Niall Freyne just wants to thank police officers.
Freyne, 50, owner of restaurants in Tinley Park and Mokena, is showing his appreciation for law enforcement personnel by offering half-priced meals to police officers and their immediate families during September.
His Tribes restaurants previously have offered more modest discounts to various groups — firefighters, veterans and military personnel. But when he talked with his managers about showing appreciation for police officers, they all agreed they should do something more significant.
As far as occupations go, police officers have been subject to a lot of criticism of late. Some of it is warranted. Videos, media reports and criminal investigations by agencies raise questions about the responses by officers in some situations.
High-profile cases with negative implications for police tend to overshadow the good work done by the vast majority of officers on a regular basis, Freyne believes. When he was set to announce his September appreciation offer on social media, he figured he might be wading into controversial territory.
He wanted to express himself just right, so he spent time writing an open letter to “Our friends in law enforcement,” which he posted to the Tribes Beer Company Facebook page on Friday.
“In the last couple of years, I have been angered, and more recently saddened, to see how our brothers and sisters in law enforcement have been vilified in the media, on the street, by our politicians and even by our friends our neighbors and our families,” Freyne wrote.
He went on to say he understands people who feel frustrated when issued a traffic ticket by police. He’s had his share, he said, but he’s still grateful for officers who put their lives on the line to protect others.
“I thank God that there was someone watching out for me, for my friends and for my family,” he wrote. “Don’t get me wrong. There are bad apples in law enforcement. But there are also bad apples in every business operating in the world today.
“None of us are naive enough to think that is not the case. But, due to the nature of their occupation, police officers are particularly susceptible to criticism.”
Freyne wrote that he applauds police officers for choosing a career in public service, and that he envies them because he didn’t have the fortitude to pursue a life in law enforcement himself.
The Facebook post generated modest buzz. The post received nearly 600 likes and reactions, more than 450 shares and nearly 100 comments. That level of engagement isn’t viral, and it’s about what one would expect for a small business serving communities in the south suburbs.
Most of the reaction was positive.
“Law enforcement has most definitely been greatly underappreciated for all the hard work and good that they do,” Mara Gallagher commented.
There were a couple of negative comments. These days, it seems, it hard to say or do anything without offending someone.
“I’ll believe in good cops when they start arresting the bad cops,” Clayton Bruyn commented.
I imagine many others share that sentiment. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel essentially encouraged people to think that way when he stood at a microphone last year before the Chicago City Council and acknowledged a code of silence exists within the Police Department.
This was in the wake of the release of a video showing the fatal shooting by police of Laquan McDonald. The alleged “bad cop” was arrested in that case. Police officer Jason Van Dyke is awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge.
This past week, Emanuel said he supported Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson’s efforts to fire seven officers who allegedly lied about the 2014 fatal shooting of McDonald.
In Baltimore, six police officers were charged after Freddie Gray died while in police custody in 2015. Gray’s death sparked protests and contributed to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Four officers were tried. One case ended in a mistrial. Three others were found not guilty, and charges were dropped against the other two.
I have faith in the criminal justice system. I believe if there is sufficient evidence that people committed wrongdoing, they will be held accountable.
I also believe police departments and government agencies are doing all they can to improve their operations. It can prove expensive for an organization to ignore systemic wrongdoing.
The Better Government Association found that the City of Chicago paid $521 million on settlements, judgments, legal fees and other costs related to police misconduct between 2004 and 2014. Voters have little tolerance for costly misbehavior.
Another commenter on the Tribes’ Facebook post wanted to know whether discounts would be offered to families of people affected by police misconduct. Others supported the restaurant’s offer.
I met with Freyne at Tribes Alehouse in Tinley Park to ask what he thought about reaction to his efforts to show appreciation for police. The Tinley Park restaurant opened in 2012. Tribes Beer Company opened in Mokena in 2007 and expanded to include brewing operations in 2015. His restaurants employ 88 people.
“I wanted an opportunity to give back in the form of a significant discount on food,” he said. “Fifty percent will cover the cost of the food.”
Freyne said he’s a native of Galway, Ireland, who immigrated with his parents when he was about 5 years old. He became a U.S. citizen when he was 12 or 13, he said.
He doesn’t have a dramatic story to tell about a police officer who saved his life, or a member of his family. He said he simply wants to express his appreciation, and to teach a lesson to his two children, ages 12 and 13. TV coverage of police-involved shootings led to family discussions, he said.
“I’m tired of having to explain to my kids that these are good people,” he said. “It’s OK to get pulled over by a police officer. My kids are still young, but you could be driving too fast. I’d rather you get a ticket than laid up in a hospital or dead.”
His point is that a lot of people only have negative encounters with police. I think Freyne wants to help people remember that unlike most occupations, police officers risk their personal safety every day they do their jobs.
It’s hard for civilians to understand that with every traffic stop, police officers have to prepare for the possibility that the driver or a passenger might react with potentially deadly violence.
Their safety is threatened by impaired and distracted drivers when they pull over a vehicle to the side of a busy highway. They never know what they’re getting into when they respond to calls about robberies, burglaries, domestic disputes and other situations.
Cops just want to do their jobs serving and protecting the public, then safely go home to their families at the end of their shifts.
After a sniper killed five police officers in Texas last month, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said his officers were expected to solve societal issues ranging from mental health and drug addiction to loose dogs and failing schools.
“We’re asking cops to do too much in this country,” Brown said. “I just ask for other parts of our democracy along with the free press to help us,” Browncontinued. “To help us and not put that burden all on law enforcement.”
For his part, Freyne just wants to show appreciation to the police officers who do their jobs well.
“These are people who make a very modest living protecting us,” he said. “We simply want to do our part in the community.”
Twitter @tedslowik
