[CPRB] media assault on Champaign PRB underway

Sun Oct 15 07:30:20 CDT 2006

Stan Levy (former Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs) became chair of the local chapter of ACLU a few years after retiring from the VC position and served as chair for several years until 2002 or so.  I don't know if he's officially representing ACLU on the Citizen's Task Force but he reports to the ACLU chapter about the meetings.   It is from him that I get the impression that Finney and Carter (especially Finney) see that some form of Citizen Police Review is important for community relations, especially the city's relations with the African American community.  Stan Levy reported at our last meeting that the task force was going to recommend a program to the Human Relations Commission and let the Commission bring it to the council.  I told him it would be dead on arrival at council (probably) if it came from HRC because the same council members who don't like citizen review of police also don't respect the HRC. He said he'd raise that concern at their next meeting. 

So, I still think the key is to set up a private meeting with Finney and try to compel him to take the lead in bringing forward and endorsing the citizen police review.  The proposal in Champaign is much more wattered down than Urbana's, but the two key aspects that still make it worthwhile are: some non-police folks monitoring the filing of complaints and someone other than police monitoring the response the PD gives to complaints.   Any system with these two components would be a big improvement over the current situation where people are discouraged from filing a complaint and if they do, they just wait to get their notice that the PD found it had done nothing wrong.

