Constable James Quinn

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Constable James Quinn

• Foundational Evidence the Case in Context

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Quinn ELECTED Oath of Office
Dec. 12, 1853 the Night Watch was paid for
EXTRA SERVICES re the 12/04/53 arrests of REES
Parmilee
Sept. 14, 1857 Common Council POLICY RELATIVE TO
APPROVING COMPENSATION to OFFICERS INJURED ON JOB
Nov. 1868 HISTORICAL CORROBORATION shows Quinn
in discharge of duty in Reese Affair
Dec. 12, 1853 Common Council FIRST FINDS Quinn
killed in the discharge of his duty
March 6, 1854 Common Council AGAIN CONCURS Quinn
killed in discharge of his duty compensates his
widow.
IACP MODEL POLICY Defining Line of Duty Deaths
The POLICE RULES of 1853
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Chicago Police Department1833-1871

• There was no codified policy or definition of a
  line of duty death in the early police
  department. Rather, the definition of a LODD
  appears to have emerged by practice rather than
  by policy.
• The circumstances of each case were evaluated
  separately. This process led to a two-pronged
  test
• Was the officer engaged in the discharge of his
  duty when fatally injured?
• Was the death a result of a malicious, hostile
  act?

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Four police deaths during the period 1833 to 1871

• Two of the deaths resulted in payments by the
  city to widows
• Two of the deaths did not result in any
  compensation to the widows.

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Payments to widows of slain officers

• Fatal Injuries
• Quinn (1853) Lauer (1854)
• Both officers were found to have been engaged in
  the discharge of their duties when fatally
  injured.
• Both deaths resulted from malicious attacks by
  violent offenders
• The city compensated both widows.

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No Payment to widows of slain officers

• Fatal Injuries
• Churchwood (1864) Hansen (1871)
• Both officers were engaged in the discharge of
  their duties when fatally injured.
• However, both deaths resulted from non-malicious
  circumstances, i.e., unforeseen consequence of a
  fall or accidental shooting.
• The city did NOT compensate the widows

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Payments to officers who were injured on duty

• NonFatal Injuries
• In 19 separate cases from 1853 to 1871, the
  medical bills of injured officers were paid by
  the city provided
• the officer established that he was engaged in
  the discharge of his duties when injured.
• That said injuries resulted from a malicious act
  committed by an offender.

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NO PAYMENTS to Non-Line of Duty injuries

• Day Policeman John C. Webber
• Off duty
• In a bar on Aug. 11, 1854
• Beaten with a pipe in barroom brawl
• Constable Thomas Melvin
• Off duty
• In a bar on Nov. 30, 1856
• Stabbed in chest on during bar fight

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Never Sought Compensation

• Neither Webber nor Melvin ever petitioned the
  city for compensation for their injuries.
• Why?
• Because neither officer could establish that he
  was engaged in the official discharge of his duty
  when injured.

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CURRENT DEPARTMENT POLICY

• A Line-of-Duty Death defined
• The death of an active duty officer by
  felonious or accidental means during the course
  of performing police functions while on- or
  off-duty.
• This official 1993 I.A.C.P/ L.O.D.D definition
  was adopted by C.P.D. in 2006.

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CURRENT DEPARTMENT POLICY

• Today, both the 1864 death of Officer John C.
  Churchwood and the 1871 accidental killing of
  Officer Niels L. Hansen would both be considered
  line of duty deaths by the Chicago Police
  Department because each falls within the current
  CPD definition of a Line of Duty Death.

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A Timeless Rule of Police Work

• Section I POLICE RULESof 1853
• ALL OFFICERS MUST BE PREPARED TO ACT ON A
  MOMENTS NOTICE.

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Quinn case Compared

• The evidence supporting Quinns line of duty
  death is Incontrovertible.
• The city twice determined that he was engaged in
  the discharge of his duty when sustaining the
  injuries that caused his death.
• He was the victim of a malicious and felonious
  attack for which the offender was convicted of
  manslaughter.
• Consequently, his widow was compensated.

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EVEN IF

• Even if one were to imagine that Quinn was off
  duty and in a bar when he came face to face
  with Rees
• Remembering the TIMELESS rule of police work that
  all officers MUST be prepared to act on a
  moments notice
• Recalling that Rees was no ordinary citizen but
  the man who had attacked Quinn the night before
  allowing for his prisoner to escape
• And remembering the IACP definition of a line of
  duty death, Lets compare the Quinn case

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The case of Deputy Superintendent Riordan viewed
in its best light, still only rises to the level
of the Quinn case taken in its worst light.
In a Bar -
Off Duty -

QUINN
Confronted by - Hostile Offender
All officers must be prepared to act at a
moments notice
Yet today, Riordan is rightfully regarded as a
hero and Quinn is not worthy of being honored.
- Confronted by Hostile Offender

RIORDAN
- Off Duty
- In a Bar
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Quinn and Riordan

• An Inconvenient Truth
• or
• The height of hypocrisy?
• Discuss.