'Touchy-feely' cop accused of 'groping' women, sloppy drunkenness keeps landing jobs in law enforcement



Rural Illinois near the Indiana border, about an hour south of the bright lights of Chicago, is dotted with small cities with the hometown feel for which the Midwest is well known. With small populations and low crime, police officers in these areas are familiar faces who are revered for their service to their community.

But in this region is at least one cop, Officer Quincy Spears, who has bounced around from department to department, carving out a lengthy career in law enforcement in spite of a troubling track record that dates back decades.

'He's a bad person, and he shouldn't be wearing a badge.'

Internal affairs investigations at Watseka Police Department, where Spears is still believed to be employed, seem to have escalated since Blaze News began looking into complaints against Spears in early September.

In response to public records requests, the City of Watseka told Blaze News on September 4 that its police department did "not have any complaints against Officer Spears." The city reiterated on October 9 that the police department did "not have any email communications regarding Quincy Spears" and that he had "no disciplinary records" there.

By October 29, the city had discovered email complaints and incident reports about Spears that it sent along to Blaze News, and WCIA had reported that "multiple" Watseka police officers were under investigation by the Illinois State Police. While Police Chief Eric Starkey declined to identify the officers involved, he confirmed to WCIA that they have been on leave since July.

Screenshot of letter sent to Blaze News

Screenshot of letter sent to Blaze News

A public records request to Watseka asking for Spears' work-related gas receipts through October 24 revealed that Spears had been submitting receipts for his patrol work regularly until September 28, when the submissions abruptly stopped.

Despite the breadth of accusations against him, Quincy Spears did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Blaze News.

Who is Quincy Spears?

Quincy Spears is a 47-year-old native son of this area, born in Kankakee, Illinois, according to an application he completed for the Manteno Police Department in March 2006, and currently living in Momence, about 10 miles east of Kankakee. Spears married in 2002, and he and his wife have at least two children.

Spears began his career in law enforcement "right after" he graduated high school in 1997, he wrote on the Manteno application.

'Ptlm. Spears Incidents'

That career got off to a rough start. Spears admitted on the application that he had been "asked to resign" from his job as a corrections officer at the Kankakee County Detention Center after less than a year "for horseplaying on the job."

Since that brief stint at the correctional facility, Spears has worked either part-time or full-time for police departments in four different Illinois municipalities: Grant Park, population 1,300; Momence, population 3,100; Manteno, population 9,200; and most recently, Watseka, population 4,700.

The vast majority of that time, more than 15 years, was spent with the Manteno Police Department, according to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.

The accusations against Spears are rather wide-ranging and start from his earliest years as an officer. In 2005, he ignored direct instructions from his supervisor and administered a breathalyzer test on a subject who "did not appear at all intoxicated and was cooperating fully," according to a report that appeared to be signed by the then-chief of Momence PD.

According to another document titled "Ptlm. Spears Incidents," believed to have been created by Manteno PD, Spears:

  • hit a parked car just before 1 a.m. in February 2008,
  • had a "dog bite" incident at his residence in February 2012,
  • "blew" a stop sign in front of a fellow officer on an "unknown date and time,"
  • and was involved in two disturbances and one alleged "fight" at various bars while off duty.

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Screenshot of police documents

'Without her consent'

Perhaps the most alarming accusations against Spears relate to his treatment of women. Blaze News first learned of Spears after a father in Momence reached out to express concerns about Spears' alleged harassment of his daughter.

Though nearly 30 years old, the man's daughter has special needs, and Spears, a fellow Momence resident, routinely makes comments to her while she walks to and from work that make her "uncomfortable," the man explained to Blaze News.

'On several occasions,' Spears 'placed his hands between her legs near her vagina,' one woman claimed.

"He drives by in his golf cart and, you know, wolf-whistles and harasses and yells her nickname at her all the time and basically does not leave her alone," said the father, who asked not to be named.

The father indicated that his daughter does not have the wherewithal to defend herself against this alleged treatment. "She just kind of puts her head down and keeps walking," he said. When the father confronted Spears about the comments, Spears "laughed it off," the man recalled. "He thought I was joking."

The father noted that while these alleged instances occur while Spears is off duty, his daughter knows Spears and recognizes him as a police officer.

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Heather Freinkel/Getty Images

To the best of the father's knowledge, Spears' alleged comments to his daughter, while unwelcome, have never been sexually explicit or crossed the line into inappropriate physical contact. Other women in the area have told a different story.

