He goes everywhere with an armed escort, through the city that has the highest murder rate in the nation, thanks to his asinine victim disarmament laws. In addition, he's long been a champion and orinator of frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers. When "the divine right of kings" is no longer our system of rule, let this tyrant not be forgotten.

(Here's a press release from the mayor. I'll just hand him enough rope, and let him do the talking...)

May. 6, 2002 - Mayor Daley Hails Coordinated Effort Against Illegal Guns Project Safe Neighborhoods Seeks Longer Sentences for Gun Criminals

Mayor Richard M. Daley today enthusiastically supported Project Safe Neighborhoods, which will marshal the resources of city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies against armed career criminals.

"This is good news for the millions of law-abiding citizens of the City of Chicago, some of whom are with us today," Daley said at a news conference at the Columbus Park Refectory, 5701 W. Jackson Blvd. "They want these criminals and their weapons removed from their neighborhoods, so their families can live in peace and safety."

Under the federally funded program, which was announced at the news conference by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, gun offenders with prior felony convictions would be prosecuted in the federal courts, whenever possible. Federal law sets a minimum prison sentence of 15 years for "armed career criminals."

"For years, I've been calling on the federal government to prosecute more gun crimes, and it's good to know that this is now going to happen under the leadership of Pat Fitzgerald," Daley said.

"The City of Chicago is using every tool at our disposal to protect our city from the ravages of illegal guns," Daley said. "And with the launching of Project Safe Neighborhoods, we have added a new ­ and very powerful ­ tool.

"By focusing on guns, we believe we can reduce the incidence of many other crimes related to guns, such as gang violence, drugs, robbery, murder and assault. By concentrating the resources of law enforcement agencies at all levels of government, we can ensure that every aspect of each crime will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and that criminals will receive the toughest possible sentences."

Daley announced that Assistant Corporation Counsel Robin Crabb has been assigned to focus solely on gun prosecutions and to serve as a liaison to other law enforcement agencies involved in Project Safe Neighborhoods.

Crabb has been a prosecutor in the Municipal Prosecutions Division of the City Law Department for five years and has worked in the gang and drug house unit in Area 5. His position is being funded by a grant from the federal government.

Daley noted that Chicago is a national leader in the fight against illegal firearms. The city has the toughest gun laws in the country and its police department annually seizes and destroys 10,000 to 20,000 guns. In 1998 the City and Cook County sued the gun industry to stop illegal guns from flowing into the city. The case is currently on appeal.

Also at the news conference, in addition to Daley and Fitzgerald, were Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine; Chicago Police Superintendent Terry Hillard; Donald Snyder Jr., director of the Illinois Department of Corrections; W. Larry Ford, special agent in charge for the Chicago office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Veronica Ballard, chief adult probationary officer for the Cook County Adult Probationary Department; Tom Braglia, vice president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police; Colonel Dan Kent of the Illinois State Police; Vance Henry, executive director of CAPS; Aldermen Ike Carothers (29th); Emma Mitts (37th); Ed Smith (28th) and Michael Chandler (24th); and a number of CAPS volunteers.

Voted Yes to this passed bill, referred to as "Squelching the voice of pro-gun advocates 02/13/2002", by "Gun Owners of America" (www.gunowners.org) On February 14, 2002, the House passed the Incumbent Protection Bill, which has erroneously been billed as campaign finance reform, by a vote of 240 to 189. H.R. 2356 would enlarge the power of sitting legislators by attempting to silence outside groups such as Gun Owners of America. It would do this by requiring GOA to report certain legislative advocacy as "electioneering communications," if such messages were made within 60 days of an election. For groups like Gun Owners, to engage in speech that is classified as "electioneering" would threaten their tax status, and by extension, would threaten to eliminate them for merely criticizing a politician's record. A vote against the bill was a pro- gun vote and is listed as a "+".

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Friday, January 17, 2003, Rhett Webster Pease, left the driveway of his home on his way to work. He backed out, turned left down a street which intersects the street where he lives about 20 feet from his driveway. Immediately a Chevy S10 pickup driving in the opposite direction drove directly towards him. His first thought was it was a drunk driver. The driver of the pickup was dressed in a plaid flannel lumberjack shirt, and Pease soon realized when the driver did not veer away, that he was the target of the man, and was about to be rammed. Pease put his truck in reverse, backed across the street and parked in his driveway. At this point he was surrounded by men who wore jackets which bore the word "POLICE' on the jackets. The men all had guns drawn and pointed at Pease. Pease was told to step out of the truck with his hands up.

