Councilman
breaks council silence to defend police
 |
| John Prigge |
By Ted Schnell • BocaJump | Oct. 28, 2011
Councilman John Prigge said Thursday he
simply had had enough when he decided Wednesday night to break the Elgin City
Council’s silence over “unfounded accusations and innuendo” about racism in the
Elgin Police Department.
Stressing that he had been speaking on his
own behalf Wednesday night and not on behalf of the council, Prigge said
Thursday he had been biting his tongue each time the issue was raised publicly
during recent City Council meetings.
The allegations erupted over the summer when
Elgin police Lt. Sean Rafferty was suspended for five days without pay. The
suspension order censured Rafferty over a 14-year-old photograph and over an
incident in 2009 or 2010 when a “race-based joke” was sent as a text message to
a black fellow officer. Rafferty is white.
