In the summer of 2001, while being on midnight shift and solo patrol in the Village of Round Lake Beach Illinois, I was on duty and probation as a police officer. It was my first year as a cop.
I do not recall the specific night or time, but while on duty I observed a SUV vehicle leave the Fairfield Tap, a bar in Lake County that bordered our town, on the west side of Fairfield road, south of Lake Shore Dr. I was coming off of West Lake Shore, turning south onto Fairfield Rd, waiting on the light to change green and I watched the SUV leave the parking lot of the Fairfield Tap, turning right and travel south on Fairfield Rd.
I observed the vehicle driving south in the north bound lane. I observed this from my squad car as I was traveling behind it, in the south bound lane.
I followed the vehicle for a few moments and observed the driving of the vehicle to maintain it’s position in the north bound lane, swerving into the south bound lane and then back into the north bound lane, continuing south for approximately two blocks.
I activated my overhead squad lights and initiated a traffic stop on Fairfield Road, as the vehicle pulled over to the shoulder of the south bound lane, approximately north of Mayfield Dr.
Upon making contact with the driver of the vehicle, who had opened his driver’s side door and who was alone in his SUV, I observed the subject to have a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath, slurred speech, a non secured seat belt, red, bloodshot and glassy eyes and a visible impairment as his torso was leaning over the steering wheel with his forearm holding him up.
Before verbally identifying myself as I had the subject illuminated with my flashlight, the subject used his left hand to reach into his pocket and produced his wallet, opened it and showed me his gold badge.
I immediately contacted my then supervisor, Sgt Michael Scott of the Round Lake Beach Police Department and secured the stop until his arrival. Being a new officer and only months into my career, weeks on solo patrol and still on probation, I followed the orders I was given to drive the subject’s vehicle to the White Hen parking lot, return to my squad and transport the subject to Gurnee Illinois to meet with the subject’s immediate supervisor.
The entire transport ride, I was berated by the subject who was in the back seat of my squad car, “you fucking rookie piece of shit. You aren’t a real cop. You will never last in this job. Little fucker” and so on.
Upon completing the transport, I was advised to write a report not as a dui (I do not recall the specifics of what I titled the report as or what specifics I had written) and that I was not to discuss this with other officers.
I was ordered to a short interview and briefing by the Lake County Sheriff’s department a few weeks later and advised that they would be investigating the issue and administering discipline if appropriate.
Years later and I don’t know what Lake County IL Sheriff’s Office did to discipline him, but the Sgt I pulled over from the Lake County Sheriff’s department that night had left the bar which was hosting a party for his promotion to Sgt, which means other cops were there and they were probably drunk drivers as well and failed to stop him from driving.
I also do know the last time I saw George Manis was when I worked a 4th of July detail for his town in 2016 and he was the deputy chief of police for Lakemoor Police Department Illinois.
To this date, George has never acknowledged his abuse of power, his criminal actions or his abhorrent unprofessionalism after I was ordered to cut him a break in which other civilians lives would have been ruined.
Police corruption is real, cops break the law, hold double standards for the citizens they serve and are rarely held accountable.
In this case, breaking the law, driving drunk and attempting to insult and degrade a fellow police officer gets you a career with no accountability, all the way up to the rank of deputy chief.
It’s time to expose and eradicate all cops who break the law, their oath and violate The Constitution and put “we hold ourselves to a higher standard” into action and not just meaningless words you hear in the academy.
Manis should have been arrested, should have been terminated from his position in law enforcement and should have had his mug shot shown around the state as an example of a disgraced cop who abused his authority, yet probably arrested people for the same hypocritical act for years.
This most likely was not his first or last time and like so many other cops out there, think he is / was untouchable.
I have not a single ounce of respect for any cop who drinks and drives or breaks the law and think their punishment should be monumentally more severe than citizens who commit the same crime.
Yes, this was over 20 years ago. Yes, Manis got away with it. No, I will never respect this man or not remind other cops that they have many bags of scum who walk beside them every single day and nothing is ever done to hold them accountable, so we must do the best we can.
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