Inside the task force
Originally published Jan. 9, 1994
"Hell yes, there's frustration. There's frustration at that level that I couldn't find words to describe it." - Palatine Police Chief Jerry Bratcher
"I don't care if a patrolman on the street stops someone and solves it. We'd all like it to end tomorrow." - Palatine Police Deputy Chief Jack McGregor
"It was the tone of voice when I heard my guy call for an ambulance. He said he had four or five people in a cooler. You're driving there and thinking, do I have a suicide, a homicide, an accident where five people got locked in a cooler?" - Palatine police Sgt. Bob Haas
"It strikes you as a human being. I'm a father myself. I have kids the same age as some of these victims. If you let your personal emotions take over, you just feel like crying." - Palatine Police Chief Jerry Bratcher
"The police would love to be able to tell the whole community what's going on. If you talk, the defendant is going to start slamming you in court. If you don't talk, the media is going to start slamming you." - FBI major-crimes specialist Jim Bell
"I got the call around 3:30 in the morning. I sad, 'Who got killed?' He said it wasn't who, but how many." - Cook County Sheriff's Police Maj. Frank Braun
"A policeman's job is really goal oriented, really good about getting something done and going to the next case. This one, we haven't been able to do that. You're obsessed with their capture. But when you think you're having a bad day, all you have to do is think about those families." - Palatine Police Sgt. John Koziol
"It was a din of noise and activity. It was people of focus going about their work oblivious to everyone around them. You could see them gear up, putting maps on the wall and timelines on the wall, installing computers." - FBI special agent Phillip Buvia, describing his arrival at the Palatine task-force headquarters
"You wish it would be solved tomorrow, but I don't have illusions that's going to happen. This case is going to be solved by a lot of hard work. You just have to keep trudging on the investigation. There's plenty to do right now." - Palatine police Deputy Chief Jack McGregor
"Everywhere you go, somebody will mention the Brown's thing. You're always thinking about it. I used to keep a note pad right at the bed. And you'd wake up in the middle of the night thinking about this." - Palatine Police Deputy Chief Jack McGregor
"I take a pretty confident attitude in these cases. Cases get solved every day. All it takes is one phone call or an occurrence to solve a case. I believe they are in a position to solve the case, given the right piece of information." - FBI special agent Steve Etter
"God forbid this thing would occur again, I don't see how we could change a thing that we've done." - Palatine Police Chief Jerry Bratcher