TOWN SUSPENDS EX-POLICE CHIEF

BRAIDWOOD - The former police chief of Braidwood was suspended without pay
from his current patrolman's job pending an internal inquiry into his
involvement with drugs found during a raid that ended with the arrest of
his three sons.

Braidwood Officer Peter Patterson - the one-time chief of the department -
was moved from paid leave to unpaid suspension, said Police Chief Robert
Andreina.

Andreina declined to comment further on the matter, noting confidentiality
requirements in personnel matters.

A hearing for Patterson has yet to be scheduled.

Patterson's sons - Peter Patterson Jr., 24, and twin brothers Phillip and
Todd Patterson, 19 - were arrested during the May 27 raid on 24930 Mitchell
Court, the residence they share with their parents.

Todd Patterson was booked on a charge of possession of cannabis and
possession of drug paraphernalia after agents with the Metropolitan Area
Narcotics Squad served a search warrant at the home. His brothers Phillip
and Peter both were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

MANS agents reported seizing 16 grams of marijuana in the raid, $940 cash,
21 long guns and five handguns.

Among the firearms confiscated was an AK-47, a "Mac-10 type weapon" and
various other assault rifles, a police source said after the search and
seizure.

Peter Patterson Sr. claimed ownership of all the guns but one.

"I've had an extensive collection for quite a while," the suspended cop said.

"A little .22 rifle" taken from the house during the raid belongs to one of
his sons, Patterson said. He declined to identify which son is the owner.

Police still have possession of the weapons, but Patterson said he has
retained a lawyer to get them back.

Patterson also said he knew nothing of the drugs allegedly found in his home.

"I told my kids I don't want anything like that in the house," he said. "I
had no knowledge of that.

"They live upstairs, they pay us rent," he added. "I feel they have a
certain amount of privacy due them."

Todd Patterson was convicted of felony burglary in Kankakee County and
battery in Will County for attacking the vice principal of his high school,
said Thomas Ciecko, assistant state's attorney. He was on conditional
discharge for the battery and probation for the burglary, Ciecko said.

After bonding out on the drug charges stemming from the May raid, Ciecko
said, Todd Patterson went to Andreina's home and attempted to intimidate
him, even though the case "had nothing to do with Braidwood. It was MANS."

Ciecko moved to have Todd Patterson's conditional discharge revoked. During
a subsequent hearing before Judge Stephen White, Todd Patterson was ordered
to take an immediate drug test, Ciecko said, which he failed.

Todd Patterson later pleaded guilty to the drug charges and was sentenced
to the 14 days he had spent in jail.

Ciecko also forwarded police reports and other information to the Kankakee
County state's attorney office. Todd Patterson's probation - which
prohibits possessing illicit drugs and firearms or dangerous weapons - may
be revoked as a result.

Peter Patterson Sr. served as Braidwood's police chief from 1995 until he
resigned his position in 1998. No official explanation for his resignation
and subsequent demotion was given.

Suspended without pay for nearly three weeks, Peter Patterson Sr. said his
family is trying to make ends meet.

"We're struggling," he said. "We're taking it one day at a time."