[CPRB] Champaign City Manager Says Chief Finney Acted “Inappropriate”

[Brian Dolinar]

Following up on a story about Champaign Police Chief R.T. Finney kicking me
out of a press conference held on June 8, 2007, I finally got a response
that his actions were inappropriate and were based on no existing department
policy.

Some who were gone for the summer may not have heard about an incident in
June when three Champaign police officers were shot in an incident with a
homeless man, Donnell Clemons, that occurred in West Side park. As it turned
out, one of the officers had been shot by a police bullet (so-called
"friendly fire"). Clemons is charged with attempted murder and faces up to
160 years in prison. He has pleaded innocent and has told his family members
that the police shot first.

This incident is just one in the past year indicating a rise in police
presence around public parks in Champaign. Another is an incident on March
30 when a 17 year-old black youth was sent to the hospital by
Champaignpolice after being maced and beaten.

This happened two weeks before the April elections in which Giraldo Rosales,
who was the only Latino alderman in downstate Illinois and who had been
advocating for a Police Review Board in Champaign, was defeated. Republicans
took over a majority on the Champaign city council and promptly shot down
any future talks about a Police Review Board in Champaign at a July 31
meeting. This was in spite of recommendations from their own task force to
continue further discussion and after numerous citizens and community
leaders spoke in favor of a police review board.

The day after three Champaign officers were shot in West Side park, Chief
Finney held a press conference about the incident. I showed up at the press
conference, but no sooner than I had sat down, I was asked to leave. At the
back of the room, Chief Finney told me I was not a member of the media and
said, "I talk to who I want to talk to."

After being ejected from the press conference, I contacted the ACLU's Adam
Schwartz, who wrote a letter on my behalf citing case law concluding that
members of the press cannot be arbitrarily excluded from a press conference.
The police chief responded with a letter saying I would be allowed into
future press conferences so long as I presented press credentials and acted
with "proper decorum."

I also filed a complaint at the Champaign police department and was told
that, as part of the procedure, I would get a call from the City Manager
Steve Carter who would want to conduct an interview with me. Complaints are
ordinarily responded to within 45 days. After ten weeks, and several
unanswered phone calls to the City Manager, I finally had to set up my own
interview with Carter's secretary.

At the time I filed the complaint, I was not told the individual I was
filing a complaint against would be present at the meeting. When I set up
the meeting for Thursday, August 23, 2007, I was told that both City Manager
Steve Carter and Police Chief Finney would be present. I showed up with my
own witness, Durl Kruse, a member of CU Citizens for Peace and Justice.

When I asked for permission to audio record the conversation, Finney
immediately protested. He wanted to know what I was going to do with the
recording. I told him I couldn't assure that it wouldn't be the subject of
an article. Finney turned to the City Manager and said, "See, I told you
so." Finney finally agreed but said he would keep his comments to a minimum.


I explained to Carter how I had been kicked out of the press conference and
showed him documentation proving that I had been recognized by Finney as a
member of the media. I had filed several Freedom of Information Act requests
and received fee waivers for the materials because I am a member of the
media.

I told Carter I wanted to see police policy in regards to press conferences
and, if there was none, I wanted to be assured new policy would be written
so this wouldn't happen again to me or any of my colleagues.

Carter said, "To my knowledge we don't have policy specifically related to
press conferences. The police department has a policy related to the
releasing of information and records […]. This would be the closest thing we
have related to policy."

While Carter eventually told me he was in "conversation" with city officials
over a new policy, he never assured me it would go into writing.

I asked what the explanation was for ejecting me from the press conference.

Carter replied, "I think the chief thought he had the right legally based
upon some information that he received through professional associates that
he had the right to do that."

I pressed him, "And what is that information? What kind of information would
that be?"

Stumbling, Carter said, "That would be something that, obviously, we've had
our attorneys look at. That information helped formulate the response to the
ACLU. And that is in a general press conference like that, members of the
news media should be able to attend. So probably asking you to leave the
press conference was inappropriate at that time. So we won't do that again."

I asked Finney if he still believed he only had a right to speak to those
reporters he wished to speak to. He remained defiant, "I think its very
clear from our legal research that I can speak to the reporters that I
choose to speak to, yes."

Carter backed him up and provided an analogy, "There's not a constitutional
requirement that a public official talk to every reporter who wants to talk
to him. I don't think that exists. If you hold a press conference then
everybody needs to be invited there. If a student from the *Daily
Illini*calls and wants me to help them write their paper at the 11
th hour, I don't have a constitutional responsibility to help them do that."


Of course, Chief Finney did not kick me out of the press conference because
I showed up late. He continues to refuse to talk to me because of the
content of my writing, because I criticize his police when they racially
profile residents, beat up black youth, or, as in the recent story of Ms.
Davis, fire bullets into a house with children inside in order to catch a
suspected criminal.

I never received a formal apology from either Chief Finney or City Manager
Steve Carter. Finney still says he does not have to answer certain questions
from certain reporters. The public does not have a right to know. Finney's
ejecting me from the press conference is another indication that, under the
current city council, the Champaign police believe they can operate with
impunity.


LINKS:

"IMC Reporter Kicked Out Of Press Conference" http://www.ucimc.org/node/1361.


"Family Of Police Shooter Left Out In The Cold"
http://www.ucimc.org/node/1390.

-- 
Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.
303 W. Locust St.
Urbana, IL 61801
briandolinar at gmail.com
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