Hours after the search, the Grangers went to the Elgin Law Enforcement Facility to file a complaint and had to wait nearly two hours to do so. Police Chief Lisa Womack has said that was far too long and has made changes in the way complaints are handled. Johnson noted the changes and offered only mild criticism of the delay, saying police could have handled the situation “more efficiently.” (source: Courier 5/24/07)

It was never clear to me exactly how “the way complaints are handled” had anything to do with the delay the Grangers experienced at the police department. Anyway, it will be interesting to see who will accept the conclusions of this study.

The only thing I haven’t said with respect to this case is that I think the police department got into such a defensive mode that it never really asked itself the question, “If we did everything right, why were these people so upset when they went to the council?”

If you listened to what the Grangers had to say, it was obvious that this was not just about the wait at the police department, but about the raid itself. From all appearances, they did not know what the raid was for or about. They knew it vaguely had to do with guns. And that’s why they went to the city council and asked why their constitutional right to bear arms was infringed upon.

The cynic will say that the Grangers went to the council and lied through their teeth just to get as much money as they could. They never mentioned their grandson or any other reason for the raid, and they misled the council, etc. This is what the cynic would say.

But for those of us who were there, it was clear that this family had no idea what had happened to them. And whose fault is that? Did this part of the issue get investigated? Because the first thing I would have asked is, “Did you guys clearly explain to the Grangers when you entered their home who you were looking for and why you were there? Or did you just throw a piece of paper in their face and expect them to decipher it?”

To me, that’s the interesting question. And one that I have yet to see answered.

Filed under: citycouncil.
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