Radar magazine recently posted a pretty interesting article on Stephen Kazmierczak, the NIU shooter. Apparently, they found a comment on a music message board in which someone said he was the shooter’s former co-worker at Pirates Cove Children’s Theme Park.
 
The poster goes on to make some pretty wild claims.
 
Then, a commenter going by the same alias as the poster– sinicalypse– responded to the post. Hm, real lead or false ramblings? Take a look at Radar’s site and let me know.

So, I happened upon a very strange computer game today– “Ripper,” a 1996 game about Jack the Ripper. Now, if you think that’s weird, hold onto your joystick. The game stars Christopher Walken.
 
Here’s how IMDB describes this interactive masterpiece:
 
Jack’s back. In 2040, a vicious serial killer stalks the mean streets of New York, eviscerating his victims and vanishing without a trace, leaving no clues to his, or her, identity. Only you, as crime reporter Jake Quinlan, can crack the case. There are three suspects; Detective Magnota, lead investigator of the case; Dr. Burton, the doctor with the mysterious past; Falconetti, master hacker; and your own girlfriend and fellow reporter Catherine, whose mother may have been the Ripper’s first victim. It’s up to you, uncover the clues and catch the killer, or else you may be next.
 
I highly suggest taking a look at the trailer for the game– which features the vocal stylings of the Blue Oyster Cult.
 
I know what I want for Christmas this year.

Photo by The Chicago Tribune, courtesy of Maurice Possley
 
Maurice Possley works as a criminal justice reporter for the Chicago Tribune. With around 36 years of reporting under his proverbial belt, Possley has seen a lot—the good, the bad and the wrongfully accused.
 
This week, Possley took a few minutes to talk to Watching the Detectives about his career as a crime writer—past and present.
 
Take a listen: Talking with Maurice Possley
 
Or just read the transcript below:

Photo by radiospike photography

 
WTD: How did you start out covering investigative criminal justice?
 
MP: In 1997, I was covering the “26th and Cal” criminal courts building, as well as doing some national trial reporting—the Timothy McVeigh trial, for instance, and the Unabomber case—when he pleaded guilty. And there was another reporter at the paper by the name of Ken Armstrong who had proposed a project on prosecutorial misconduct, and I was asked to team up with him because of my experience covering the courts system. And it ultimately lead to a five-part series on prosecutorial misconduct that was published in January of 1999. And that… sort of… that series begat other series and other stories, projects came out of that.
 
WTD: Have you heard back from any of the people that you’ve written about?
 
MP: There’s a fellow by the name of Ken Berrywho is now a paralegal at a law firm that I wrote about. And he is working for people you know that are—he believes are wrongfully imprisoned. Really turned his life around. Got some awards for his work, and you know, he was a guy who was wrongfully convicted and now is, you know, doing really terrific things. And so we chat occasionally about the cases that he’s working on, or things that are happening in his life.
 
WTD: And you wrote most recently about Alton Logan?
 
MP: That was a story a few weeks ago.
 
WTD: Do you write a lot of stories like that? Or do you find that this [wrongful imprisonment] is common occurrence? I know that we have the Innocence Project at Northwestern to try to prevent that from happening.
 
MP: Well, are you talking about the suggestion that someone is in prison who is innocent?
 
WTD: Mm-hm.
 
MP: I mean, we’ve seen a number of those cases in Illinois. I mean, we’ve seen them nationally—the DNA exonerations in this country are over 250 and there have been a number of people who have been released from Death Row. That’s over a hundred. So, Illinois has a fair share of those. So, if you say… I don’t think… I don’t know how to characterize it when you hear… when someone says, ‘How often does it happen?’ You know, how many times is too many? Some would argue that one time is too many. So, we see it. In terms of the Alton Logan case, the peculiar facts of that case—in terms of the lawyers who kept something secret for a quarter of a century—I’ve never run across something like that.
 
WTD: Do you think that they acted rightly? I mean, I guess it was within the law to not reveal the truth.
 
MP: Well, it’s not for me to decide whether they acted rightly. They certainly believe that they did and that they followed their ethical… what the ethics of their profession required. Some people have taken issue with that. I’m not sure that the ones who take issue are taking issue because… they think that the ethical rules are wrong, or whether they [the lawyers] should have ignored them. There’s a lot of interesting questions that arise out of a story like this.
 
WTD: And how do you yourself deal with writing about such horrible things on such a frequent basis?
 
MP: Sometimes it helps to take a break and go write about something else, whether it’s fly-fishing in Montana or good barbecue in Texas, or something that’s different. Sometimes you just sort of have to go off, have a good cry and start all over.
 
The Maurice Possley Reading List
 
“Acquitted ex-cop taking next step: Push is for pardon to clear his name”:
A piece about Ken Berry
 
The Brown’s Chicken Massacre:
Buy it here on the Tribune’s Web site
 
“Inmate’s freedom may hinge on secret kept for 26 years”:
A piece about Alton Logan

 
Photo by Conner395
 
I mentioned it earlier this week–and never gave you more info. But here it is now: Jody Weis has “shook up” the police department.
 
On Friday, Chicago Police Department Supt. Jody Weis made James Jackson, 50, his first deputy superintendent, and Beatrice Cuello, 51, deputy superintendent of Bureau of Patrol. Jackson is African-American, and Cuello is Hispanic.
 
