthy is not pleased with the news that Lee plans to call the film “Chiraq.”
“I love this town,” McCarthy said. “It’s my adopted city. I’m not going anywhere. I have been working really hard to erase any negative perceptions about my new hometown — and I just don’t think negative perceptions about this city, which I love, helps.”
Sneed exclusive II . . .
It’s a first! Sneed is told one-third of the approximately 600,000 ballots cast in Chicago’s mayoral runoff weren’t cast in polling places on Election Day.
• Translation: For the first time in the state of Illinois, one-third of all votes were cast in early or absentee voting! Out of 588,557 ballots, about 207,000 were early voting or absentee ballots.
• Further translation: Both Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia “had way more ground game after the runoff,” a top Sneed election source said.
The glove thing . . .
So why does Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wear fishnet gloves, like the ones she had on at January’s State of the Union address and in her portrait for the Time’s “100 Most Influential People” issue?
• Answer: Ginsburg emailed the Washington Post: “Justice [Sandra Day] O’Connor said when I was having chemotherapy after colon cancer, ‘You are vulnerable now, and you’re going to receptions and shaking hands with lots of people, so you should at least wear gloves.’ This was in 1999. So, I wore gloves and liked them so much, I decided to keep wearing them.”
Gads!
Former Bill Clinton campaign strategist James “Ragin’ Cajun” Carville filmed a pilot for a “Judge Judy” type show, called “Carville’s Court,” which is not a go — according to Politico.
Let us all heave a sigh of relief.
Sneedlings . . .
Tuesday’s birthdays: Queen Elizabeth, 89; Iggy Pop, 68, and Patti LuPone, 66.
