Human Relations Commission
Regular MeetingDeKalb, IL · July 7, 2020
Minutes
Human Relations Commission (HRC) Recommendations
For
City of DeKalb
July 7, 2020
The recent months of local and national protests organized in response to the
tragic and avoidable deaths of citizens by police have focused attention on
reducing police violence and improving community and police relationships.
The DeKalb community has also been protesting these tragedies and has also
called for changes to current policing methods. Utilizing several community
forums, town hall meetings and the media, the community has identified a
number of recommendations to reduce police violence and improve the
relationships between the police and community. The number of
recommendations received and the wide involvement of DeKalb residents has
likely been one of the largest community responses to any issue in the city’s
history.
The DeKalb community is to be commended for this high level of participation
by so many voices. The HRC wishes to thank the community for its concerns,
ideas for change and energy to see these changes enacted.
Since so many recommendations and comments have been made by the
public, the HRC believes that the city should review all of these
recommendations. Therefore, the HRC recommendations are more focused
upon organizational processes and individual attitudes that are needed to
accomplish this thorough and fair review of the community’s
recommendations.
Therefore, the Human Relations Commission at its July 7, 2020 meeting voted
to present the following recommendations and concerns to the City of DeKalb.
HRC RECOMMENDATIONS
1. As stated, the HRC strongly believes that the City of DeKalb
should review all community recommendations in recognition
of the need for changes overwhelmingly expressed at our
recent community events.
2. The HRC strongly recommends that the city increase its
commitment to a community policing model and the full
implementation of its components.
The demilitarization of police and the change from a “warrior” culture to a
“guardian” culture will have an immediate impact on the public’s
perception of our police force. Our community has seen the positive
outcomes from our police department’s involvement in various
community projects (e.g. Project H.O.P.E., The COMPASS Program, and
Camp Power). Added community involvement through a more
comprehensive community policing model will have a positive impact and
engender more trust.
Experience has shown that walking the neighborhoods, becoming a known
individual and knowing residents by name may transform
police/community relations.
3. The HRC also recommends that those community
recommendations that have already been completed or are in
process, should be immediately communicated to the DeKalb
community via all media avenues. Some of the following may
have been addressed by the City and Police Department. If so,
the HRC recognizes the City for having made these changes, but
still lists them as top concerns for the HRC.
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Rec. 3 Cont.
a. Replace officers with social workers as first responders for non-
violent mental health, drug and public nuisance cases.
b. Prohibit the use of no-knock warrants.
c. Establish clear criteria for traffic stops, frisks, detainment, and a
system for monitoring and evaluating such stops.
d. Prohibit the use of military grade equipment in response to
peaceful protests, including grenade launchers, bayonets, tear
gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, skip fire rounds & concussion
sound devices.
e. Expand cultural competency training for City Staff and Police/Fire
Personnel.
f. Ensure that ongoing training for City Staff and Police/Fire
Personnel include training on implicit bias, antiracism work and
conflict de-escalation.
g. Provide transparency and thorough background checks in the
hiring of officers.
h. Assure accountability for officer misconduct and, in particular, for
use of excessive force.
4. The HRC recommends that the Campaign Zero organization
document (included in the July 13, 2020 City Council Meeting
packet) be used by the Mayor, City staff, Police Dept. and City
Council as a good starting point for further information and
research data to assist in reviewing the recommendations and
formulating changes to be made.
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Rec. 4 Cont.
The Campaign Zero document also uses many of the same categories for
change that were utilized by the HRC to sort the community
recommendations into categories. There are other national organizations
that addresses changes needed for police departments that could also be
reviewed for assistance. The Campaign Zero organization
(www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions) is simply a recommended resource
that would serve as a starting point on reviewing our community
recommendations. Other valuable resources include: 8 Abolition, Poor
Peoples Campaign, National Black Lives Matter, and the Illinois NAACP and
Illinois Association of Chief of Police agreed principles.
5. It is recommended that the recommendations that require
changes to State of Illinois statutes be identified and lobbying
begin with appropriate State of Illinois Representatives, Illinois
Police Associations, etc. and a staff member be appointed to be
the lead in this effort.
6. The HRC recommends that the city provide updates to the
community through all media to inform them about progress on
the review and investigation and decisions of changes based
upon the recommendations.
7. The HRC also recommends that city updates be presented to the
HRC at its regularly scheduled meetings.
8. The HRC recommends that the City use resources in the
community to assist with the task of reviewing and deciding
upon recommendations (e.g. community social service
agencies).
The City has individuals and organizations that can provide assistance with
this review. The HRC is but one organization that is ready to assist. The
Rec. 8 Cont. 4
community has many others that can be consulted about a particular
recommendation or need for more information.
9. The HRC recommends that, if the city determines that the
review of these recommendations or review of some groupings
of recommendations would best be conducted by establishing a
smaller task/coordinating group, then besides the task group
members being selected from the City staff, Police Department,
and a City Council liaison, that such a smaller task group include
two community representatives.
10.The HRC recommends that whether a recommendation is
assigned to a staff member, small group or other entity, that
such individuals or groups need to:
a. Research the recommendation using recognized
organizations and/or knowledgeable
individuals/professionals.
b. Identify other municipalities that have implemented
the recommendations and, if at all possible, visit the
municipalities.
c. Share the information with all stakeholders.
d. Decide, only after the above steps are completed,
whether the recommendation under study can be
implemented as stated or with some modifications or
record why the recommendation is not possible.
11.The HRC recommends that the City use an operating principle
to not discard or discount any recommendation because it, at
first, seems “impossible”.
Outright discarding of recommendations defeats the honest effort needed
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Rec. 11 Cont.
to consider how the city can implement a recommendation or at least,
modify it so the community can be certain that the city made sincere
efforts to review and implement as many recommendations as possible.
12. The HRC also strongly recommends that the Police Department
Not be allowed to reject the consideration of any
recommendation.
This is particularly significant with any changes that would require
contract negotiations. Our police union must be responsive to reforms.
13. The HRC recommends that the community recommendations
be considered and implemented as quickly as possible.
14. Finally, it is recommended that an Action Plan be developed to
prioritize the recommendations with timelines and staff or
groups assigned to coordinate and report the review of the
recommendations. These prioritized recommendations and
their timelines should also be made public.
Respectfully,
City of DeKalb Human Relations Commission
Larry Apperson, Chair Nadine Franklin Norden Gilbert
David Barrow Joe Gastiger Lisa King
HRC Categorization of DeKalb Community Input on
Improving Police and Community Relationships
This document compiled by the Human Relations Committee (HRC) lists: 1.
All the recommendations stated at the DeKalb County Community Forum on
June 4, 2020; HRC Special Meeting on June 16, 2020; Black Lives Matter
Town hall Meeting on June 18, 2020; the June 22, 2020 City of DeKalb
Committee of the Whole Meeting; and the Black Lives Matter Lists of
Demands reported in the June 25, 2020 Daily Chronicle and 2. All those
recommendations that were received in a written format.
The specific HRC Recommendations to the City of DeKalb are attached to this
listing of community recommendations.
Note: The HRC categories were selected by first grouping similarly themed
recommendations together and then selecting a title that encompassed these grouped
recommendations. Category titles also tried to incorporate some words from nationally
reported categories. This was done to allow for anyone to search the main title words and
locate more information on the category title topic.
Note: The HRC regrets any errors in accurately reflecting the verbal recommendations as
they were turned into written ones. The numbers in ( ) indicate number of similar
statements.
Mental Health Personnel to Respond to Non-violent Calls
1. Have Social Workers go to non-violent calls.(1) Utilizing mental and
Social health workers as partners in police action. (1)
2. Decriminalization of mental illnesses.(taking into custody those with
mental illness, charging and jailing vs mental health treatment &
care.)