The Chicago Tribune also reports that Weis has created a bureau to keep officers in line. The new superintendent has appointed a former FBI man, Peter Brust, 51, deputy superintendent of this new bureau– the Bureau of Professional Standards.
 
Now for the shake-up: By giving these three high-ranking jobs, Weis caused three deputy superintendents to resign rather than be demoted.
 
Still, no one seems all that up in arms– at least according to what the news is saying.
 
Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th) told the Tribune: “I think he listened to the concerns of all my colleagues concerning the first deputy. The first deputy is African-American. He is putting a Latina over the patrol division. I think he is listening to the community.”
 
Weis is listening to the community, that’s a positive thing. But what about the fact that the first time Jackson and Cuello were mentioned in the article announcing their ascension they were identified as “an African-American” and a “Hispanic woman.”
 
The paper could have identified Jackson as the Harrison District commander with years of experience investigating narcotics and gangs.
 
They could have introduced Cuello by calling her the Ogden District commander who has been involved with CAPS. They could have even said that she is currently getting her master’s at Northwestern University.
 
Why is race the most important characteristic? These two cops have years of experience under their belts.
 
What do you think? Will the accomplishments of Weis’s new appointments set them apart? Or does their race matter more?

As a crime blogger, I know I should cover the shooting that happened yesterday– Valentine’s Day– at Northern Illinois University. I know it’s news, I know it’s crime, I know it’s worth talking about. I just don’t know how to talk about it.
 
Everyone else already is giving their opinions, so that gets me off the hook. Right? Probably not.
 
I have no explanations for you readers. No ideas. No theories. The Tribune is saying that Stephen P. Kazmierczak– the former NIU grad student responsible for the shooting– went off his medication two weeks ago and became “erratic.”
 
This doesn’t seem like an explanation to me. The man took four guns into a lecture hall and opened fire. What kind of medication was this? Why was this man even around people?
 
I don’t know why occurrences like this still shock us. The same thing happened in Tinley Park, and last year at Virginia Tech. It’s been happening for eons, and yet our stomachs still drop, our throats still constrict and our knees still buckle in the presence of… What? Evil? Is that what it is? Was this man evil?
 
Or is this world just sick?
 
I don’t know. We’d all like to think that we’re safe in our ivory tower of education– and then people like Kazmierczak burst in, guns blazing, and shatter the glass of our Utopia.
 
He took his life on stage, and he hasn’t left since. His story will go down in the dramatic realm of American crime. There will be whispers in the halls and sickos looking for bloodstains.
 
And there will be writers like me, trying to make sense of everything with flimsy words.

Something is a-brewing over at the CPD. The Tribune’s Web site merely announces:
 
Chicago Police Department Supt. Jodi Weis will announce major staff changes at a news conference at police headquarters this morning.
 
What could these major changes be? Casual Fridays? Daily mandatory cardio classes to make up for all those stereotypical donuts? Or something much more…well… major. Stay tuned.

Photo by Matt Glaman
 
We’re going to do something a little different this week. Instead of posting a video from a more well-known band, we’re going to give give props to some MySpace heroes.
 
This week, I will be paying tribute to my secret love of punk music (bestowed upon me by Greil Marcus and his wonderous book, Lipstick Traces).
 
Meet Crime, a San Francisco punk band. First, here’s a bit of history, taken from their MySpace page.
 
Crime started before the word punk meant a style of music! Their first gig was at the Old Waldorf, which was located in the Fillmore district, on Halloween, 1976. Their shows were introduced with sirens and search lights. The had a habit of wearing police uniforms on stage. They had more interest in rock and roll than in “punk” as a “movement” , with the result that they made enemies of most of the serious trendoids in the area. Nevertheless, they were part of the early San Francisco scene. They played regularly at the Mabuhay Gardens (famous club in San Francisco) and had a huge draw locally. 1976 - 1981
 
In honor of Valentine’s Day, check out “Hotwire My Heart.”

Apparently, the man was questioned about the Tinley Park case– so says the Chicago Tribune. While the man is not officially a suspect, he’s not off the hook yet. “Not by any stretch of the imagination,” Mayor Ed Zabrocki told the Trib. “They’re checking it out.”
 
Wake me up if he ever becomes a suspect– officially.

Tinley Park Police Cmdr. Rick Bruno told the Chicago Tribune today that the parole violator has no connection to the killings, despite his resemblance to the sketch.
 
“I don’t know where you’re getting that stuff,” he said, “but there are no suspects, no arrests and that’s the truth.”
 
So, why did the Tribune call him a suspect mere hours ago? The plot thickens.

Thanks to Rev Lee for sending me the link. I was lost in journalistic oblivion.
 
A suspect in the Tinley Park killings was taken in today. The man was wanted for parole violation, but after he was apprehended, investigators noticed that he looked a lot like the Tinley Park police sketch.
 
I’m tempted to rejoice at this point– bust out a couple cans of flat Coke and go crazy (I need to go shopping…). But I’m also wary. This is just one suspect. Who’s to say he’s our guy?
 
What do you think? Do you think that the hunt is finally over? Or should we put up a couple of more billboards?