CTA Tattler

I know some of the undercover cops who work at the Morse stop as well as a lot of other North side stops. They're not only good at the job they do, but they're really nice guys. They helped me when I was a victim of a CTA wanker, which is where I first met them. Even though we never caught the guy, they were fantastic in trying to find him and in trying to make me feel safe and empowered. It's been over a year since I first met them, but we still chat whenever we run into each other and they always ask about my job, my apartment, my cats. I cannot say enough good stuff about these cops.

Funny how these undercover cops are regaled as heroes, yet I'm sure you'll never see a video of them at work, if one existed, being played all over the world. It's too bad that one bad cop can ruin the name of thousands of others.

I remember two of the "undercover" cops on the Morse platform. I use quotes because they were really unconvincing as anything but cops, two classic Chicago superfans in Cubs gear head-to-toe, suspiciously never getting on any trains. I saw them ticket more than a few people for smoking on the platform. I also met two of the neighborhood undercover cops at the station when I got mugged a couple years ago. Those guys were pretty badass, and not recognizably police officers. The area around the Morse station isn't exactly safe, but there's no shortage of police presence, either.

Well, Johnson, it would kind of impede their ability to work undercover, now wouldn't it?

just what I was going to say, dbt!

Well Kerry, they were undercover enough to write a number of smoking tickets. Are they suppose to only break their cover when they can break open a "big case"?

I wasn't criticizing them for writing smoking tickets, I never smoked on the platform. I was simply noting that I was certain they were cops based on them, you know, writing tickets. I'm sorry you read some dismay or unhappiness in my post. I think I made it clear that Morse is an area where a police presence is welcome. Note that I mentioned being mugged (at gunpoint) near the station.
Now that you bring it up, though, one could argue that undercover officers become less and less effective the more tickets they write, and perhaps uniformed officers should take care of the little things, so the undercover and plainclothes officers don't lose their cover prematurely.

Sorry kerry, I didn't mean to snipe. It would be interesting to know how the CPD defined the roles of the undercover and regular transit cops.

Keep in mind that plainclothes does not equal undercover. The cops that most of you have been describing are plainclothes - likely transit detail cops or district cops assigned to the stations. They may or may not be easily identifiable as cops based on what they are doing and your sense of observation.

Uniformed officers are a deterrent to bad behavior because you can see them there.

Plainclothes cops are certainly more effective at catching bad behavior because they may be watching you even when you don't know.

Undercover cops wouldn't break cover to ticket a smoker (though they might signal someone else to get the random wanker). They rarely break cover even to get a drug dealer, but they lead them into a trap for the other cops.

So those plainclothes cops you see ticketing smokers are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. Waiting for someone dumb enough to light up or do something else that is prohibited.

Tattler: So you're telling me that there are undercover cops hanging out on the platform at the Morse stop almost daily? Well then, don't these guys have a bird's eye view of the prolific drug and gang activity that is happening in and around the Morse stop on a nearly constant basis!?! Sheesh. The Morse stop has to be one of the dumpiest, most dangerous stops on the Red Line north of the Loop, and us Rogers Park residents constantly see loitering, gang activity and drug deals going down there. I wish the Chicago's Finest undercover cop detail would hop off the platform every now and then and interrupt a drug transaction or two.

The plainclothes cops (thanks for the clarification!) I used to see on the Morse platform hung out exclusively on the far north end, near the Lunt entrance. They'd ticket people doing illicit things in the entryway and stairwell. I never saw them even take a peek at the activity on Morse. The undercover cops who took my statement when I was mugged appear to be on the street, and probably do have a role in controlling gang activity down there, but we can't see it.
Man, I am so glad I moved out of that neighborhood.

I could have used one of the plainclothes guys in that area when a local tried to rob me.