Written by Diane Benjamin - editor March 13, 2018
Mackinaw: Impersonating an Officer?
This guy is Robert Davies.
The Village of Mackinaw recently issued this Press Release:
The Press Release doesn't say why just a few months ago Robert Davies was the Assistant Police Chief, not the Public Safety Administrator.
I randomly picked the 5/8/17 Minutes. They show Deputy Police Chief Robert Davies was present: http://www.mackinawillinois.org/Minutes/BoardofTrustees/5-8-17%20MINUTES.pdf
By this meeting (1/22/18) Davies had a title change to Public Safety Director:
http://www.mackinawillinois.org/Minutes/BoardofTrustees/1-22-18%20MINUTES.pdf
Why did his title change?
Illinois Law requires all police officers be Board Certified after completing required training. See the law here: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=731&ChapterID=11
The training applies to both full-time and part-time officers. I pulled out the applicable code sections: Required Training
Training is not only required to become a police officer, continual training is required:
I submitted a FOIA to the State Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board for:
Certificates of completion or waiver of training for the Illinois law enforcement basic police officer training academy For Robert Davies
I received this showing Davies has not obtained the required certification to be a police officer or the required annual training:
I also sent the same FOIA request to the Village of Mackinaw. I received this response:
On Friday, March 9th, 2018, you requested the following records: "Certificates of completion or waiver of training for the Illinois law enforcement basic police officer training academy for Robert Davies".
Our office is not in possession of any of these requested items. This is not a denial of your request. No records exist responsive to your request.
Without State certification as a police officer, Davies can not drive a police vehicle equipped with lights and sirens. He can't write tickets or make arrests. He can't wear a uniform or carry a gun.
It get worse. Davies has been a named police officer since at least 1993.
Why shouldn't Robert Davies be investigated for
impersonating a police officer?
Obviously the Village of Mackinaw figured it out because his title was changed to a position that doesn't require certification.
Have his job duties changed so he doesn't appear to be an officer?
Did Davies write tickets or make arrests during his decades as a part-time officer?
Shouldn't citizens know when they call 911 a qualified police officer will be dispatched?
Did Robert Davies ever assist real police officers who thought he was properly trained?
Are laws immaterial because Mackinaw is in Illinois?
Will any agency investigate?
Posted in BloNo, Local, Taxes.Tagged cetification, impersonating an officer, Mackinaw, Police, Robert Davies, Village of Mackinaw.
26 thoughts on "Mackinaw: Impersonating an Officer?"
Jacqueline Galloway says:
Wow. sounds as if an issue of agreed salary might be involved.
Jose' says:
Seems that we are seeing a trend here, Mark and Pat McGrath to provide cover ups for public official's illegal activity at the taxpayers' expense. Allin Township Fire protection District, Village of Stanford, now the Village of Mackinaw. Strange thing is Scott Eidenmiller serves as the treasurer, McGrath Law Office serves as the legal counsel, and John Grimes serves as the CPA for all of the public bodies.
garibaldi says:
Remember…we are in Illinois…another masterpiece of "shuck and jive". They don't care. The rules are interpreted by those in power. While it is small power at that, it is still power.
I read this as a mix up of words…I'm thinking it was supposed to read "Chief of Auxiliary Police" which do usually have uniforms, attend town meetings, can be involved in ESDA and disaster preparedness and response, and even assist with "crime scenes" by helping with crowd control and traffic direction etc. I think it is a bunch of to-do about nothing…but since I live in Mackinaw, I am going to ask around myself
Diane Benjamin - editor says:
Ask why his job title changed. He was presented for decades as a police officer, suddenly he isn't. The picture shows him wearing a gun, only credentialed officers get a uniform, badge, and a gun.
Slevin Kelevra says:
Davies was the auxiliary police chief until 2003. In 2003 Davies was appointed as the chief deputy of the police department. Davies was the chief deputy of the police department from 2003 until mid to late 2017.
Elizabeth Gruber says:
I hope I can find someone who was arrested or ticketed by this fake officer so the you know what can hit the fan.