In a report filed with Manteno PD on March 7, 2018, two adult sisters told officers that Spears had repeatedly touched them inappropriately under the guise of affectionate friendliness.

On "numerous occasions," Spears had "placed his hands on her breasts and buttocks without her consent," one woman said, according to the report. She claimed he does so "in a joking manner ... often while hugging, greeting, or approaching her." She estimated he had done so "at least 100 times over the past several years."

When he touches her rear end, Spears "doesn't just put his hands on it but puts it [as] deep and low in between her legs as he can," she claimed.

Her sister added that "on several occasions," Spears "placed his hands between her legs near her vagina," the report said. Both women claimed they asked Spears to stop, but the behavior continued.

The first sister also insisted she had seen Spears similarly "groping" other women, sometimes with "their husband or boyfriend" standing nearby. Though the men objected, Spears "uses his status as a police officer to intimidate or deter them from taking it any further," she claimed.

Despite their apparent discomfort with Spears, the women declined to file a formal complaint, telling officers they "did not want him to lose his job and cause problems for his family." Their allegations were first raised by a concerned uncle.

The "Ptlm. Spears Incidents" document also mentions a "battery call" to the department made after Spears allegedly "was kissing a women [sic] on the neck and she burnt him with a cigarette and ended up punching him." According to the incident report, Spears had called the police but later declined to press charges. The female involved was described in the report as one of Spears' "family members."

Momence Mayor Chuck Steele, who has known Spears for more than 30 years, described Spears as "touchy-feely" with women and said he would never hire Spears for the Momence department under any circumstances. "He's a bad person, and he shouldn't be wearing a badge," Steele told Blaze News.

'Allegedly intoxicated and exhibiting obnoxious behavior'

Spears' file is also filled with reports of disturbing behavior related to alcohol consumption and public intoxication.

The "Ptlm. Spears Incidents" document mentioned above references a bar "fight" on February 27, 2010. Even though no physical altercation appears to have taken place that night, Spears' behavior before and after the alleged "fight" nonetheless infuriated cops.

Spears was 'unprofessional and hostile toward both the clerk and the cook who had prepared his order' because of an apparent 'dispute over a coupon,' the attendant claimed.

Hours before the bar "fight" incident, Spears called off sick for a shift that was scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. the following day. When the sergeant on duty arrived at the bar about the "fight" at about 1:15 a.m., less than five hours before Spears' scheduled shift, he saw Spears "drinking alcohol" and speaking "with slurred speech and appear[ing] to be intoxicated," the sergeant documented.

Even though he was supposed to be sick, Spears pled his case about his role in the alleged "fight," claiming that a white male "aggressor" at the bar had insulted Manteno police as "a bunch of p**sies" and called him the N-word, the sergeant reported.

A short time later, after the sergeant had left to attend to a different case, Spears called the sergeant and insisted on reporting for his scheduled shift. After some back-and-forth, the sergeant eventually had to threaten Spears with a breathalyzer before Spears agreed not to come in.

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ANGHI/Getty Images

The "Ptlm. Spears Incident" document, likely drawn up by Manteno PD, also alleged Spears had called his police chief "while in a ditch drunk," had "called numerous officers highly intoxicated while off-duty," and even that he had his firearm owner's identification "suspended" at an unknown date and time after he was transported to the hospital because he was "extremely intoxicated and ... Suicidal."

Spears was also involved in off-duty incidents at bars in December 2023 and January 2024, according to documents from Watseka PD.

Then on January 27, 2025, a gas station attendant approached a Momence cop who happened to be pumping gas to report an incident involving Spears. The attendant recalled that Spears arrived to pick up a food order in an "allegedly highly intoxicated state" and proceeded to cause "a scene," the cop wrote in the "Incident Report Involving off duty Officer Spears Quincy."

Spears was "unprofessional and hostile toward both the clerk and the cook who had prepared his order" because of an apparent "dispute over a coupon," the attendant claimed, according to the cop's summary.

The attendant further claimed that it "was not the first time" Spears had entered the store "allegedly intoxicated and exhibiting obnoxious behavior," the report said.

'You have some racist black people'

None of the many troubling allegations mentioned above prompted the disciplinary hearing that resulted in Spears' voluntary resignation from the Manteno Police Department after 15 years on the force.

The two incidents that did lead to the hearing involved his interactions with fellow officers.