3. Armed officers should be partnered with an unarmed individual
(community professional) only when responding to a call where
there is a danger of violence.
4. Replace officers with social workers as first responders for non-
violent mental-health, drug, and domestic cases. Police response
should only be considered as a last resort.
5. The City and Police Dept. to review how to add mental health and
social workers as on-call professionals to assist police in responding
to domestic disputes and those with mental or emotional disabilities.
It is recommended that the DeKalb County Mental Health and other
local mental health agencies be consulted.
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Transfer of Dollars to Increase Support of Social Services
1. More social services. (1) Increased social services. (1)
2. Find ways to divest from policing and instead make meaningful
investments in health care, education and counseling services.
3. The system should be rebuilt from the ground up by dismantling the
municipal police and starting over. (3 similar)
4. Cut the police department’s budget by 50% and put it into community
services.
5. Reallocate funds to more social services specializing in areas of abuse,
rape, drug abuse, and adolescence behavior, etc. will relieve some of
the burden on police as the catch all responders.
6. Defund does not mean unfund, but rather allocate funds to services to
help police and citizens.
7. Cut the Police Department’s Patrol Division’s Budget by 50% and
divert those funds to hiring social workers, providing de-escalation
training for officers and social workers, investing in the DeKalb
County Community Mental Health Board, and the Annie Glidden
North Revitalization Project.
8. Do not gut the programs from the police department that contribute
to the quality of life in the community.
9. Support initiatives that are in partnership with other community
institutions.
10. Look at how City Budget is supporting community values of social
services, community needs, etc.
Limit Use of Force/De-militarization of Police/Increase
Community Policing
Limit Use of Force
1. Ban use of excessive force. (1) No tolerance for excessive force. (2)
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2. Prohibit police maneuvers that restrict the flow of blood or oxygen to
the brain, and treat the use of excessive force as a federal civil rights
violation.
3. Adopt the rules for police that are a part of the Justice in Policing Act of
2020 (choke hold use, dashboard & body camera use, national registry
that tracks officers with records of misconduct, end the use of no-knock
warrants in drug cases, ban racial profiling, require training, make
lynching a federal hate crime, end qualified immunity for officers and
make them personally liable for constitutional violations such as
excessive force and require state and local law enforcement agencies to
report use of force data by race, sex, disability status, religion and
age).(4)
4. Compare our police practices to those of Campaign Zero rec. practices.
5. An increased amount of transparency of the police force. (1) Increasing
transparency in the officer hiring process. (1)
6. Continue the review of the Police Department Policies and Procedures
with a diverse citizen’s committee to identify those that may allow or
result in discriminatory actions or excessive use of force.
7. Adjust the official DeKalb City Police Department procedures for the
use of force to include predetermined consequences for the use of
excessive force, including drafting zero –tolerance consequences for an
injuring or potentially life-threatening violation.
8. Initiate mandatory, public reports for any time an officer unholsters a
weapon, lethal or less lethal, as well as any use of force. The report will
include justification for the action.
9. There must be no tolerance of excessive force; to this end, Jeffery Weese
should be immediately terminated. (1) Press charges against and fire
Sgt. Jeffery Weese for the use of an illegal chokehold without severance
pay.(1) Punishment for other officers involve in incident that
contributed to excessive force. (1)
10.Provide public with answers all the way through investigation and
conclusions of complaints against police.
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11.Need to track who is being stopped (race, sex, age, etc.) and reasons for
stop.
12.Do not hire police officers with previous misconduct records.(1)
Disqualify any candidate who has been formally judged to have exerted
excessive force. (1)
13.Look into hiring police with non-traditional police backgrounds.
14.Possible licensing police officers.
15.Create a hiring policy that overtly strives to build a police force that
represents the diversity in our community.
16.Implement mandatory dash-cam and body cameras for officers.(1)
All officers in DeKalb must have full body camera coverage (on) any
and every time they interact with citizens and must immediately be
indicted and terminated in the event they tamper with, disable, or
obstruct the camera (view).(1)
17.Police must be required to report any police use of force and be
required to intervene if a fellow officer is applying excessive force. (1)
Create an obstruction-free path for citizens to hold officers accountable
who use excessive force or who do not intervene when excessive force is
used. (1)
Require a public report whenever force is used or threatened. (1)
18.Examine the underlying philosophy for use of force policies and
procedures (for assumptions and actions that contribute to the use of
excessive force).
19. Mandatory, public reports for any case that requires or received
medical treatment as a result of an arrest, unless the arrested
individual requests that information remains private.
20.Require police, or any other party aiding in de-escalation, to exhaust all
other alternatives to de-escalation, starting from least to most invasive,
before firing any weapon.
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21. Any officer who uses, or has a past history of using excessive force needs
to be indicted and fired without severance pay.(1) Retroactive firing of
police officers with records of excessive force abuse. (1)
22. Any officer who uses, or has a past history of using a chokehold needs to
be indicted and fired without severance pay.
23. Any officer who does not intervene and de-escalate police use of
excessive force must be indicted and fired without severance pay.
24. Require police to present a clear and understood warning before
firing any weapon.
25. Provide mental health support for police officers.
26. Ban the City of DeKalb (or its police) from working, or collaborating in
any way, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (3)
27. Address “stop and frisk”/Terry stops and avoid harassment on the basis of
race.(1) Establish clear criteria for traffic stops, frisks, detainment, and a
system for monitoring and evaluating such stops. (1)
28. Add whistleblower protection for police who report witnessing excessive
force or racial targeting.
Demilitarization
1. Change the police culture from one of the “Warrior Mindset” to that of a
“Guardian Mindset”
2. Prohibit the use of no-knock warrants
3. Withdraw from any federal programs that provide military equipment
to law enforcement.(2)
4. Make police less paramilitary.
5. Police should divest themselves of all military type weapons and equip-
ment. (2)
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6. Police should carry less ammunition.
7. Issuing 6-shot, .38 caliber revolvers to police, banning reloads and
back-up guns would both lessen the officers’ natural tendency to regard
8. the available massive firepower as a main component of their
occupation and would present a far less hostile and threatening image
to the public ….
9. No additional points for hiring in regard to military experience.
10.Resource officers removed from schools.
11.Police need to be banned from any school that serves children under
18 years of age.
12.The City enact prohibitions against police use of military grade
equipment in response to peaceful demonstrations/protests. This
prohibition to include use of grenade launchers, bayonets, tear gas,
pepper spray, rubber bullets, skip fire rounds, and concussion sound
devices.
13.Police should wear police uniforms, not military-style BDUs (Battle
Dress Uniforms).
14.Body armor (protective vests) should be worn under the uniform to
avoid the appearance of hostility or aggression.
15.Changing the name of the Police Headquarters to something less
intimidating.
Move to a more community-based policing strategy
1. Move to Fuller Use of Community Policing (Guardian culture, etc.)
2. Require police officers to live in the community they serve. (1)
Preference to applicants willing to live within the community. (1)
3. Police should be out walking a beat more often with less use of the
police vehicle.(2)
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4. More officers participating in events in non-uniform.
5. Police and public should have a shared value system.
6. Use the best practices of other communities.
7. Implement the community-led public safety model of law
enforcement.(2)
Independent Investigations & Prosecutions
1.Hold police accountable for their actions by ending the qualified immunity
doctrine that prevents law enforcement officers from being held
accountable when they violate the law.
2.Hold police accountable for what they do and treat them the same as
civilians. No slap on the wrists. Police are civilians.
3.Support the national Justice in Policing Act 2020. (re: Indp. Invest.)
4.Prosecute officers independently, under a state’s attorney subcontract, to
prevent people who work with the police from prosecuting the police.