It may take someone coming forward who was arrested or ticketed by Davies to blow this case open.
Maria Cupi says:
FACTS REGARDING ROBERT E. DAVIES
	Robert E. Davies – 1979 – 1982 (Resigned) Mackinaw Part-time Police Officer
(Spoke to Jan Allen – ILETSB on February 13, 2018 @ 10:51am call duration 38 mins.)
	Gary L. Hartzel (Date of Hire 01/12/1983 PTB ID 65040110) Retired July 2017
	Robert E. Davies – 1983(?) – 6/2017 Deputy Chief Mackinaw Police Department.
The Illinois Training and Standards Board has NO RECORD OF ROBERT E. DAVIES HAVING EXISTED AS A POLICE OFFICER SINCE 1982. Davies has had NO TRAINING, ONLY RECORD ON FILE IS A MANDATORY FIREARMS TRAINING WHICH HE COMPLETED IN 1980.
	Robert E. Davies – 6/2017 Appointed by the Mayor, Craig Friend, as Public Safety Director a nonsworn position. Davies transitioned to new position one month before Hartzel retired.
	During the course of my investigation regarding Robert E. Davies, I determined that Davies was not assigned a PTB number through the Illinois Training and Standards Board, which such numbers are assigned to every law enforcement officer within the State of Illinois. This can be verified through the Illinois Training and Standards board website under "PTB look up". "The Illinois Training and Standards board is The State agency mandated to promote and maintain a high level of professional standards for law enforcement and correctional officers". The Training and Standards Board maintains all Agencies Department Rosters, Firearm qualification records, Training certificate, and LEADS certifications. These documents can be submitted either via mail or electronically through the web. These documents are required to be summited up to two times annually. I contacted the Illinois Training and Standards Board on February 13, 2018 and spoke to Jan Allen. Jan dug into every file attempting to locate Davies in their system and the search yielded a negative result. Jan informed me that the only records that the board processed had Davies working for the Mackinaw Police Department from 1979 to 1982 at which time he resigned. Jan then stated, you are correct, "Davies does not exist as a police officer within the State of Illinois since his resignation in 1982". Jan stated, in 1982, Chief Derrickson (Mackinaw Police Department) signed off on Davies resignation.
	The Pantagraph reports on Tuesday January 13, 1981 that Chief Derrickson resigns from his position with the Mackinaw Police Department along with Derrickson's Father, Sergeant Lester Derrickson and Sergeant Robert Davies. The Mayor of Mackinaw at this time was Lee Smith.
	Robert E. Davies ran the Mackinaw Police Department his duties included but were not limited to, the hiring and firing of Officers, scheduling, training, firearms qualifications, LEADS training, policy and procedures within the department, dash cam, investigations, traffic enforcement, etc.
DOCUMENTS THAT WERE FALSIFIED
	THE DEPARTMENT ROSTER – This document is required to be sent into the ILETSB semi – annually (January and July) either by mail or via the web. With the exception of Davies these records were accurate and current.
	BACKGROUND CHECK – Davies conducted all CQH on newly hired officers, including finger print cards that he would send into the FBI. Davies conducted this task due to his knowledge that the State's mandates this for all newly hired officers. With the exception of Davies these records were accurate and current.
	COMPLETION OF FORM E's, APPOINTMENTS, WAVIERS, AND SEPARATION OF OFFICERS TO THE AGENCY'S ROSTER – Davies was aware that these documents had to be completed for all Officers employment status. These records were accurate and current with the exception of Davies.
	FIREARMS CERTIFICATION – Davies was aware that the State mandated annual qualifications for all law enforcement officers within the State of Illinois. Davies scheduled all officers annually for firearms qualifications. These records were accurate and current with the exception of Davies.
	ANNUAL MANDATORY CHIEF AND CHIEF DEPUTY TRAINING – The ILETSB mandates that all Police Chiefs and Chief Deputies must complete 20 hours of annual training. This is in compliance with Public Act 94-354. These classes has to be approved course classes that the ILETSB has preapproved. These records were accurate and current with the exception of Davies. It should also be noted that Davies has not taken any ILETSB approved training classes since his completion of the mandatory firearms class in 1980.