'I never felt more discriminated on in my entire life as a black man.'

The first occurred on December 17, 2020, when a sheriff's deputy confronted an off-duty Spears outside his home after the deputy reportedly witnessed Spears speeding and failing to signal.

The situation escalated quickly, with Spears demanding to know, "Do you know who I am?" and the deputy warning that the situation could turn into a traffic stop if Spears "continued to talk to [him] that way," according to the deputy's statement. Tensions seemed to dissipate a bit after Spears mentioned he was a Manteno officer, and the deputy ultimately left without recording anything or filing an initial report since it was not an official traffic stop.

Spears, however, did not drop the incident. Instead, he called Sgt. Andy Mackin, the Manteno midnight shift supervisor, at around 3 the next morning, more than four hours later, to complain about the deputy's behavior, and the two spoke for "approx. three hours," according to Mackin's statement.

Mackin noted that Spears said "multiple times" that he wanted the deputy "fired" for his actions, which Spears claimed amounted to racial profiling.

"I never felt more discriminated on in my entire life as a black man as that frickin' day there," Spears railed during the April 2021 disciplinary hearing, which can be heard in full here. "That's one of the reasons why African Americans do not complain about the police because of crap like that."

Though Manteno Chief Alan Swinford noted at the hearing that the deputy involved is also black, Spears was not deterred, replying: "Chief, you have some racist black people as well when it comes to [the] African-American community, as we all know."

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Screenshot of photo featuring Officer Quincy Spears and a K-9 officer on the Grant Park Police Department Facebook page

Despite admitting during the hearing that he hoped someone would train the deputy on "how to properly talk to people," Spears vehemently denied calling for the deputy to be fired, decrying Mackin's statement that he had as "a bald-face lie."

The second incident that led to his departure from Manteno PD related to apparent attempts to use his status as a police officer to influence a case involving a friend who had been pulled over for an alleged DUI in March 2021. Spears contacted the deputy involved in the stop as well as other law enforcement personnel to see whether he might convince them "to reduce or drop charges" against his friend, Manteno PD claimed in the notice of allegations.

"Quincy asked if there ... was anything I could do to help [redacted] out, since he was his guy," the deputy wrote in a statement.

During the disciplinary hearing, Spears repeatedly insisted he could not "recall" mentioning anything about the "charges" his friend may have been facing to any of the involved personnel.

Manteno PD did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

'Not representative of a professional police officer'

Spears resigned from Manteno PD effective June 30, 2021. By November of that year, Spears had already landed a full-time job with the Watseka Police Department.

Momence Mayor Chuck Steele told Blaze News that he spoke with the then-mayor of Watseka to warn him about Spears before the police department hired him. "Don't even think about putting him in as chief or even anything," Steele recalled saying. "I said, 'I'd be afraid to have him. You're going to end up in lawsuits.'"

It seems Mayor Steele was right as Spears' behavior did not appear to change.

In December 2023, Spears walked into Momence PD, asking for a job application. When the officer on duty, Sgt. Jeffrey Crocker, directed him to the online application portal, Spears became incensed, contacting Mayor Steele and two city aldermen to complain about Crocker's alleged mistreatment of him.

'I have no legal basis for disciplining his off-duty conduct.'

According to statements given to Momence Police Chief Patrick Siemsen, Spears told Mayor Steele that Sgt. Crocker appeared "pissed off that he had to deal with" him and treated him "like a piece of s**t, like a second-class citizen."

Then-Alderman Romel Huddleston, who is black, told Chief Siemsen that Spears had approached him at a bar two days after the incident and accused Sgt. Crocker of racism. Spears "was attempting to play the 'Race Card' and gain sympathy," Huddleston indicated, according to Siemsen.

Spears also interrupted another alderman out on a date to lodge similar complaints about Crocker, Siemsen reported. Spears then apparently scribbled his version of events on a yellow legal pad and gave it to the alderman. A copy of that note was included in Siemsen's report.

The note, aptly described as "difficult to understand," is believed to read: "Tom I went in to apply I talked to Crocker he was so unprofessional, look at his body cam. This might hurt me to be a officer."

Screenshot of incident report

Frustrated with the man-hours and expense associated with investigating Spears' allegations of mistreatment, Siemsen filed a formal complaint with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, accusing Spears of "knowingly and intentionally" making "a false complaint" against Crocker.