Pease turned off his truck, turned off the lights, put his hands up and stepped from the truck. One of the men immediately grabbed him by the shirtfront and pulled, evidently trying to pull Pease to the ground. Instead, Pease's shirt tore, which resulted in a torn shirt and Pease still standing. At this point, Pease was tackled, thrown to the ground and dragged to the sidewalk. There, Pease was grabbed by the hair and his chin slammed into the concrete. One of the men put his booted foot on Pease's head, two more sat on his back. Marshal Jack Dean, evidently the leader of the group, grabbed a cell phone from Pease's hand, and when Dean realized it was a cell phone, not a weapon, Dean kicked the phone down the sidewalk, where it flew into pieces. As the other marshals were handcuffing Pease and placing him in leg irons, Dean kept shouting, "Shoot him, shoot him!" A young grade school child stood directly in Dean's line of fire, and she ran into the street in terror. It was Pease's observation that most of the marshals were very cold, it was a cold morning, and evidently, they had been hiding behind bushes and trees, exposed to the elements, for quite some time. Pease was thrown into a car and taken to the holding cell in the Federal Court Building, where he was taken before Federal District Judge Sam Sparks.

Pease's crime? Pease had not appeared, as ordered, before Judge Sparks the day before on a civil matter. Pease was, at the time, in a medical emergency clinic and could not attend the hearing. Although Judge Sparks was aware of Pease's plight, he issued an order, not an arrest warrant as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution, to have Pease brought before him. When told Pease had a medical emergency, Judge Sparks replied, "I don't care."

While waiting in the holding cell, Pease overheard marshals saying that if they had to go to Pease's property again, they would shoot him and be done with it. When Pease was led from the holding cell by Marshal Jack Dean, Dean said to him, "I should have shot you this morning when I had the chance. Then this would be ended."

Pease was ordered by Judge Sparks to vacate his house by Wednesday, January 24rd, although due process has not run its course concerning a wrongful foreclosure and in the absence of a Writ of Assistance which is the order for him to vacate. Pease has two choices, either voluntarily give up possession of his home, without benefit of lawful process, as ordered by Judge Sparks, or be shot by U. S. Marshals when they return to seize possession of his home. Will 12600 Limerick Avenue be the next Waco? Will Pease, his wife or one of his three children suffer the same fate as Randy Weaver's family? Where does this end?

Two sides of the courtroom. Two broken families.

On both sides, deep pain and resentment. Roanoke Circuit Judge Jonathan Apgar sensed it well before he pronounced sentence on Timothy Workman, the former undercover drug agent convicted of fatally shooting a Roanoke man, Keith Bailey, in a bar parking lot. Apgar said he had never seen a more polarized courtroom.
"One half believes a crime has occurred, and one side believes it was self-defense," Apgar said from the bench. "And it's a gulf that will never be bridged."
His decision made no family member any happier. On Thursday, Workman's 33rd birthday, Apgar sentenced him to six years and nine months but suspended one year and nine months. Workman must spend two years on probation after his release, the judge ruled.
A jury in October had recommended a six-year, nine-month sentence for Workman. State sentencing guidelines called for a term of between two years, one month and five years, eight months. Virginia juries cannot recommend suspended sentences.
Bailey's family left the courtroom quietly, but angry with the sentence. Bailey's brother, Michael Patterson, said he was shocked that Apgar apparently disregarded the jury and therefore the community. "It's like he was saying they didn't know what they were doing," Patterson said.
Workman's family milled around outside the courtroom, buzzing with anger about what they called the injustice that accompanied his case. Workman has maintained that he was defending himself, and his family said after the sentencing that he was attacked by two convicted felons. "I don't think my son deserves a felony, because he didn't commit a crime that night," said his mother, Betty Workman.
Authorities originally charged Workman with murder and using a firearm. The jury deliberated for more than five hours at the end of a four-day trial. It decided in the end that the crime was neither malicious nor premeditated, as prosecutors had argued. But they were unwilling to accept Workman's claim that he acted in self-defense and found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
Workman, a West Point graduate and former Army police officer, was in Roanoke on Feb. 12, 2002, on temporary assignment out of Texas with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Bailey, a once-promising Patrick Henry High School basketball player who had struggled to turn his life around after becoming hooked on crack cocaine, was hanging out with a friend, James Bumbry II, at O'Charley's restaurant.
Testimony showed that the three men had a run-in over a woman after closing time. It escalated quickly, ending when Workman shot Bailey three times in the chest.
Workman testified that Bumbry had a gun. Bumbry testified that he had no weapon, but Workman's attorneys caught him in a lie about a previous conviction for brandishing a firearm at a sheriff's deputy. Still, no other weapon was recovered.
Apgar granted Workman a $100,000 appeal bond. Roanoke Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Betty Jo Anthony said such a bond is not uncommon after homicide trials. Workman's defense had its appeal already prepared.

Check out www.justicefiles.org to see a listing of names, home addresses, and other information about police officers in Washington.