(likely means use of non-DeKalb County State’s Attorney office). (1)
Utilize an entity independent of the police in the review and prosecution of
police officers. (1)
Training
1. Continue Cultural competency training for City Staff and Police/Fire
Personnel. (2) Training for everyone, including City Council. (1)
2. Education and training on implicit bias.(3)
3. The city to require de-escalation training (2).
4. Continue training of officers in philosophy and techniques of anti-
racism, human rights and respect.
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5. A review of the State of Illinois Police Training Academy that details
each training component including the diversity and de-escalation
training. Lobby appropriate state authorities to make changes, if
necessary. (1)
6. Review the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Police Academy for
the need for more diversity and de-escalation training. (1)
7. Current and future officers must complete crisis intervention training
and de-escalation training.
8. Training on the impact of trauma (from aggressive police
interventions).
Community Oversight & Representation
1. A standing citizen advisory board on citizen and police interaction and
relations. (1) Establish a citizens’ community council. (1)
2. Create a Citizens’ Review Board that represents the diversity of the
community and that has a significant role in overseeing the hiring
process and in monitoring the use of force and citizen complaints.
3. Public input into the hiring of the new police chief and quickly. (1)
Bring back the interview panels for hiring police chief. (1)
(Police Chief) hired by community. (1)
4. Database of photographs and a system of all police officers so the
community can identify them.
5. Not allow the Mayor to pick people for committees.
6. Do not select “buddies” for committee assignments.
7. Continue local practice of independent investigation and review of
policing discipline matters and keep the Fire and Police Commission as
a local appeal board for such matters.
8. More diversity reflected in the decision-making room.
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9. Have equal opportunities for minorities to become officers.
10.Interview minority applicants regardless of qualifying test results.
11.Rebuild community trust with police (by making changes wanted by
community).
12.Look into hiring (for police force, those) with non-traditional police
backgrounds.
13.Possibly licensing police officers.
14.Public disclosure of all complaints filed against officers.(3)
End of Police Involvement in Creating Revenue or Costing
Cities for their Violations of Constitutional Rights.
1.End For-Profit Policing (refer to Campaign Zero for further info.)
2.End the Cash Bail System. (at County Jail and locally) (1) End cash bail for
nonviolent crimes. (1)
3.Settlements of use of force should come from police pensions as opposed to
through taxpayer’s (funds).
4.Requiring officers to have their own liability insurance.
5.Take fines from the police department and put it in the community.
6.Revisit the NIU/DeKalb Co-policing agreement. Work on specificity of
liability claims that leave the city open for liability. (payments)
Investment in Social Services, Recreational Opportunities,
Housing-leases, Economic Improvement for Those in
Poverty Conditions, Jobs, Education, etc.
1. Reallocation of funds to solve the root problems of poverty, poor
education, and other problems that foster crime.
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2. Spending more money on preventative measures to minimize the
police force.
3. Restructure the allocation of the money throughout the city and
reimagine how a different set up could serve the community.
4. Community members are losing possible hires due to DeKalb having
a stigma that it is a racist community.
5. The poverty level is how we should allocate resources.
6. Implement a common lease.
7. The City of DeKalb will partner with the DeKalb Tenant
Association to establish and enforce a common lease.(1) Working
with a tenants’ to ensure that renters are aware of their rights. (1)
8.Ensuring lease provisions with strong renter protection against
unpredictable or unreasonable fees/penalties and against failure to
provide livable conditions.
9.Demo 912 Edgebrook Housing.
10.Demo Campus Cinema and turn it into a community center (1)
or food center (1).
11. More parks in the AGN area.
12. Rent Control
13.Build more affordable housing.
14. City of DeKalb to establish a minimum wage in DeKalb.
15. Work with local institutions to revise local support of housing,
education, jobs, and healthcare services.
16. Remove those systems/procedures that perpetuate individuals stuck
in a muli-generational cycle of poverty.
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Police Contract Changes
1.Extensive vetting of officer and not allowing (hiring individuals with) any
excessive force background.
2.Get rid of any clause for the deletion of records after three years in the
Collective bargaining agreement.
3.Consequences for actions individuals (police) take.
4.Mayor will re-open police contract regarding firing officers.
5.Monthly psych exams for officers.
6.Recruits should have a psych and trauma evaluation. Then have a
support system in place for police during their tenure.
7.More vigorous temperament screening.
8.The law MUST apply to police also, there MUST be appropriate justice
for their victims.
9.Hold police accountable for their actions by ending the “qualified
immunity” doctrine that prevents law enforcement officers from
being held accountable when they violate the law. (1) Reform qualified
immunity and other obstacles to holding officers accountable. (1)
10.Review the Police/City Union Contract to determine if there are
sections that shield abusive officers from public accountability. If such
clauses are identified, to work in negotiations to eliminate such clauses.
Justice System Reforms
1. Work with criminal justice system (i.e. courts, judges and prosecutors)
to implement restorative justice model, complementing traditional
methods of justice. Do not continue a strict retributive theory of
punishment – i.e. when an offender breaks the law, requiring they
suffer in return.
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2. Sentencing is whole another issue. (Unequal sentencing of POC.) (1)
Our Justice system has failed us. (1) Work with criminal justice
system. (1)
3. Eliminate the negative interactions of incarceration with poverty,
homelessness, and mental health.
4. Reduce bureaucracy in the law enforcement and criminal justice
system.
Statements of Concern & Others
The following statements stated either a general concern without indicating a
specific recommendation or were unclear in the wording/intent and/or could
be a part of every recommendation.
Consequently, these statements were not able to be placed under one of the
above categories. However, several state important issues that are worthy of
addressing as a community.
1. Distrust of police by the black community.
(Yes, a fact that could apply to all recommendations. If most of recs.
under all categories implemented, then the distrust likely be
reduced.)
2. We need to not have a quick solution. We need a permanent solution
(Amen!)
3. Needs to be taken more seriously.
(Unfortunately, not specific to an action, but all recommendations
need to be taken very seriously!)
4. Address the white supremacy groups in the area.
(Yes, an issue. Benefit from knowing how this individual believes this
issue could be addressed.)
5. Several recommendations were listed under the call for the BLM to
meet with: City Council and Police Department, City Council and
Community members, and the County Board and officials of the 23rd
Circuit Judicial System along with interested community members to
discuss and implement a number of recommendations appearing
in various above categories.
From: Praying With Our Feet, A DeKalb County Jewish Committee for Social Justice
Date: July 6, 2020
“...morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the su ering of
human beings, ... indi erence to evil is worse than evil itself, ...
in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.”
― Abraham Joshua Heschel
We, the members of Praying With Our Feet, support the goals presented by Black Lives Matter of DeKalb. It is tragic
that it has taken this long for our country to take e ective action. Countless lives have been traumatized and lost. As the
spotlight of public awareness is sharply focused on these ongoing atrocities, we have an unprecedented opportunity and
responsibility. Now is the time to act. As members of this community, we will personally work to see that speci c and
e ective changes are swiftly put in place in order to protect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in our
community.
It is now time to move to the next step: public bodies making and implementing actionable changes. We will o er strong
support to those proposing such steps. It is time for the City of DeKalb and DeKalb County to each work with BLM
and community members to begin crafting policies consistent with the goals of BLM and then begin working to ensure
that the policies are actually implemented.
