* Here’s some background if you need it. Beth Hundsdorfer for Capitol News Illinois…
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell came under fire for his hiring practices after he employed a deputy with two DUI convictions, who is now accused of the murder of an unarmed black woman in her kitchen. But it wasn’t the first time he chose to hire someone accused of drunk driving and repeated misconduct.
In April, Campbell hired 23-year-old Luke Hildebrand, who only weeks before had pleaded guilty to driving under the influence after a single car crash that left Hildebrand injured and trapped. An investigation would reveal there was a loaded Glock pistol inside the crashed pickup and that hours later his blood alcohol level still registered at 0.284 – more than three times the legal limit.
Hildebrand, who did not respond to a request for an interview, was considered a “lateral hire,” meaning that because he was already a working police officer for Sherman Police Department his employment was not reviewed by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Merit Commission. The commission is a three-member board whose members are recommended by the sheriff and approved by the county board. […]
Capitol News Illinois obtained Hildebrand’s personnel file from the Sherman Police Department under the Freedom of Information Act, which included multiple examples of misconduct.
The background check should have uncovered that while working at Sherman, Hildebrand failed to show up for assignments, was repeatedly late for work, wrote incomplete reports, scored poorly during his police training, skipped curfew at the police academy then went drinking at a Metro East strip club, and fired his department-issued Taser at a friend’s birthday party, according to Hildebrand’s Sherman Police Department personnel file.
Go read the rest.
- Flyin'Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 8:11 am:
Dollars to donuts, Hildebrand is related to some Sangamon County muckety-muck.
Unfortunately, law enforcement is rife with these hires. Many of which often get promotions over much more deserving officers.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 8:17 am:
I believe this is called “Pass the Trash.”
Kinda like how The Church handled abusive priests.
- Chambananon - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 8:25 am:
Timoney, the Sangamon County merit board member, said he expects the county to make changes to its hiring process once a commission looking into the Massey shooting makes recommendations.
…
Last month, a judge dismissed it. Timoney, the Sangamon County merit board member, also represented Hildebrand in his DUI case. He said it was a paperwork issue and Hildebrand had fulfilled the requirements of the plea.
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Anybody remember the old line about the fox guarding the henhouse?
- Lincoln Lad - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 8:29 am:
Trying to understand why you’d bring people into your department with these kinds of issues on their record… even if it helps a friend out. The judgment is incredibly bad, and it’s clear that it happened multiple times.
- Annonin' - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 8:36 am:
Wondering if Hildebrand was related to the screwball who ran space needs commission. Might have the grease to help him slide through troubles.
- JoanP - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 8:48 am:
From the article:
“Hildebrand pleaded guilty to DUI in Sangamon County Circuit Court on Sept. 22, 2023, in exchange for a sentence of court supervision.
“Usually, a DUI conviction triggers a yearlong suspension of driving privileges, but that was not the case for Hildebrand.”
Court supervision is not a conviction, which is why he didn’t lose his license. Accuracy would be nice.
- Perrid - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 8:50 am:
Googling the guy brings up this award from the Sherman police for helping when a tree fell on some folks in 2022. https://www.shermanil.org/Government/police-department/awards-_-recognition/
Imagine a world where the police department made officers’ disciplinary record as public as their awards.
- Anyone Remember - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 9:07 am:
According to the Sangamon County website, the Merit Commission has five members.
https://sangamonil.gov/departments/a-c/county-board/boards-and-commissions/boards-and-commissions-members
- Former GOPer - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 9:11 am:
Yellow Dog Democrat - exactly.
- @misterjayem - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 9:14 am:
“why you’d bring people into your department with these kinds of issues on their record”
Because that’s how it’s always been done?
– MrJM
- Bud's Bar Stool - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 9:16 am:
=== Court supervision is not a conviction, which is why he didn’t lose his license. Accuracy would be nice. ===
Indeed. Would be good for the reporter to research and understand the law before reporting on it. If court supervision is successfully completed, the driver avoids conviction.
