Dart 'Keeping All Options On The Table' On Policing Robbins
ROBBINS (CBS) -- Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart met with two trustees from the village of Robbins Wednesday, but deferred any decision on taking command of the suburb's police department.
"The meeting went well," said Dart spokesman Ben Breit, who said Dart was "keeping all options on the table."
Breit said that Dart is pleased that Robbins Police Capt. Douglas Smith resigned Tuesday under pressure. The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board was unable to verify that Smith had any background or training in law enforcement.
Smith was hired on a part-time basis in August to oversee the department's Internal Affairs section. The board's executive director, Kevin McClain, told the SouthtownStar that the board would have had Smith arrested for impersonating a police officer if he remained on the force.
"Obviously, this guy had no qualifications whatsoever," Breit told WBBM.
Breit said the situation remains "fast-moving," and that Dart is not sure if he will need to take command of the Robbins department "tomorrow, next week or never."
"The sheriff just wants to assure that the people of Robbins are protected, and whatever he needs to do to make that happen, he will," Breit said.
Chief Melvin Davis has indicated that he believes the Robbins department can adequately police the village.
