New Reward Program Offers Cash For Tips In Cop Shootings
UPDATED 04/26/11 7:15 a.m.
CHICAGO (WBBM/CBS) -- 2010 was a deadly year for Chicago Police, which saw four of its officers shot and killed in the line of duty.
That's why Bill Kugelman wants to help. The former Chicago firefighter says money talks.
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"When you give somebody a bag full of money, they're going to let you know what's going on in the hood," he says.
Kugelman joined forces with the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation on Monday to launch the new "Cop Shot" program, which offers a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction when a Chicago police officer is shot or shot at.
Kugelman's own son, Illinois State Trooper John Kugelman, was shot and killed on the job as he attempted to stop a car from fleeing on Interstate 290 near Itasca on Nov. 10, 1986, according to a Chicago Tribune report at the time.
The killer was an escapee who ran him down at the road block.
"That's never left me," he says.
Kugelman says he got the idea from a similar program in New York that has already paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars for legitimate tips. There are now bumper stickers, and soon there will be billboards to get the word out.
The program has set up a tip line at 1-888-YPO-SHOT. It is staffed 24 hours a day.
Five Chicago Police officers were shot and killed in the line of duty last year:
--Officer Thomas Wortham IV was shot and killed in a robbery near his parents' home in the 8400 block of South King Drive on May 20.
--Officer Thor Soderberg was shot and killed as he walked to his car at the end of a shift at the police facility at 61st Street and Racine Avenue on July 7.
--Officer Michael Bailey was shot and killed while cleaning out his car at his home near 74th Street and Evans Avenue on July 18.
--Officer David Blake was shot and killed in his personal vehicle in the 2900 block of West Seipp Street on Nov. 25.
--Officer Michael Flisk was shot and killed as he investigated a burglary in a garage behind the 8100 block of South Burnham Avenue on Nov. 26. Also killed in the shooting was retired Chicago Housing Authority police officer Stephen Peters.
Suspects have been charged in all the cases except for that of Officer Bailey, which remains unsolved.