	UNLAWFUL LEADS ACCESS AND DISSEMINATION – LEADS stands for, "Law Enforcement Agencies Data Systems". Davies has been the LEADS coordinator for several years. As the LEADS coordinator Davies assigned all of the LEADS training for the department, assuring that the department remains in compliance with State law. Due to Davies impersonating an Officer he was illegally accessing and disseminating LEADS information. This could also be viewed as a civil violation due to the invasion of privacy each time Davies accessed individual's personal information without authority.
	OVER 30 YEARS OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS WHICH INCLUDE BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING;
1.	Unlawful use of weapons
2.	Illegal searches and Seizures
3.	Violation of civil rights
4.	Impersonating a Police Officer
5.	Leads Violations
6.	Firearms Violations
7.	Forgery
8.	Invasion of Privacy (Accessing and disseminating classified information without authority)
9.	Fraud (Wages and Pension)
10.	Unlawful Arrests
	CONCLUSION –
On February 14, 2018 the ILETSB notifies Chief Jack Nieukirk (Date of Hire 08/01/2017) about the conversation I had with the ILETSB on February 13, 2018 regarding Davies. Davies has now stated, "He wasn't aware he wasn't a Law enforcement Officer". However, Davies was in charge of the hiring, firing, scheduling, training, and policies within the department. Davies is in charge of the scheduling of the annual State REQUIRED firearm requalification. Davies was aware of the mandated State firearms requalification, however he never qualified with any weapon for over 30 years. The timing of Davies going from Chief Deputy to Public Safety Director just one month prior to Harzel's retirement, is another red flag. Davies's new appointed position allows him to continue to run the Police Department, which makes one wonder what duties is left for the Police Chief, and why is The Village of Mackinaw is paying the Chief $50,000.00 annually.
Davies also stated, that Nieukirk is currently using the "LEDI system. LEDI (The Law Enforcement Document Exchange formally EDI), is a web based application that allows users, Law Enforcement agencies, and States Attorney's Offices to access their personnel roster, firearms requalification roster and to submit notices of appointment and separations. With this said it is impossible that Nieukirk or Davies was not aware that Davies did not show up on the agency roster. This is due to the fact that all law enforcement Officers remain on the LEDI system for 18 months after separation from a law enforce agency. Also, the Mackinaw's roster information was accurate and current with the exception of Davies.
Davies has impersonated a police officer, committed fraud, betrayed the public's trust, and has done so for 30 plus years. On February 14, 2018 Davies stated, "Nieukirk was chosen for the Police Chief's position primarily so the Mayor, Craig Friend could retain his position with Caterpillar Corporation in the midst of the corporate layoffs. This was due to Nieukirk's father being the Mayor's boss at Caterpillar. It should be noted that the newly appointed Police Chief only had 2 years of fulltime law enforcement experience at the time of his appointment and no other individual was brought to the board for consideration.
(50 ILCS 705/10.7)
Sec. 10.7. Mandatory training; police chief and deputy police chief. Each police chief and deputy police chief shall obtain at least 20 hours of training each year. The training must be approved by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board and must be related to law enforcement, management or executive development, or ethics. This requirement may be satisfied by attending any training portion of a conference held by an association that represents chiefs of police that has been approved by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Any police chief and any deputy police chief, upon presentation of a certificate of completion from the person or entity conducting the training, shall be reimbursed by the municipality in accordance with the municipal policy regulating the terms of reimbursement, for his or her reasonable expenses in obtaining the training required under this Section. No police chief or deputy police chief may attend any recognized training offering without the prior approval of his or her municipal mayor, manager, or immediate supervisor.
This Section does not apply to the City of Chicago or the Sheriff's Police Department in Cook County.
(Source: P.A. 94-354, eff. 1-1-06.)