"Mr. Spears' conduct and behavior was egregious, highly unprofessional, unethical, and not representative of a professional police officer," Siemsen wrote.

Jeremy Douglas, then the Watseka police chief, seemingly shrugged his shoulders, claiming that Spears' comments were a matter of "opinion" and therefore "protected by the First Amendment." "I have no legal basis for disciplining his off-duty conduct," Douglas wrote Siemsen in a letter reviewed by Blaze News.

Huddleston did not respond to a request for comment.

Blaze News sent Watseka PD a series of questions about the vetting process associated with hiring Spears and officials' level of awareness regarding the allegations against him. We also called and left a message following the news report about the officers under investigation. The department did not respond.

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VIRAL video showing black man brutalized by police ignites outrage, but bodycam footage tells a different story



A video recording of the February 2025 traffic stop and arrest of a 22-year-old African-American man named William McNeil Jr. is going viral following its release to the public. The roughly two-minute-long video is disturbing, as it appears to capture McNeil being brutalized by police officers.

In the clip, McNeil sits in his car and talks to a cop outside his passenger window. He says, “When he pulled me over, he walked up, I opened my door because my window don't work, right? And then I said, ‘So what I did wrong?’ He said, ‘Well, for one, your headlights are off under this weather.’ I’m like, ‘There's multiple people with headlights off, first of all, and then there’s no rain.’”

The cop he’s speaking to then replies, “It doesn’t matter. You’re still required to have headlights on.”

McNeil then responds, “Can you pull that law up?”

“Yeah, when you step out of the car, I will,” the officer says.

McNeil then requests the officer call his supervisor, at which point, the officer gives the order to have McNeil’s window smashed. Another cop reaches through the broken glass and punches McNeil, who is not fighting back and has his hands visible, in the face. He’s then ripped from his vehicle, punched by several officers, and wrestled to the ground.

It certainly appears like disproportionate force was used on McNeil.

However, another video has begun to circulate, and it radically alters the narrative. Sara Gonzales contrasts McNeil’s video with the much longer police bodycam footage of the incident.

Before McNeil began recording his own video of his window being smashed and his forcible removal from his vehicle, he had already been interacting with police for several minutes.

Police footage captures McNeil with his door open asking the officer why he’s been pulled over. The officer, keeping at a distance, asks McNeil why his door is open, to which McNeil explains that his window doesn’t work. After the officer informs McNeil that he’s been stopped for not using headlights in inclement weather and for not wearing his seat belt, he asks McNeil for his license, registration, and proof of insurance.

McNeil, however, boldly says, “No, call your supervisor.”

The officer then tells McNeil to “step out of the vehicle.” Again, McNeil says no and then proceeds to slam and lock his door.

At that point, the officer tells McNeil that he’s under arrest for resisting. “Sir, this is your last warning to open the vehicle and exit before we are going to break the window,” he says.

McNeil refuses, and the officer warns him six more times that his window will be broken if he doesn’t exit his vehicle. McNeil never complies, at which point the order is given for his window to be broken.

Reports also indicate that McNeil was driving with a suspended license, was in possession of marijuana at the time of his arrest, and reached for a large knife when officers opened his door.

To hear Sara’s commentary and analysis on the incident, watch the episode above.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

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Cop in San Diego resigns after locking himself in patrol car with female suspect — both deny tryst occurred



A San Diego police officer has now resigned from his job after he accidentally locked himself in the backseat of a patrol vehicle with a female suspect.

Late in the evening on August 14, 2023, Officer Anthony Hair, a two-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department, and other officers tracked down two suspects wanted in connection with a stolen vehicle. One of the suspects was a woman who also had a bench warrant out for her arrest.

'When I was waking her up, that’s when I noticed that this door closed on me. That’s when I was trying to kind of open the door.'

The woman, whose name has not been released, was arrested and placed in the back of Hair's patrol car. As the two made their way to the Las Colinas Detention Center, she began making advances on Hair.

"Are you single?" she asked, according to footage captured on Hair's body camera.

When he answered in the affirmative, she then made her intentions clear. "I'm down to f*** right now," she said, according to WKRC.

She informed Hair that she did have a boyfriend. However, she also admitted she had her reasons for propositioning him: "You're not too bad. What's it gonna hurt me if I work the system, you know what I mean? That's the way I see s***."

Hair then warned her to keep such comments to herself. "Don't say that right now," he said, according to the recording. "Don't say that right now because everything is being recorded right now."

