The city of Champaign
has found policy violations with a controversial arrest from last summer, which
involved an officer pepper-spraying and allegedly choking a college-age African
American man in the backseat of a police cruiser.City officials released a
report Wednesday on the department’s internal investigation of the man’s June 5
arrest. These findings come after two separate external investigations were
conducted by the Illinois State Police and the FBI, both of which the city
found insufficient. The FBI report found no violation of any federal criminal civil rights legislation, according to a
press release from the Champaign Police Department.
The investigation results were announced almost three months
after the city of Champaign voted against hiring an outside contractor to
investigate the June 5 arrest. In February, an internal team of police began to
reinvestigate the citizen complaint about the arrest.
“This has been a long
process, but the citizen and the officers were entitled to a thorough review of
the incident,” said City Manager Steve Carter in a press release. “It was
important that this investigation be fair and unbiased. This internal
investigation is the first, truly comprehensive review of the facts related to
this incident.”
The investigation found
that officers violated courtesy and handcuffing procedures and that they
removed the man inappropriately. It also found that the incident’s citizen
complaint was not properly investigated.
According to the report,
shortly after handcuffing the arrested man, the backup officer used profane
language and pushed the individual’s head down onto the hood of the car. The
primary officer, when addressing the man in custody, did not explain why he was
under detention. The report stresses it is important for an officer to use
appropriate dialogue and courtesy in order to potentially sway voluntary
compliance, regardless of resistance.
The department is now
looking to make changes to the way it processes citizen complaints, said police
Chief Anthony Cobb in a press release. It will also create an early warning
system to address multiple complaints filed against a particular officer. The
department said it will regularly review professional standards cases.
Champaign Mayor Don
Gerard said Cobb and Carter presented the investigation to him and to the city
council in a closed session after the council’s Tuesday meeting. For more than
an hour, Cobb and Carter discussed the squad car footage, the investigation
findings and the aftermath of the investigation.
Gerard said the council
was “entirely informed about the investigation and its findings.” He said he is
very proud of the work done to address the long-standing issue. He added that
he trusts Cobb’s judgment and believes he will make the right decision about
the officers involved.
“I’m going to trust him
in whatever decisions he takes next in this issue,” Gerard said.
Had enough? Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal
hearings into the police problem in America.
Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a
permanent DOJ office on Police
Misconduct.