- TheInvisibleMan - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 9:36 am:
What is most depressing about this, is how local news has been hollowed out so badly these types of situations only even start being looked at after a terrible and in hindsight completely predictable event has happened.
If agencies had the fear of someone looking over their actions, perhaps these types of events could be avoided in the first place. The de facto situation should be a sheriff or merit board always having the thought in the back of their head - what would happen if all the details of this situation were made public, including my part in it.
The arrogance displayed in these actions as they eventually become public shows it isn’t even a passing thought.
Pick a county in Illinois, and start digging. I’d wager a months of my financial gains the vast majority of them would have similar situations taking place, but never reported.
The silver lining is that AI is going to make analyzing these piles of data more efficient. All you will have to do is dump a pile of boring paperwork into it and direct it to identify a named situation and frequency. AI has the potential to absolutely upend entrenched local politics, once it gets applied to those places.
- Stephanie Kollmann - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 9:50 am:
If you think he was arrested for a DUI because he was 3.5x the legal limit, note that he was trapped inside the vehicle.
Once you notice that police officers only seem to get DUIs when there is an unignorable accident or when they are vacationing out of home jurisdiction, you’ll never stop noticing.
Just another way police accountability is ultimately left up to police, with predictable effects.
- charles in charge - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 9:55 am:
Sangamon County deserves all the scrutiny it’s getting right now, but let’s not kid ourselves that this is anything other than business as usual throughout law enforcement institutions everywhere. When the only thing elected officials from both parties seem to agree on is that we should “fund the police,” the odds that anything will ever change for the better seem depressingly slim.
- DUI Victim - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 10:00 am:
“Indeed. Would be good for the reporter to research and understand the law before reporting on it. If court supervision is successfully completed, the driver avoids conviction.
BBS - Court supervision doesn’t avoid conviction, just the way it is recorded and whether or not it is available on the driver’s public or court abstract/driving record. Last I knew being granted court supervision requires a guilty plea or at least that is what was required of the drunk driver that hit my daughter and me.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 10:01 am:
=Go read the rest.=
Sorry, I am going to pass as I just ate.
= Court supervision is not a conviction, which is why he didn’t lose his license. Accuracy would be nice.=
IIRC a dui arrest used to trigger an immediate license suspension until court. I may be mistaken anyone that knows feel free to correct me.
3x the legal limit, had to be extracted from the vehicle after a crash. Loaded gun in the car (as a cop of CCL this is legal, but he was drunk so a really bad idea). But he got supervision. Welcome to small town corruption/special treatment for law breaking cops.
- Moe Berg - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 10:06 am:
Can’t help but note one of the shocking stories in Isabel’s news roundup this morning, “Illinois state police officer, wife charged in Edwardsville child abuse case.”
It’s not just criminals that need psychological profiling, but police officers and those who aspire to be them.
- Stephanie Kollmann - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 10:09 am:
Also note: 3.5x the legal limit after they let him sober up for a few hours.
- Google Is Your Friend - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 10:11 am:
Policing in a nutshell: “There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”
- Nope. - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 10:16 am:
==3x the legal limit, had to be extracted from the vehicle after a crash. Loaded gun in the car (as a cop of CCL this is legal, but he was drunk so a really bad idea).==
Nope. Carrying while intoxicated is a crime.
1st 2nd Offense- Cl. A misdemeanor-Discretionary 6 month suspension for 2nd violation;
3rd + Cl. 4 felony; lifetime revocation.
- Dr. Dre - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 11:20 am:
…still not loving police….
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 11:37 am:
=Nope. Carrying while intoxicated is a crime.=
Thank you for the correction.
- Give Us Barabbas - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 11:45 am:
Maybe if LEOs had to be self insured, hiring standards could go up and bad apples filtered out by increasing premiums.
- Dotnonymous x - Tuesday, Oct 1, 24 @ 11:52 am:
Just apply the law to cops the same way its applied to everyone else…that’ll do.