More Details Surface on Incident Involving Cop Intimidating Pro-Life Advocate
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 16, 2009
Aurora, IL (LifeNews.com) — More details are surfacing on a Wednesday incident that saw an off-duty police officer intimidate a pro-life advocate helping women outside the Aurora Planned Parenthood abortion center. A Chicago police officer was cited in a report for disorderly conduct for flashing his badge and possibly his gun.
Rachelle Crile, a 31-year-old Naperville, Illinois woman who had been outside the abortion center for about an hour when she saw a car with two people that appeared to be heading to the facility.
Crile told the Fox Valley Sun newspaper that she approached the car with pro-life literature and that the man driving the car pulled out his badge and allegedly threatened her by displaying a handgun.
Eric Scheidler, the director of the Pro-Life Action League, a prominent pro-life group that heads up local pro-life efforts in Aurora, provided LifeNews.com with more details of what happened.
"Rachelle Crile, one of our most committed sidewalk counselors, was threatened by an off duty Chicago police officer who pointed his gun at her from inside his minivan," he said.
"Rachelle had been counseling in the bitter cold and was warming up in her car when the man and his female passenger pulled into the Blockbuster lot nearby her car," he recounted. "Somehow Rachelle knew they were headed to Planned Parenthood and after praying about it, she peacefully approached the car with literature."
"When she reached the driver’s window, he pointed a gun at her, and she backed away with her hands up," he said. "The couple then drove into the Planned Parenthood lot, and Rachelle called the police. Then sidewalk counselor Marie Sulita called me, and I rushed out there."
"There were about eight police cars there when I arrived, and then several reporters showed up. Despite being shaken up, Rachelle courageously spoke to the press — taking the opportunity to explain the life-saving mission of sidewalk counseling," Scheidler said.
"The police discovered that the man is a Chicago police officer, and there was indeed a gun in his car. But he claims he was only showing Rachelle his badge," he added.
Scheidler called the incident "outrageous" and said "a police report was filed, but no charges."
"Rachelle will be following up with the DuPage County state’s attorney," he explained.
"This is a scary thing to happen, especially only a few months after pro-life activist Jim Pouillion was shot and killed in Michigan," Scheidler concluded.
The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper indicated the officer was cited for disorderly conduct for flashing his badge.
The paper indicated the citation was not a charge but a report to document the incident and verify that he was an off-duty police officer.
The Aurora Planned Parenthood is the new super-sized abortion business that was recently built under scrutiny as Aurora city officials were accused of violating building and zoning laws to allow its completion.
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