Rather than drive directly to the detention center, Hair turned into a neighborhood a few blocks away and parked the vehicle just after 1:30 a.m. on August 15. His body camera was then deactivated.

Approximately 20 minutes later, Hair made a frantic call to a fellow officer. The following is that officer's recollection of their conversation:

I heard and noticed Officer Hair had a panicky voice. I asked him if he was okay. He said, yes, and then asked if I had my patrol car key with me. I asked why he was asking and what did he need. Officer Hair then asked me If I could go meet him. I asked him his location and he said, near Cottonwood. I asked him why he needed me, and he said he would tell me when I got there. He said he was really embarrassed.

Within an hour, a supervisor had come to open the locked patrol vehicle. Traces of semen were later reportedly recovered from the belt Hair wore that night.

Last month, internal affairs began an investigation into the incident. Hair denied engaging in anything inappropriate with the suspect, claiming that she had experienced some kind of medical episode and that he had parked the cruiser and crawled into the backseat to check on her.

"When I was waking her up, that’s when I noticed that this door closed on me. That’s when I was trying to kind of open the door," he said, according to the New York Post.

He also denied deliberately turning off his body camera. Instead, he said it had accidentally popped off when he was exiting the car.

The woman similarly denied that the two had had an assignation that night but indicated that Hair was romantically interested in her. "He wanted to get with me when I was done with the warrant or whatever I got arrested for," she reportedly said.

Despite their denials, Hair decided to resign from the force the day before he was scheduled to have a second interview about the matter. Whether he will face charges in connection with the incident remains unclear.

The SDPD did not respond to the Post's request for comment.

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Video shows NYPD officer break into tears after talking man off ledge: 'Come back brother, come back'



A suicidal man had a good view of the sunset over the Hudson River from his perch on the side of a Manhattan overpass earlier this month. It would likely have been the last thing he'd ever see — apart from the pavement below — were it not for New York Police Department officers Carl Fayette and Eleodor Mata.

The NYPD released body camera footage this week showing the officers' dramatic intervention on Oct. 5 along with their subsequent efforts to process this victory over death, noting, "Police Officers frequently interact with people having the worst day of their lives."

In the video, a distraught man can be seen leaning over the edge of a raised portion of Riverside Drive in Manhattanville near West 130th Street, several stories above the ground below and partitioned from officers by a railing and a fence.

Fayette calmly told him, "I've been in your shoes man. I've been in your shoes man, right. It's not worth it, right. ... There is solutions. There is a way to actually get out of this situation."

"I believe that you're a good man. You're a good man," continued Fayette. "And I promise you, brother. I promise you: We will do anything in our power to help you. Please, listen to me. I've been in your shoes, brother."

"I care about you and I care about your life," added the officer. "Life is beautiful. The sun is beautiful. ... Don't give up on me, brother."

Mata repeatedly reinforced Fayette's words of support, saying, "There's plenty of resources out here for you. ... We're here for you. Everybody's here for you. We're gonna help you. You are stronger than this, like Carl told you many times. You are. You can defeat this with our help. Just come back brother, come back."

The officers carried on with their impassioned pleas for nearly 40 minutes until harnessed Emergency Service Unit officers were finally able to rescue the man.

After the ESU secured the prospective jumper, Fayette retreated into the road, audibly overwhelmed by the incident. He took a knee and sobbed, ostensibly shedding happy tears in the company of fellow officers.

The 26th Precinct said in a statement on Meta, "Both officers demonstrated great compassion and care while keeping the male engaged, allowing ESU Officers an opportunity grab the man & bring him to safety."

On X, the precinct noted the officers had spoken to the suicidal man with "genuine empathy."

Police Officers Fayette and Mata responded to a suicidal male who wanted to jump from an overpass. \n\nThey spoke to the man with genuine empathy to let him know they cared and that help was available, & with the assistance of our @NYPDSpecialops, they got him help.\n\nAmazing work!
— NYPD 26th Precinct (@NYPD 26th Precinct) 1697062013

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a free, confidential help line available across the United States. It is offered in hundreds of languages and can be utilized via phone, text or chat. Those in need just have to dial or text 988.

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Minneapolis police officer outed as OnlyFans model by driver she pulled over: 'I've seen your private parts'



A Minneapolis police officer was reportedly outed as an OnlyFans model when a driver recognized the female cop from her pornographic content during a recent traffic stop.