I worked at Mackinaw PD as a REAL cop for 9 years. January 2009 – February 2018
So, who is going to prosecute?
I have been to The Tazewell County Sheriff's Department, The Village of Mackinaw, The Illinois Training and Standards Board, and The Tazewell County States Attorney and nothing has been done. Mr. Davies still continues to drive an emergency vehicle equipped with lights.sirens and "Municipal Police" license plates. This vehicle is also a take home vehicle and is always parked at his residence. Mr. Davies has an IMRF Pension which should be void, not to mention the hundredth of thousands of tax payers money that has been paid to him over the past 35 years for a position that he was not certified to possess. Then you must consider the millions of dollars in fine money that has been illegally collected by the municipality, the County, and the State over the past 35 years. Lastly, The Village would likely face hundreds of lawsuits for unlawful arrests, illegal searches and seizures, unlawful access to juvenile records, and civil violations.
The following is what should have happened. The Illinois Training and Standards Board should have immediately contacted the State Police as soon as they were made aware that a potential criminal violation had accrued with Davies and the Mackinaw Police Department. Then, the State Police should have came in and confiscated all records, files, computers, and cell phones (Which are property of the Village) as potential evidence. Instead The ILETSB called the Mackinaw Police Chief and informed him of the situation and then did nothing, This allowrd Davies the opportunity to destroy and or alter any potential evidence.
Has the State Police been informed?
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Does anyone commenting actually reside in Mackinaw besides myself, that can actually shed some light on the issue? I am going to ask around, since I haven't lived there long. I'm not jumping to any conclusion until I see something from the other side. I saw one place that he was called an "ordinance officer" Wouldn't that just be someone that dealt with overgrown lawns, junk piles and other such nonsense? Also, I read I the info provided here that he signed officers up for training? Someone has to do that type of thing…its more an administrative duty….maybe he does those types of things to allow the chief to focus on other duties….I really need more info for the other side before I get all up in arms over this one…
I did another story today. A REAL officer from Mackinaw spelled it out in the comments to this story. I have another story soon.
Thank you for the clarification..I didn't see the part where she was an officer..
Wendy- The issue is that Davies has never attended a basic law enforcement academy to be a certified police officer in Illinois, nor was he given a training waiver back in 1996 by the Training and Standards Board. The waiver would have allowed Davies to work as a police officer without having to attend the basic law enforcement academy. Davies was not granted a waiver. All officers must be certified by the state to work as a police officer. Bottom line, Davies was appointed as the deputy police chief of the actual police department from 2003 to 2017 before taking over as the public safety director. Davies was not and is still not certified to be a police officer in Illinois. Deputy chief of the police department would have put him second in command directly below the chief of police.
Wendy- further clarification. I was hired and appointed as a police officer in early 2000s. Before I could actually work the street as a police officer, I had to attend the basic law enforcement academy. When I completed the training and passed the state exam, I was certified to work as a police officer in the state of Illinois. Davies does not have this certification.
I was an Officer there for 9 years and he was my Deputy Chief. I have been a fully commissioned Illinois Law Enforcement Officer for the past 12 years and know for a fact that he has not been an Officer since 1982, and this was verified by The State of Illinois. However, he has been acting as an Officer the entire time I was with the department. These duties that he performed include but not limited to the following, interviews and interrogations, Juvenile arrests and interviews, searches and seizures, LEADS access, arrests and access to arrest records, access and operation of emergency vehicles, access to dash cam videos, and wears a police uniform with a badge and a gun.
Cheryl Smith says:
Why is Maria no longer an officer there? Seems if she knows so much about the department she would have stayed on the force. Her name has come up with other issues and departments also that she is no longer with, that's an easy google search. The fact that she remained an officer after her own mother filed an order of protection against her. She sounds like someone I want to serve and protect me. Is the States Attorney, Tazewell County Sheriffs Dept or the Illinois State Police filing charges against Robert Davies?
They are deciding whether or not to prosecute. Seems pretty clear, if the State's attorney doesn't prosecute there is no justice.
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