Republican Rodger Cook responded to Jason Plummer's attack on Cook's service as a homicide detective. The video above is an audio recording of Cook's conference call with the press from Friday, March 16th. Cook also circulated the following press release:
Plummer sinks even lower
Says he wants to talk about the issues, then attacks Cook’s record as a police officer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2012
BELLEVILLE, IL…The increasingly desperate Plummer campaign dug even deeper into its bag of deceit and directly attacked the integrity of Rodger Cook’s record as a decorated police officer.
“Jason Plummer should be ashamed of exploiting the murder of a woman 20 years ago for a last minute cheap shot against a decorated police officer,” said Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (ILFOP) Trustee Mark Krampf, who served over 10 years with Cook an officer in the Belleville Police Department. “Rodger Cook was an outstanding cop and this kid has no right to attack his very distinguished record.”
The ILFOP endorsed Rodger a couple weeks ago, and his record speaks for itself. Cook was twice named police officer of the year, received 12 official commendations and served on the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, specializing in homicide investigations.
“I’m proud of my service as a police officer,” said Cook, who has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police. “Jason clearly lacks the experience and the judgment to understand how hard those officers who serve our community work.”
Plummer dug up a case from nearly 25 years ago about a woman who was brutally murdered in an East Alton motel. Cook worked tirelessly to find and charge a suspect. The evidence was overwhelming that the suspect committed the crime, but prosecutors failed to win a conviction.
Madison County’s former top prosecutor and former judge Don Weber weighed in on the issue of the prosecutors on the case.
“In some cases there simply is not enough evidence to convince all 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt. A Not Guilty verdict does not mean the defendant is innocent. It simply means the evidence was insufficient in the jurors' minds to convince them beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Weber. "John Rekowski, and his sidekick, Ron Slemer, are two of the most unreliable sources for opinion on a matter effecting law enforcement imaginable. Rekowski has been a consistently left-wing, ACLU-type political activist on criminal law matters. Rekowski is an outspoken critic of the death penalty while advocating ultra-liberal ideas like sequential line- up laws that help criminals avoid being caught.”
Cook said he expected Plummer to go on the attack after it was learned that Plummer has been embellishing the endorsements of a number of conservative organizations, “But I really didn’t think he’d go this low. All I can think about is that victim’s family,” said Cook. “Has he no shame?”
Just before Plummer e-mailed the smear piece, he told reporters “These are serious times that demand serious people discussing serious answers to our problems.”
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Paid for by Citizens for Cook
707 N. State St.
Freeburg, IL 62243
Cookforcongress.org
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