Avoiding the ‘Q-word,’ and other law enforcement superstitions

We all know about steering clear of black cats, walking around — never under — ladders and keeping our umbrellas folded until we step outside, but what kind of superstitions do our law enforcement officers abide by?

For this week’s column, running on Friday the 13th, we reached out to some of our best police sources to ask whether they, or the law enforcement community at large, have any superstitions.

We found out that police, like us news reporters, both fear the jinx of the “Q-word” — quiet.

“There’s one superstition in law enforcement that I’ve always heard since I started back in 2002,” Palatine Deputy Police Chief David Brandwein wrote us in an email. “When someone on shift says, ‘It's been quiet so far today.’ When someone says that in front of a group of officers, the typical response is, ‘Oh man, you just jinxed it.’”

Time and again, police leaders told us that uttering any variation of “It’s been a quiet day” means it won’t stay that way for long.

“You never remark or use the Q-word (quiet) during a shift. It inevitably results in a tone out call (serious in-progress emergency),” Wheaton Chief Princeton Youker said.

And … “The one general superstition that came to mind was wishing someone a quiet or calm shift. That almost certainly means that it will be busy and/or a major call will occur during that shift,” said Mount Prospect officer Greg Sill.

And … “You could say, ‘We’ve had a pretty good shift.’ But the second you said, ‘It sure is quiet,’ everybody looked at you like you’d just called dispatch and asked for more work,” added former police officer James Levicki, who is now the public information officer for the Aurora police and fire departments.

Wait, there’s more

The Q-word isn’t the only superstition we heard about.

Youker told us that in police work, things seem to happen in groups of three.

“My field training officer taught me this,” he said. “If there is a motor vehicle pursuit or serious call like a burglary or death investigation, as an officer you better be on the lookout and prepared (for) the next one … or two.”

And clock-watching is just asking for trouble, according to Levicki.

“The minute you thought ‘I might actually get out of here on time,’ the calls-for-service gods would hear you and send you one more call,” he said. “Somehow, it always took longer than whatever time you had left.”

Some officers have rituals for traffic stops, such as one who knocks twice on the squad car window or taps the steering wheel before getting out, Levicki added. Another would double-click their radio after calling in the stop.

But not everyone worries about bad luck on Friday the 13th. In fact, it’s twice been a happy occasion for Darien Chief Greg Thomas. He retired as Aurora’s police chief on Nov. 13, 2015, and today is his last day as Darien’s top cop.

“I guess I’m not superstitious,” he said.

He did, however, suffer some misfortune — a jinx? — this week. His email was hacked, causing “significant trouble” as he tried to work without email and deal with the fallout of his contacts receiving a false email from him.

Karma watch

A suburban attorney who pleaded guilty Tuesday to submitting forged community service documents for a client will now have to do some community service herself.

Devin Luster, of South Holland, admitted guilt in DuPage County court to one count of issuing or delivering a forged document, a Class 3 felony. She was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.

Luster, 32, was indicted in August 2025 on six felony counts of fraud. The charges alleged she submitted paperwork in 2024 falsely stating that her client, who had been convicted of misdemeanor DUI, had performed 247.5 hours of community service at a Calumet City daycare facility, prosecutors said.

Freezing out ICE

Citing ongoing immigration enforcement activity at local courthouses, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office announced this week that it’s barring its vendors from sharing data that may end up in the hands of ICE and other federal immigration agencies.

“Everyone participating in the justice system — regardless of immigration status — should be able to trust that their personal information will be protected,” State’s Attorney Eileen Burke said in an announcement of the move. “When victims, witnesses, and defendants are afraid to come to court, it undermines our ability to seek justice and keep our communities safe.”

As part of the edict, the state’s attorney’s office revised its contract with Appriss Inc., which provides legally required notifications to crime victims when an offender has been released from custody. The new agreement prohibits the company from disclosing any personal data to federal law enforcement officials or to third-party databases — like LexisNexis Risk Solutions — that may be used for immigration enforcement.

According to the state’s attorney, ICE agents have been repeatedly spotted at county courthouses, including the Domestic Violence Courthouse, and have made arrests on courthouse property.

copsandcrime@dailyherald.com