We propose that the City Council meet with BLM and the Police Department to discuss and decide on speci c and
e ective ways to implement the following:
● Increasing transparency in the o cer hiring process and assuring public disclosure of complaints
● Creating a hiring policy that overtly strives to build a police force that represents the diversity in our community,
that gives preference to applicants willing to live within the community, and that investigates past records and
disquali es any candidate who has been formally judged to have exerted excessive force
● Adjusting the o cial DeKalb City Police Department procedures for use of force to include predetermined
consequences for use of excessive force, including drafting zero-tolerance consequences for an injuring or potentially
life-threatening violation
● Creating an obstruction-free path for citizens to hold o cers accountable who use excessive force or who do not
intervene when excessive force is used
● Requiring a public report whenever force is used or threatened
● Establishing clear criteria for tra c stops, frisks, detainment, and a system for monitoring and evaluating such stops
● Utilizing an entity independent of the police in the review and prosecution of police o cers
● Creating a Citizens’ Review Board that represents the diversity of the community and that has a signi cant role in
overseeing the hiring process and in monitoring the use of force and citizen complaints
● Utilizing mental and social health workers as partners in police action
● Making a commitment to not cooperate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE)
● Eliminating all police-owned military equipment
We propose that the City Council meet with BLM and community members to discuss and decide on speci c and
e ective ways to implement the following:
● Ensuring lease provisions with strong renter protection against unpredictable or unreasonable fees/penalties and
against failure to provide livable conditions
● Working with a tenants’ association to ensure that renters are aware of their rights
We propose that the County Board and o cials of the 23rd Circuit Judicial System meet with BLM and interested
community members to create and then implement strategies for the following:
● Making a commitment to not cooperate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE)
● Ending cash bail for nonviolent crimes
We propose that we all band together to advocate with the state, local, and federal government as appropriate for the
following:
● Adding whistleblower protection for police who report witnessing excessive use of force or racial targeting
● Reforming quali ed immunity and other obstacles to holding police o cers accountable
We would like to o er our support and willingness to publicly advocate for these necessary changes. We will be
researching other communities’ implementation strategies and their e ectiveness. We feel these issues must be faced
immediately, and we would like to join with BLM activists, community members, and government o cials to determine
together how to build our community into a place where each resident can live safely and with dignity.
Sincerely,
Praying With Our Feet, A DeKalb County Jewish Committee for Social Justice
Rabbi Julie Pelc Adler Joshua Rodriguez
Harvey Blau Laurie Rodriguez
Robert Feldacker Herbert Rubin
David Gorman Irene Rubin
Jason Hanna Linda Schwartz
Jane Lux Carol Zar
Linda Mogren Jerrold Zar
Input to Human Relations Commission, City of DeKalb
Policy Reform on Racial Inequality and Injustice
Meeting of July 7, 2020
To: City of Dekalb Human Relations Commission
Subject: Recommendations on Policy Reform on Race Relations
This is intended to summarize my input to the commission as race relations reforms are considered for
recommendation to the City Council.
I have previously expressed my suggestions in the Human Relations Commission (HRC) forum on June
16, 2020. Since that time, I have given further thought to the topic and wish to provide this additional
input:
• Support for the national Justice in Policing Act law enforcement reforms.
• Support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) demands, following June 18th town hall meeting.
• Implement the community-led public safety model of law enforcement. Support procedural
justice through giving voice to the public – confers legitimacy to the police in a way that civilian
oversight cannot. (This ties to demand #11 of recommendations from the BLM movement.)
• Work with local institutions to revise local support of housing, education, jobs, and healthcare
services. Remove those systems/procedures that perpetuate individuals stuck in a multi-
generational cycle of poverty.
• Work with criminal justice system (i.e. courts, judges and prosecutors) to implement restorative
justice model, complementing traditional methods of justice. Do not continue a strict
retributive theory of punishment – i.e. when an offender breaks the law, requiring they suffer in
return.
We can do better! Intentionally removing ‘systemic racism’ practices will benefit everyone living in this
community. I support locally integrating support services and reducing bureaucracy in the law
enforcement and criminal justice systems, eliminating negative interactions of incarceration with
poverty, homelessness, and mental health.
Submitted by – John Rey, 2944 Greenwood Acres Drive, DeKalb, IL 60115
Tuesday, July 7, 2020, JAR HRC Forum July 7 Suggestions.pdf.docx
7/8/2020 This Oregon town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It's worked for over 30 years - CNN
US LIVE TV
Eugene Police o cer Bo Rankin, left, meets with Cahoots administrative coordinator Ben Brubaker and emergency
crisis worker Matt Eads, right, after working a shift together as part of the Community Outreach Response Team in
Eugene. Mandatory Credit: Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via USA TODAY NETWORK
This town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and
mental health workers. It's worked for over 30 years
By Scottie Andrew, CNN
Updated 10:10 PM ET, Sun July 5, 2020
(CNN) — Around 30 years ago, a town in Oregon retrofitted an old van, sta ed it with young medics and mental
health counselors and sent them out to respond to the kinds of 911 calls that wouldn't necessarily require police
intervention.
In the town of 172,000, they were the first responders for mental health crises, homelessness, substance abuse,
threats of suicide -- the problems for which there are no easy fixes. The problems that, in the hands of police, have
often turned violent.
Today, the program, called CAHOOTS, has three vans, more than double the number of sta ers and the attention
of a country in crisis.
CAHOOTS is already doing what police reform advocates say is necessary to fundamentally change the US
criminal justice system -- pass o some responsibilities to unarmed civilians.
Cities much larger and more diverse than Eugene have asked CAHOOTS sta to help them build their own version
of the program. CAHOOTS wouldn't work everywhere, at least not in the form it exists in in Eugene.
But it's a template for what it's like to live in a city with limited police.
It's centered around a holistic approach
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7/8/2020 This Oregon town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It's worked for over 30 years - CNN
US LIVE TV
Nurse Celene Eldrich, a volunteer nurse for CAHOOTS, waits to screen guests for health concerns
at the Egan Warming Center's Springfield location in March.
CAHOOTS comes from White Bird Clinic, a social services center that's operated in Eugene since the late 1960s. It
was the brainchild of some counterculture activists who'd felt the hole where a community health center should
be. And in 1989, after 20 years of earning the community's trust, CAHOOTS was created.
It stands for Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets and cheekily refers to the relationship between the
community health center that started it and the Eugene Police Department.
Most of the clients White Bird assisted -- unsheltered people or those with mental health issues -- didn't respond
well to police. And for the many more people they hadn't yet helped, they wanted to make their services mobile,
said David Zeiss, the program's co-founder.
"We knew that we were good at it," he said. "And we knew it was something of value to a lot of people ... we
needed to be known and used by other agencies that commonly encounter crisis situation."
It works this way: 911 dispatchers filter calls they receive -- if they're violent or criminal, they're sent to police. If
they're within CAHOOTS' purview, the van-bound sta will take the call. They prep what equipment they'll need,
drive to the scene and go from there.
The program started small, with a van Zeiss called a "junker," some passionate paraprofessionals and just enough
funding to sta CAHOOTS 40 hours a week.
It always paired one medic, usually a nurse or EMT, with a crisis responder trained in behavioral health. That holistic
approach is core to its model.
Per self-reported data, CAHOOTS workers responded to 24,000 calls in 2019 -- about 20% of total dispatches.
About 150 of those required police backup.
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7/8/2020 This Oregon town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It's worked for over 30 years - CNN
CAHOOTS says the program saves the city about $8.5 million in public safety costs every year, plus another $14
million in US
ambulance trips and ER costs. LIVE TV
It had to overcome mutual mistrust with police
White Bird's counterculture roots ran deep -- the clinic used to fundraise at Grateful Dead concerts in the West,
where volunteer medics would treat Deadheads -- so the pairing between police and the clinic wasn't an
immediately fruitful one.
There was "mutual mistrust" between them, said Zeiss, who retired in 2014.
"It's true there was a tendency to be mistrustful of the police in our agency and our culture," he said. "It was an
obstacle we had to overcome."
And for the most part, both groups have: Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner called theirs a "symbiotic relationship"
that better serves some residents of Eugene.
"When they show up, they have better success than police o cers do," he said. "We're wearing a uniform, a gun, a
badge -- it feels very demonstrative for someone in crisis."
It seeks to overturn a disturbing statistic
And there's a great deal of people in Eugene in crisis.