Esther

---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 21:56:48 -0500
>From: "Randall Cotton" <recotton at earthlink.net>  
>Subject: Re: [CPRB] media assault on Champaign PRB underway   
>To: <cprb at lists.chambana.net>
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "John W." <jbw292002 at gmail.com>
>To: "Randall Cotton" <recotton at earthlink.net>; <cprb at lists.chambana.net>
>Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2006 10:35 PM
>Subject: Re: [CPRB] media assault on Champaign PRB underway
>
>
>: At 04:53 PM 10/12/2006, Randall Cotton wrote:
>:
>: >I had to resend this because it bounced at first, so where I say "today", it
>: >really means yesterday (Wednesday).
>: >
>: >R
>: >
>: >
>: >
>: >----- Original Message -----
>: >From: "Randall Cotton" <recotton at earthlink.net>
>: >To: <cprb at lists.cu.groogroo.com>
>: >Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 4:10 PM
>: >Subject: media assault on Champaign PRB underway
>: >
>: >
>: >: Witness today's editorial in the News Gazette, followed by a letter to
>: >the editor that
>: >: sounds like it's from a vested interest (anyone know who Michael Cook
>: >is?). On
>: >: the letter to the editor - the ironic thing is that Finney actually is
>: >*not* OK
>: >: with the proposed PRB bubbling up from the Champaign Police Community
>: >Relations
>: >: Committee (the NG's story was a bit off the mark on that).
>:
>:
>: How do you know Finney is against it, Randall?  What's your source?
>
>I heard it through the grapevine and I think Finney sent that signal during this
>week's City Council study session meeting.
>
>The headline of the Saturday story was "Champaign police chief says he's OK with
>citizen review board", but in discussing the proposed Police Department's
>"Strategic Plan" that was presented this week, the mayor asked whether there was
>anything in this plan that stepped toward a Citizen's Police Review Board (he
>didn't want to be "blindsided", he said). City Manager Steve Carter responded
>with some details about the Champaign Police Community Relations Committee's
>work and indicated the Review Board idea was just for "discussion purposes",
>saying there "may or may not" be a proposal (he is a member of the committee).
>Finney piped up and said "Also mayor, the headlines doesn't always reflect the
>contents of an article", to which the mayor replied "I understand the latest one
>in the Gazette didn't".
>
>Maybe Carter and Finney are acting to assuage the mayor as Esther suggests (I
>guess that's the best we could hope for). Or were they acting when they gave the
>impression to the Community Relations Committee that they support it? Or have
>they changed their stance recently because of the mayor's unequivocal stated
>opposition to a PRB?
>
>I certainly don't know the answer and can only speculate, but it would at least
>appear that Finney is not "OK" with the proposed "citizen review board" (at
>least when the mayor's around or this comments are public).
>
>>From the NG, I gather the 10-member subcommittee of the Champaign Police
>Community Relations Committee (a 22-member non-city group) consists of at least:
>
>Steve Carter
>Deputy Chief Troy Daniels
>2 or 3 other police officers
>Stan Levy (the retired UofI vice-chancellor - wow, how did *that* happen?)
>Pam Burnside (public defender, NAACP)
>
>who else, I wonder?
>
>Tracy Parsons (Urban League) and Reverend Chambers (NAACP) have received copies
>of the 18-page report that includes the CPRB proposal.
>
>Anyone know any other details?
>
>R
>
>
>:
>: Thanks as always for keeping us abreast of breaking news.
>:
>: In reality, the Champaign Human Relations Committee has twice before
>: recommended to the City Council that a CPRB be instituted in Champaign, but
>: its recommendations have been desregarded both times.
>:
>: John Wason
>:
>:
>:
>:
>: >: Police review board plan raises problems
>: >: Wednesday October 11, 2006
>: >:
>: >: The city of Urbana has been considering for months and is expected to
>: >pass soon
>: >: a proposal to create a citizens review board to oversee its police
>: >department.
>: >: So perhaps it's no surprise that the city of Champaign is in the early
>: >stages of
>: >: doing the same thing.
>: >: A subcommittee of the city's Police Community Relations Committee recently
>: >: issued a report outlining the process by which a review board would
>: >operate, and
>: >: the matter appears certain to go to the city council for consideration.
>: >: The idea of a police review board is not necessarily a negative. But the
>: >: creation of a review board could be a huge negative. It all depends on
>: >how the
>: >: board is run and, most importantly, who sits on the board.
>: >: The idea is born of a desire to reassure members of the minority
>: >community that
>: >: the city's goal is honest, fair-minded law enforcement with members of
>: >no group
>: >: receiving any better or any worse treatment than members of any other
>group.
>: >: That, unfortunately, is a tough sell to people who have long viewed police
>: >: either with suspicion or fear. Equally unfortunate is that there's no
>: >guarantee
>: >: that creating a police review board, operating under strict confidentiality
>: >: guidelines, will help much.
>: >: There is a huge practical problem involving boards of this nature, and it
>: >: involves taking people who have no real knowledge or understanding of
>police
>: >: work and putting them in a position to review what individual officers
>: >did or
>: >: should have done in tense, time-pressured situations.
>: >: How would they know? How should they know? Why ask them to judge?
>: >: The last question is the easiest to answer.
>: >: They're asked to judge because some people don't trust the current
>: >complaint and
>: >: discipline process, which is overseen by Police Chief R.T. Finney and City
>: >: Manager Steve Carter. But those two or their successors also would be
>: >involved
>: >: in a review board process, so how would it be any better?
>: >: The best way for police to build bridges to any group is to maintain open
>: >: communications, to visit, to answer questions, to explain and to listen. A
>: >: police review board would do nothing except duplicate an existing
>discipline
>: >: process that already is viewed in some quarters with skepticism.
>: >:
>: >: *******************
>: >: letter to the editor:
>: >: Police chief masters the art of surrender
>: >: Wednesday October 11, 2006
>: >: When local, vocal self-serving factions that do not represent the
>: >majority of
>: >: Champaign citizens and the valid interests of the city target the police
>: >: department with unreasonable demands and unfounded accusations, the
>: >immediate
>: >: conduct that I have come to expect from Police Chief R.T. Finney is for
>: >him to
>: >: promptly become a quasi-lackey for these groups.
>: >: It is obvious that he has a self-preservation predisposition that limits
>his
>: >: ability to represent and support the legitimate interests of the city, the
>: >: police department and the community majority.
>: >: Chief Finney's premature sanctioning of a civilian police review board
>: >before
>: >: the city leaders have researched the matter and have reached a decision is
>: >: inappropriate and self-serving.
>: >: A review board comprised of citizens who, most likely, will not have the
>: >: essential knowledge to enable them to comprehend the often overwhelming
>: >: complexity of law enforcement, and competently evaluate a police-related
>: >: judgment and action, will accomplish nothing but add a dysfunctional
>: >layer of
>: >: bureaucracy to the city.
>: >: Eventually, it will complicate and corrupt an ethical investigative and
>: >: disciplinary system that already has an effective complaint process and
>: >several
>: >: layers of oversight, including the criminal and civil courts.
>: >: When the demand for civilian oversight is not reasonably justified,
>: >beware of a
>: >: veiled desire to engage in personal ax grinding, politically coercive
>: >practices
>: >: and prejudice.
>: >: Each time the handcuffs on a law enforcement agency are tightened, the
>: >security
>: >: of the community diminishes.
>: >: MICHAEL COOK
>:
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