The Minneapolis Police Department is investigating an officer for allegedly having an OnlyFans account that featured adult content.

Last weekend, a driver was pulled over by a Minneapolis police officer. After about 10 minutes, the driver reportedly recognized the female cop as an adult entertainer on OnlyFans.

The driver purportedly told KMSP-TV, "Then we were doing a little talking and checking, and I was like, 'Man, she got an OnlyFans page. I’m on her OnlyFans page.'"

The anonymous driver alleged that the unnamed Fourth Precinct officer shared sex videos and explicit photos on her OnlyFans page. The driver said that he had subscribed to the officer's OnlyFans account for five months.

"You got to go to the VIP, and you get to see the videos of her and her, I guess, husband. I guess that’s who it is. They do full sex videos," the driver claimed.

The driver said, "You can’t arrest me no more; I’ve seen your private parts. I wouldn’t want her to be arresting me, and I just saw you and your husband last night for $29.99 have sex on OnlyFans. I just can't respect you or the precinct that you’re working at."

The cop's OnlyFans account states that she is a "Free spirited, Overly Optimistic, Creator of Sexy Content to Please Others!" According to a screen capture of the site, the OnlyFans model offers "amateur porn," "custom" videos, and "sexy pics."

The chief of the Minneapolis Police Department confirmed that an investigation has been launched to determine if the 35-year-old officer violated any policies by being an erotic model.

"We take any allegations of policy violations seriously and the chief has ordered an investigation," Chief Brian O'Hara said in a statement.

According to KSTP-TV, MPD policy states: "All employees are prohibited from working off duty under the following conditions: ... any establishment that provides adult entertainment in the form of nude, semi-nude or topless exhibitions."

A spokesperson for Mayor Jacob Frey (D) said in a statement: "If all we're talking about is naked pictures behind a paywall, the mayor has no issue. However, the chief will determine if there are any policy violations."

According to KMSP-TV, "It's not clear how long the investigation will take. But, as of the last check, the officer’s OnlyFans page is still up and running. FOX 9 did ask how long colleagues and administrative staff have been aware of the site, but we did not get an answer."

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Minneapolis police officer outed as OnlyFans model by fan www.youtube.com

DeSantis launching billboards in Chicago offering 'unappreciated' cops a $5,000 signing bonus for relocating to Florida to help keep the peace



Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is launching a billboard campaign in Chicago, offering "unappreciated" police officers a $5,000 signing bonus to come to Florida to do what leftists in Illinois appear keen to otherwise prevent them from doing properly at home.

Chicago is a city terrorized by criminals. There have been 1,495 criminal sexual assaults, 7,039 robberies, 20,651 motor vehicle thefts, and 435 murders reported in the city so far this year. Two of those slain in the city were police officers, Aréanah M. Preston and Andres M. Vasquez Lasso.

The very people capable of restoring law and order in the no-cash-bail state have seemingly been discouraged from doing so at every turn.

Chicago was, after all, one of the Democrat-run cities that embraced anti-police rhetoric and reduced police funding amidst the 2020 BLM riots.

Its new leftist mayor, Brandon Johnson, a former teachers' union organizer and advocate for "redirecting money away from policing and militarizing police forces," does not appear to be making things better, having called for social workers and EMTs to respond to various 911 calls.

The chilling effect has been unmistakable.

In the face of dwindling support from the city, increased scrutiny, and the fear of reprisals, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that arrests dropped to their lowest in decades last year.

With the understanding both that Florida could always use more men and women in blue and that Democratic policies in Illinois allow "dangerous criminals back into communities," DeSantis announced Thursday that Florida would be launching billboards in the greater Chicago area inviting law enforcement officers to the Sunshine State.

Those "unappreciated" officers who are interested and who relocate will receive a $5,000 signing bonus through the Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program.

According to the Florida Department of Commerce website, over 292 law enforcement officers have already taken the Sunshine State up on the offer to relocate from Illinois, California, New York, and Pennsylvania since 2022.

"Florida strongly supports law enforcement and has consistently enacted commonsense criminal justice policies to keep our communities safe," said DeSantis. "We stand behind our citizen officers, and we give them the tools to succeed professionally and personally. Other states deputize non-citizens, enact policies that favor criminals over victims, and work to overtly or covertly defund the police, but not in Florida. I look forward to welcoming the Illinois men and women in blue to the law-and-order state."