Lane County, which encompasses Eugene and neighbor city Springfield, has staggering rates of homelessness.
The county's per-capita homeless rate is among the nation's highest. Recent data from the county also suggests
mental health crises are widespread, too -- the suicide rate, at around 17 deaths per 100,000, is about 40% higher
than the national average.
Police encounters with the homeless often end in citations or arrests. Of homeless people with mental health
conditions, anywhere from 62.0% to 90% of them will be arrested, per one journal review of homelessness studies.
They may end up in jail, not in treatment or housing, and thus begins the cycle of incarceration that doesn't benefit
either party.
Around 25% of people killed by
police show signs of mental illness,
according to one study
CAHOOTS was created in part because of another disturbing statistic -- around 25% of people killed by police
show signs of mental illness, according to a journal review of the Washington Post's extensive o cer-involved
shootings database.
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7/8/2020 This Oregon town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It's worked for over 30 years - CNN
The Eugene Police Department has been criticized in years past for shooting and killing people with mental
illnesses. US
Most recently, in February, the city won a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the familyL Iof
V Ea T V who was
man
shot by police. His loved ones said he was a veteran with PTSD who'd threatened suicide. (Skinner was appointed
chief in 2018, three years after the shooting.)
I believe it's time for law enforcement to quit
being a catch-base for everything our
community and society needs.
Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner
Most of CAHOOTS' clients are homeless, and just under a third of them have severe mental illnesses. It's a weight
o the shoulders of police, Skinner said.
"I believe it's time for law enforcement to quit being a catch-base for everything our community and society
needs," Skinner said. "We need to get law enforcement professionals back to doing the core mission of protecting
communities and enforcing the law, and then match resources with other services like behavioral health -- all those
things we tend to lump on the plate of law enforcement."
Its staffers are unarmed
There's no such thing as a "typical" CAHOOTS shift these days, said Ben Brubaker, who worked as a CAHOOTS
crisis worker before assuming the senior role of clinical co-coordinator at White Bird.
Sta ers respond to substance addiction crises, psychotic episodes, homeless residents and threats of suicide.
They make house calls to counsel depressed children at their parents' request, and they're contacted by public
onlookers when someone isn't in a position to call CAHOOTS themselves.
Unlike police, CAHOOTS responders can't force anyone to accept their aid, and they can't arrest anyone. They're
not armed, and their uniform usually consists of a White Bird T-shirt and jeans -- the goal is that the more "civilian-
like" they look, the less threatened their clients will feel.
Their approach is di erent, too. They're taught in training to abandon the "pseudo-professional" a ect that sta ers
inadvertently take on in talks with clients. And aside from an extensive background in medical care or mental
health, all CAHOOTS employees are judged by their "lived experiences," Brubaker said -- people who've dealt with
many of the situations CAHOOTS clients find themselves in are better able to empathize and serve those people,
he said.
Building that rapport and trust with clients is part and parcel with their clinical work.
"That can be tricky," Brubaker said. "We show up in a white van."
The demand for its services continues to grow
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7/8/2020 This Oregon town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It's worked for over 30 years - CNN
US LIVE TV
Cahoots crisis councilor Ned White, left, and EMT Rose Fenwick wrap up a day shift with a stop in
Eugene in December 2018.
For most people they assist, though, that's still preferable to a police cruiser.
They can call police or EMS for assistance if the case requires a "higher level of care" than CAHOOTS can provide,
he said. But much of it they can do on their own. They can transport clients to hospitals, shelters or White Bird
Clinic, where they'll have access to medical and dental care and counseling.
Support continues to swell -- CAHOOTS receives about $2 million, which Zeiss says is almost three times what its
budget was when he retired in 2014. And CAHOOTS a few years ago expanded to serve neighboring Springfield.
But the program is still working with just three vans, which are sta ed 24/7. The workload can be overwhelming,
Brubaker said.
The high demand, low capacity model is holding CAHOOTS back, said Ibrahim Coulibaly, a former White Bird
volunteer who serves as the president of the Lane County NAACP chapter. Expanding CAHOOTS' services so it
had its own campus, too, could improve its reach, he said.
With more funding, he said, reallocated from the police budget or another source, the program could respond to
even more crises, with even more employees and, hopefully, at least one more van.
CAHOOTS could use more than another van, though, said June Fothergill, a pastor at a Springfield church who
calls CAHOOTS to pick up the homeless people or people with substance use issues that stop by for free meals.
Fothergill said while CAHOOTS does its part well -- providing immediate services to someone in crisis -- there's still
a void when it comes to long-term solutions.
"You can call someone for the crisis, but what are they supposed to do for it -- where can they take them except
for jail?" she said. "That doesn't necessarily provide much treatment."
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7/8/2020 This Oregon town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It's worked for over 30 years - CNN
They're better equipped than police to care for the people she serves, she said. But if there isn't space in
a ordableUS LIVE
housing, Eugene's detoxing center or mental health facilities, those clients will turn into TV
regulars.
"They're doing what they can do," she said. "There's wonderful work going on, but it isn't adequate at the
moment."
It says a partnership with police is essential
The idea of "defunding the police" crept into the mainstream just one month ago, since the death of George Floyd
sparked nationwide protests against racism and police brutality. But what the term means depends on who you
ask.
What would the US look like without police? 02:17
Advocates for limiting the role of police have pointed to Eugene as an example of social service providers and law
enforcement working in harmony.
But a growing group of dissenters feel there's little room for police in the movement to fundamentally change the
American criminal justice system. Services like CAHOOTS, they say, may function better and more broadly without
the assistance of police.
Zeiss isn't sure he agrees.
"Partnership with police has always been essential to our model," he said. "A CAHOOTS-like program without a
close relationship with police would be very di erent from anything we've done. I don't have a coherent vision of a
society that has no police force."
He said the current movement has seemingly pitted service providers like CAHOOTS against police, which may
stoke suspicion among police over "whether we're really their allies or their competitors," he said.
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7/8/2020 This Oregon town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It's worked for over 30 years - CNN
"In some sense, that may be true. But I think we still need to focus on being part of a system, and a system that
includes US
police for some functions," Zeiss said. LIVE TV
Partnership with police has always been
essential to our model. I don't have a
coherent vision of a society that has no
police force.
David Zeiss, the program's co-founder
Skinner, the Eugene police chief, said reallocating funds from Eugene police would stifle the department, which is
already money-tight, and its ability to do the work to defend CAHOOTS when situations turn violent.
"Anytime you're thinking about what meaningful change looks like, especially that's sustainable, it takes a
significant amount of engagement from stakeholders," he said. "While I totally understand people's desire to do
something very, very quickly, we kind of need to keep our eyes on the prize here. If we want to reform police, we
have to do it methodically and strategically."
It's become central in the 'defund the police'
debate
Coulibaly said community leaders are in talks over what to do about police -- should their funding go to CAHOOTS,
or should more funding be directed toward better educating police about deescalation techniques? They haven't
reached a consensus, he said.
"If the city doesn't have enough money to fund CAHOOTS, probably they should think about reallocating some of
the funds that go to police to support CAHOOTS," he said.
Brubaker said the relationship with police remains strong, but CAHOOTS is evaluating the calls for change from the
public, who've directed their support toward the program. He said sta are figuring out what shape the program
will take going forward, but there's no clear path.
"We're not trying to be the face of a mainstream institution," he said. "We're just people serving people."
Other cities are trying to develop a similar model
The idea of a separate entity in charge of alternative care is more enticing than ever as cities mull over the e cacy
of their police departments.
CAHOOTS has met the moment. Brubaker said he's consulting with cities on how to implement their own
CAHOOTS-inspired program, subbing White Bird Clinic for a local organization that serves a similar role.
