good cop, bad cop, real cop

Cmdr. Glenn Evans

CHICAGO (AP) — When a West Side neighborhood decayed into a deadly shooting gallery, the Chicago police chief said he was sending his "best guy" into the fray to turn back the drug- and gang-fueled violence.

The chief called Cmdr. Glenn Evans his "favorite among my favorites," and Evans had delivered in his previous assignment. There had been 80 fewer shootings in the Grand Crossing neighborhood compared with the year before — the second largest drop anywhere in the city. Evans won gratitude from families who finally felt safe enough to sit on their porches.

But in December, the same officer who cleaned up those streets is scheduled to go on trial on charges that his no-holds-barred style of policing went beyond the law when he allegedly shoved a gun down a suspect's throat.

As all but a card-carrying member of the ACLU, I still have a hard time imagining living in a crime- riddled neighborhood, fearing for myself and my family, and not being grateful for someone who took the bull by the horns.