In the announcement, the governor's office contrasted Illinois' apparent priority to allow illegal aliens to become police officers and eliminate cash bail with the benefits on offer to law enforcement officers in Florida, including student loan forgiveness programs, home loan programs, and retirement benefits.

WQRF-TV reported that the billboards erected in the Chicago area read, "Citizenship Matters. Law Enforcement Matters. Make the Smart Move to Florida."

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Female officer says she was pressured into oral sex with coworker, cops took bets on who would have sex with her first



The first female police officer ever to serve in a small Michigan town claims that she was the victim of intense sexual harassment and sexual discrimination that forced her to resign.

Teresa Williams, 35, says that she was groped by a supervisor at the Iron Mountain Police Department, and she was pressured into oral sex with a coworker. Williams' lawsuit also claims that she was "held to a completely different standard" on the job than her male coworkers.

In October 2017, just three weeks after being hired by the Iron Mountain Police Department, Williams was allegedly pressured to engage in a bizarre initiation ritual. Her former supervisor, Joseph Dumais, allegedly pressured her into doing a Fireball whiskey shot and making out with him.

"Plaintiff refused and said the whole thing was made up. Dumais responded that it was required and that everyone had to do it as standard protocol," the lawsuit alleges. "To allegedly demonstrate, Dumais took an initial shot along with a former county dispatcher (male) then kissed him. Ultimately, Plaintiff buckled to the pressure and took the 'IMPD shot' with Dumais who, as a result, kissed Plaintiff and stated that she was now 'officially part of IMPD.'"

Later, Dumais allegedly asked Williams to do another shot with him and she agreed after initially declining. The lawsuit filed on Feb. 13 alleges that Dumais then groped Williams.

The suit says, "Dumais pressured Plaintiff into taking the second IMPD shot, however this time Dumais put his hand between Plaintiff’s legs and grabbed her genitals."

Williams allegedly "froze in fear."

In another alleged incident, Williams drove Budek home after frequenting a bar. Budek purportedly instructed Williams to stop the car because he had to "tell her something."

Fox News reported, "Budek went on to allegedly tell her about 'how hot her ass looked in her duty pants,' and pulled her hand down to his genitals. He then attempted to kiss the woman, but she turned away, and he kissed her neck, according to the suit. The incident in the car only stopped after Budek allegedly shoved her hand down his pants, and she stopped resisting, resulting in him letting go of her hand, the suit claimed."

Williams alleges that Budek kissed and groped her when she dropped him off at his house.

Williams allegedly went to Budek's house to watch a movie. Budek's wife excused herself from watching the movie and then Budek pressured Williams to perform oral sex on him, according to the lawsuit.

"I said I wanted to go home," Williams allegedly told Budek. "I basically felt helpless … like I didn't have a choice."

She added, "If I didn't go along with what was going on, they were going to ruin me and make my life a living hell."

Williams said that her coworkers saw her as a "piece of meat."

The former cop stated, "The way that they would look at me was one of the biggest things. It made me feel like I was a piece of meat."

Williams told NBC, "Just because you wear a badge and you’re a cop, it doesn’t mean you’re above the law. It doesn’t mean you get to treat people however you want."

"I want my story to be told because I want people to know — other women to know — that they’re not alone," Williams told the Detroit Free Press. "And I want other women to know that it’s OK to be embarrassed about stuff like this. . . . You shouldn't have to hide from it. People need to be held accountable for this type of bulls**t"

Williams allegedly informed her union that she was being discriminated against in November 2020. However, she was reportedly "advised against being a ‘whistleblower' and told she could be fired if her claims were determined unfounded, according to the claims."

Jack Schulz, Williams’ attorney, said his client has faced "the most horrific" abuse that he had seen in his career.

"Rather than embrace diversity and inclusion, these officers, including leadership, have acted with complete impunity," Schulz said. "Their actions are disgraceful, and they must be held accountable."

Schulz said that the police occupation was a "dream job" for Williams.

Gregory R. Grant of Cummings McClorey Davis & Acho, the attorney representing the defendants, said, "There are two sides to every story and my clients are looking forward to presenting the facts in court. The City of Iron Mountain has always been committed to creating a safe and respectful work environment for all of its employees."

Williams resigned from the Iron Mountain Police Department last April. She claimed that she was given a choice of resignation or being fired.

Williams said, "My biggest thing is having integrity, standing tall and doing the right thing. I know that this kind of stuff happens everywhere. I'm not the only female that this has happened to."

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