There are a few criteria, though, that Brubaker considers immutable: The CAHOOTS stand-in should be operated
by a local non-profit separate from the government that already has an established, positive rapport with the
community, and it should ideally be sta ed by people who reflect the diversity of that community.
CAHOOTS consulted Olympia, Washington, on the creation of its own Crisis Response Unit, which is sta ed by two
social workers. Denver is piloting a program, also inspired by CAHOOTS, led by a local social justice organization.
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7/8/2020 This Oregon town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It's worked for over 30 years - CNN
US... but there is no one-size-fits-all solution
LIVE TV
White Bird Clinic and CAHOOTS coordinators can't go into other communities and set up copies of CAHOOTS.
What works in Eugene wouldn't work in New York, or in Miami, or in larger cities more diverse than Eugene (less
than 2% of the population is Black, according to census data).
Brubaker knows that a "fill-in-the-blank" style of reform wouldn't work. But CAHOOTS does provide a template.
"I guess the role that I see for our agency isn't to go in and tell other communities what they need to do and should
be doing," he said. "Our role is to assist those communities to have a conversation with each other about what they
need and what that response can look like."
It's not an immediate fix. Zeiss said it took a lot of "patient plotting" for CAHOOTS to really have an impact.
"At this point, we've patiently waited out an entire generation of police o cers," he said. "There's nobody on the
Eugene police force today who can remember being a Eugene police o cer without CAHOOTS. It's been that slow
of a process."
That doesn't mean other cities shouldn't try.
"You have to start," he said. "You can start immediately by creating something and expand it as confidence in it
grows."
Another city's CAHOOTS may not be called CAHOOTS at all, though it'll probably use another cutesy acronym. It's
not likely to satisfy advocates who want to defund the police entirely. But, if done right, it could change the lives of
some of a city's most vulnerable people.
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
CAMPAIGN ZERO THE PROBLEM
CAMPAIGN SOLUTIONS REPORTS FEEDBACK
ZERO
PLANNING TEAM DONATE
SOLUTIONS
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions#investigations 1/42
7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
A comprehensive package of urgent policy solutions - informed
by data, research and human rights principles - can change the
way police serve our communities.
Integrating recommendations from communities, research
organizations and the President's Task Force on 21st Century
Policing, these policies aim to protect and preserve life.
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW EACH POLICY SOLUTION CATEGORY
END
BROKEN
WINDOWS
POLICING
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
A decades-long focus on policing minor crimes and activities - a
practice called Broken Windows policing - has led to the
criminalization and over-policing of communities of color and
excessive force in otherwise harmless situations. Nationwide,
only 5% of all arrests made in 2018 involved alleged violent
crimes and only 4% of what police spend their time doing overall
involves enforcing violent crime. Meanwhile, the vast majority
of arrests are for low-level, non-violent activities in encounters
that often escalate to deadly force. For example, in 2014, police
killed at least 287 people who were involved in minor offenses
and harmless activities like sleeping in parks, possessing
drugs, looking "suspicious" or having a mental health crisis. These
activities are often symptoms of underlying issues of drug
addiction, homelessness, and mental illness which should be
treated by healthcare professionals and social workers rather
than the police.
2020 New York Times Analysis of the total
proportion of calls for service/911 calls involving
violent crime in each city.
2020 New York Times Analysis of how police
typically spend their time.
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions#investigations 4/42
7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
POLICY SOLUTIONS
End Policing of Minor End Profiling and "Stop-
"Broken Windows" Offenses and-Frisk"
The following activities do Establish enforceable
not threaten public safety and protections against profiling
are often used to police black to prevent police from
communities. Decriminalize intervening in civilian lives
these activities or de- for no reason other than the
prioritize their enforcement: "suspicion" of their blackness
or other aspects of their
• Consumption of Alcohol identity. This should include:
on Streets
• Marijuana Possession • immigration status, age,
housing status, sexual
• Disorderly Conduct orientation, gender,
• Trespassing gender identity,
• Loitering disability, HIV status,
race, religion and
• Disturbing the Peace national origin as
(including Loud Music) protected groups
• Spitting • the right for people to
• Jaywalking seek court orders to stop
• Bicycling on the police departments from
Sidewalk profiling
• Prostitution • bans on both intentional
profiling and practices
(Example: Respect State that have a disparate
Marijuana Laws Act of 2015) impact on protected
groups
• ban stops for "furtive"
movements such as a
reaching for waistband
or acting nervous
• ban stops for being in a
high-crime area
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
• ban stops for matching a
generalized description
of a suspect (i.e. black
male ages 15-25)
• require officers to
establish objective
justification for making a
stop and to report every
stop including location,
race, gender, whether
force was used and
whether a firearm was
found.
• end the use of predictive
policing technology,
which uses
systematically biased
data to enhance police
profiling of black people
and communities
• prohibit police
departments from using
resources to investigate,
interrogate, detain,
detect, report, or arrest
persons for immigration
enforcement purposes.
• prohibit police
departments from
transferring an
individual to federal
immigration authorities
for purposes of
immigration
enforcement.
• prohibit officers from
being placed under the
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions#investigations 6/42
7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
supervision of federal
agencies or deputized as
special federal officers or
special federal deputies.
(Examples: End Racial
Profiling Act of 2015; NYC
Community Safety Act; NYC
Stop-and-Frisk Reforms;
California Senate Bill 54)
Establish Alternative Approaches
to Mental Health Crises
Mental health crises should not be
excuses for heavy-handed police
interventions and are best handled
by mental health
professionals. Establish and fund
Mental Health Response Teams to
respond to crisis situations. These
approaches have been proven to
reduce police use of force in these
situations by nearly 40 percent and
should include:
• establish a team of mental
health professionals, social
workers and/or crisis counselors
to send as first responders to
calls involving mental health
crises, such as the CAHOOTS
model implemented in Eugene,
OR.
• involvement of this
multidisciplinary team in
planning, implementation and
response to crises
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions#investigations 7/42
7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
(Example: CRISES Act in California)
Read the Research Below to Learn More About This Issue:
POLICE WHY STUDY THE STUDY: WHY ENDING
SPEND BROKEN FINDS RACIST, ENDING PUBLIC RACIAL
ONLY WINDOWS OVER- CL ASSIST BROKEN DISORDER PROFILING
ABOUT IS NOT POLICING ORIGINS WINDOWS DOESN'T AND
4% OF AN INCREASE OF POLICING LEAD TO STOP &
THEIR EFFECTIVE CRIME BROKEN WOULD SERIOUS FRISK
TIME APPROAC WINDOWS MAKE CRIME
RESPOND TO POLICING COMMUN
TO POLICING SAFER
VIOLENT
CRIME.
HOW CRISIS EFFECTIV EVIDENCE DATA ON HOW HOW
STOPS & INTERVEN OF OF RACIAL COMMUN MEDICAID
FRISKS TEAMS AS MARIJUAN WIDESPRE DISPARITI ORGANIZA EXPANSIO
HAVE A DECRIMIN RACIAL IN REDUCE AND
BEEN RESPONSE VS PROFILING TRAFFIC CRIME SUBSTANC
REDUCED TO LEGALIZAT STOPS MORE ABUSE
IN NYC MENTAL THAN TREATMEN
HEALTH THE REDUCES
CRISES POLICE. CRIME
HOW
POLICE
VIOLENCE
HARM
THE
COMMUN
MENTAL
HEALTH
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
COMMUNIT Y
OVERSIGHT
Police usually investigate and decide what, if any, consequences
their fellow officers should face in cases of police misconduct.
Under this system, fewer than 1 in every 12 complaints of police
misconduct nationwide results in some kind of disciplinary
action against the officer(s) responsible. Communities need an
urgent way to ensure police officers are held accountable for
police violence.
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions#investigations 9/42
7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
POLICY SOLUTIONS
Establish effective civilian oversight structures
Establish an all-civilian oversight structure with discipline power that
includes a Police Commission and Civilian Complaints Office with the
following powers:
The Police Commission should:
determine policy for the police department based on community
input and expertise
share policy and policy changes in publicly accessible formats
discipline and dismiss police officers
hold public disciplinary hearings
select the candidates for Police Chief, to be hired by the Mayor
evaluate and fire the Police Chief, if needed
receive full-time, competitive salaries for all members
receive regular training on policing and civil rights
not have current, former or family of police officers as members
select its members from candidates offered by community
organizations
The Civilian Complaints Office should:
receive, investigate and resolve all civilian complaints against
police in 120 days
establish multiple in-person and online ways to submit, view and
discuss complaints
be immediately notified and required to send an investigator to the
scene of a police shooting or in-custody death
be allowed to interrogate officers less than 48 hours after an
incident where deadly force is used
access crime scenes, subpoena witnesses and files with penalties
for non-compliance
make disciplinary and policy recommendations to the Police Chief
compel the Police Chief to explain why he/she has not followed a
recommendation
have the Police Commission decide cases where the Police Chief
does not follow recommendations
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
issue public quarterly reports analyzing complaints, demographics
of complainants, status and findings of investigations and actions
taken as a result
be housed in a separate location from the police department
be funded at an amount no less than 5% of the total police
department budget
have at least 1 investigator for every 70 police officers or 4
investigators at all times,whichever is greater
have its Director selected from candidates offered by community
organizations
not have current, former or family of police officers on staff,
including the Director
(Ex: San Francisco Charter Policies on Police Commission and Office of
Citizen Complaints)
Remove barriers to reporting police misconduct
For all stops by a police officer, require officers to give civilians their
name, badge number, reason for the stop and a card with instructions
for filing a complaint to the civilian oversight structure.
Read the Research Below to Learn More About This Issue:
STUDY: REVIEW OF EVALUATING NATIONAL THE HOW
CIVILIAN CIVILIAN DIFFERENT DIRECTORY BENEFITS NEWARK'S
OVERSIGHT OVERSIGHT CIVILIAN OF OF NEW
STRUCTURES STRUCTURE OVERSIGHT CIVILIAN CIVILIAN CIVILIAN
78% MORE IN 50 MODELS OVERSIGHT OVERSIGHT OVERSIGHT
LIKELY TO L ARGEST AGENCIES OF THE BOARD
SUSTAIN US CITIES POLICE COULD BE
MISCONDUC A MODEL
COMPL AINT FOR THE
NATION
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
THE
CONSERVAT
CASE FOR
CIVILIAN
OVERSIGHT
LIMIT USE OF
FORCE
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
Police should have the skills and cultural competence to protect
and serve our communities without killing people - just as police
do in England, Germany, Japan and other developed countries.
In 2014, police killed at least 253 unarmed people and 91 people
who were stopped for mere traffic violations. The following
policy solutions can restrict the police from using excessive
force in everyday interactions with civilians.
POLICY SOLUTIONS
Establish standards and Revise and strengthen local
reporting of police use of police department use of
deadly force force policies
A. Authorize deadly force Revised police use of force
only when there is an policies should protect human
imminent threat to an life and rights. Policies should
officer's life or the life of include guidance on
another person and such force reporting, investigation,
is strictly unavoidable to discipline, and accountability
protect life as required under and increase transparency by
International Law. Deadly making the policies available
force should only be online. This use of force
authorized after all other policy should require officers
reasonable alternatives have to:
been exhausted.
(Ex: International Deadly • restrict officers from
Force Standard; Tennessee using deadly force unless
Deadly Force Law) all reasonable
alternatives have been
B. Require that an officer's exhausted (Ex:
tactical conduct and decisions Philadelphia PD Policy)
leading up to using deadly • use minimum amount of
force be considered in force to apprehend a
judgements of whether such subject, with specific
force was necessary. (Ex: guidelines for the types
LAPD Use of Force Policy) of force and tools
authorized for a given
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
C. Require officers give a level of resistance (Ex:
verbal warning, when Seattle PD Policy)
possible, before using deadly • utilize de-escalation
force and give people a tactics (verbalization;
reasonable amount of time to creating distance, time
comply with the warning (Ex: and space; tactical
Las Vegas Metro PD Policy) repositioning, etc.)
D. Require reporting of police whenever possible
killings and serious injuries of instead of using force
civilians (Ex: The PRIDE Act; (Ex: Seattle PD Policy)
Colorado law; CA DOJ • carry a less-lethal
OpenJustice database) weapon (Ex: Seattle PD
Policy)
E. Require the names of both
the officer(s) involved and • ban using force on a
victim(s) to be released within person for talking back
72 hours of a deadly force or as punishment for
incident (Ex: Philadelphia PD running away (Ex:
Policy) Cleveland PD Policy)
• ban chokeholds,
strangleholds (i.e.
carotid restraints), hog-
tying and transporting
people face down in a
vehicle (Ex: NYPD
Policy)
• intervene to stop other
officers who are using
excessive force and
report them to a
supervisor (Ex: Las Vegas
Metro PD Policy)
• have first aid kits and
immediately render
medical assistance to
anyone in police custody
who is injured or who
complains of an injury
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
(Ex: New Baltimore PD
Policy)
End traffic-related police Monitor how police use
killings and force and proactively hold
dangerous high-speed officers accountable for
police chases excessive force
Prohibit police officers from: A. Report all uses of force to a
database with information on
• shooting at moving related injuries and
vehicles (Ex: Denver PD demographics of the
Policy) victims. (Ex: Seattle PD
• moving in front of Policy; Indianapolis
moving vehicles (Ex: Metropolitan PD reporting
Denver PD Policy) website)
• high-speed chases of B. Establish an early
people who have not and intervention system to correct
are not about to commit officers who use excessive
a violent felony (Ex: force. These systems have been
Milwaukee PD Policy) shown to reduce the average
number of complaints against
officers in a police department
by more than 50%. This system
should:
• report officers who
receive two or more
complaints in the past
month
• report officers who have
two or more use of force
incidents or complaints
in the past quarter
• require officers to attend
re-training and be
monitored by an
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
immediate supervisor
after their first quarterly
report and terminate an
officer following
multiple reports
C. Require police departments
to notify the state when an
officer is found to have
willfully violated department
policy or the law, committed
official misconduct, or
resigned while under
investigation for these
offenses. Maintain this
information in a database
accessible to the public (Ex:
Illinois Law) and prohibit
these officers from serving as
police officers, teachers or
other governmental
employees (Ex: Connecticut
Law).
POLICE USE OF FORCE
PROJECT
Campaign Zero reviewed
police department use of force
policies in 97 of the 100
largest U.S. cities. More
restrictive use of force
policies are associated with
fewer police-involved
killings. Learn more at Visit UseofForceProject.org to Learn More
UseofForceProject.org.
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
MODEL USE OF FORCE POLICY
We have developed this model use
of force policy based on our review
and analysis of effective use of force
policies across the nation. The policy
includes evidence-informed
restrictions on police use of force
that are designed to significantly
reduce police violence in
communities. It should be adopted
by police chiefs and local elected
officials without delay.
Read this Additional Research to Learn More About This Issue:
STUDY MAPPING ANALYSIS WHY THE DATA HOW STATES
SHOWS POLICE OF US SHOWS STRUCTUR WHERE
MORE VIOLENCE POLICE NEEDS A THE RACISM POLICE
RESTRICTI DATABASE SHOOTING STRICTER MOST CONTRIBU MISCOND
USE OF OF DATA STANDARD VIOLENT TO RECORDS
FORCE KILLINGS AND FOR USE OFFICERS POLICE ARE KEPT
POLICIES BY IMPACT OF ALSO SHOOTING FROM
REDUCE POLICE OF DOJ DEADLY INFLUENC PUBLIC
POLICE REFORMS FORCE OTHER VIEW
KILLINGS OFFICERS
BY 72%, TO BE
ALSO VIOLENT
SAFER
FOR
OFFICERS
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BEST ANALYSIS HOW THE THE THE AN WHY
PRACTICE OF GOVERNM CHALLENG EFFECTIVE ANALYSIS POLICE
TO LIMIT UNDERRE FAILS TO OF OF EARLY OF SHOULD
POLICE POLICE COLLECT COLLECTI INTERVEN POLICE BE
USE OF KILLINGS COMPREH NATIONAL SYSTEMS SHOOTING PROHIBIT
FORCE DATA DATA ON USE OF FOR INVOLVIN FROM
POLICE FORCE POLICE MOVING SHOOTING
KILLINGS DATA VEHICLES AT
MOVING
VEHICLES
WHY THE HOW EVIDENCE HOW HOW HOW
CURRENT CHANGIN POLICE POLICE POLICE COMPREH
USE OF THE KILL CHASES VIOLENCE REPORTIN
DEADLY DEADLY UNARMED DISPROPO MAY REQUIREM
FORCE FORCE BL ACK IMPACT INCREASE REDUCE
STANDARD STANDARD PEOPLE BL ACK CRIME IN POLICE
NEEDS REDUCED BECAUSE PEOPLE COMMUN SHOOTING
TO POLICE OF THEIR
CHANGE KILLINGS RACE
INDEPENDENT
INVESTIGATIONS
AND
PROSECUTIONS
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PROSECUTIONS
7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
Local prosecutors rely on local police departments to gather the
evidence and testimony they need to successfully prosecute
criminals. This makes it hard for them to investigate and
prosecute the same police officers in cases of police violence.
These cases should not rely on the police to investigate
themselves and should not be prosecuted by someone who has
an incentive to protect the police officers involved.
POLICY SOLUTIONS
Lower the standard of proof for Department of Justice civil
rights investigations of police officers
Allow federal prosecutors to successfully prosecute police officers for
misconduct by passing legislation to eliminate the requirement that an
officer must "willfully" deprive another's rights in order to violate
Section 242.
Use federal funds to encourage independent investigations
and prosecutions
Pass legislation such as the Police Training and Independent Review Act
of 2015 or use of existing federal funds to encourage external,
independent investigations and prosecution of police killings (see
Action Items 2.2.2 and 2.2.3 of the President’s Task Force Report).
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Establish a permanent Special Prosecutor's Office at the State
level for cases of police violence
The Special Prosecutor's Office should be:
required and authorized to prosecute all cases of where police kill
or seriously injure a civilian, in-custody deaths and cases where a
civilian alleges criminal misconduct against a police officer
equipped with an office and resources to conduct thorough
investigations
required to have its Chief Prosecutor chosen from a list of
candidates offered by community organizations
Require independent investigations of all cases where police kill or
seriously injure civilians
The independent investigators should be:
required and authorized to prosecute all cases of where police kill
or seriously injure a civilian, in-custody deaths and cases where a
civilian alleges criminal misconduct against a police officer
required to investigate all cases where police kill chosen at random
from a list of the largest ten agencies in the state
required to report their findings to the public
Read the Research Below to Learn More About This Issue:
MODEL THE DATA WHY WHY THE LEGAL
LEGISL ATI SHOWING SPECIAL LOCAL STATUS CONSIDER
ESTABLISH POLICE PROSECU PROSECUT OF WITH
SPECIAL ARE ARE DON'T STATEWID SPECIAL
PROSECU RARELY NEEDED CHARGE GRAND PROSECUT
FOR CHARGED IN CASES POLICE JURY/PRO AND
POLICE WITH OF WITH REFORMS GRAND
VIOLENCE CRIMES POLICE CRIMES JURY
AFTER VIOLENCE REFORMS
POLICE
KILLINGS
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COMMUNIT Y
REPRESENTATION
While white men represent less than one third of the U.S.
population, they comprise about two thirds of U.S. police
officers. The police should reflect and be responsive to the
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
cultural, racial and gender diversity of the communities they are
supposed to serve. Moreover, research shows police
departments with more black officers are less likely to kill black
people.
POLICY SOLUTIONS
Increase the number of Use community feedback
police officers who reflect to inform police
the communities they department policies and
serve practices
Require police departments to Require a regular survey (Ex:
develop and publicly report a Milwaukee survey) to be
strategy and timeline for fielded to the community to
achieving a representative gauge their experiences and
proportion of police officers perceptions of the police and
who are women and people of use this information to
color through outreach, inform:
recruitment and changes to
departmental practices (Ex: police department
Connecticut Law) policies and practices
police officer evaluations
police officer pay
incentives
Read the Research Below to Learn More About This Issue:
DATA WHY HOW HOW EVALUATIN HOW FEWER
SHOWING HAVING OFFICERS FEMALE RESIDENC BL ACK BL ACK
LEVELS A MORE MASCULIN OFFICERS REQUIREM REPRESEN PEOPLE
OF DIVERSE SELF- ARE LESS AS A ON THE ARE
RACIAL POLICE IMAGE LIKELY TO STRATEGY POLICE KILLED
DIVERSIT Y FORCE MAKES USE TO FORCE BY
IN U.S. MATTERS THEM EXCESSIVE IMPROVE REDUCES POLICE
POLICE MORE FORCE RACIAL POLICE WHEN
DEPARTM LIKELY TO DIVERSIT Y KILLINGS DEPARTME
USE OF OF ARE
FORCE POLICE BL ACK MORE
AGAINST DEPARTME PEOPLE THAN
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BL ACK 40%
MEN BL ACK
BODY CAMS/
FILM THE
POLICE
While they are not a cure-all, body cameras and cell phone
video have illuminated cases of police violence and have shown
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7/8/2020 p Solutions — Campaign Zero
to be important tools for holding officers accountable. Nearly
every case where a police officer was charged with a crime for
killing a civilian in 2015 relied on video evidence showing the
officer's actions.
POLICY SOLUTIONS
Body cameras The Right to Record Police
Require the use of body Ban police officers from
cameras - in addition to taking cell phones or other
dashboard cameras - and recording devices without a
establish policies governing person's consent or warrant
their use to: and give people the right to
sue police departments if they
record all interactions take or destroy these devices.
with subjects who have (Ex: Colorado Law)
not requested to be kept
anonymous
notify subjects that they
have the option to
remain anonymous and
stop recording/storing
footage if they choose
this option
allow civilians to review
footage of themselves or
their relatives and
request this be released
to the public and stored
for at least two years
require body and dash
cam footage to be stored
externally and ensure
district attorneys and
civilian oversight
structures have access to
the footage
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require police
departments, whenever
they want to deny a
Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) request for
body or dash cam
footage, to prove in court
that the footage
constitutes a legitimate
FOIA exemption (Ex:
Illinois House Bill 4355)
permanently delete
footage after 6 months if
this footage hasn't been
specifically requested to
be stored
include a disciplinary
matrix clearly defining
consequences for officers
who fail to adhere to the
agency's body camera
policy.
consider whether
cameras or mandated
footage are tampered
with or unavailable as a
negative evidentiary
factor in administrative
and criminal proceedings
prevent officers from
reviewing footage of an
incident before
completing initial
reports, statements or
interviews about an
incident
prohibit footage from
being used in tandem
with facial recognition
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
software, as fillers in
photo arrays, or to create
a database or pool of
mugshots. (Ex: Baltimore
PD Body Cam Policy)
update privacy laws to
protect civilians from
having video or audio
recordings released
publicly that do not
contain potential
evidence in a use-of-
force incident, discharge
of a weapon or death.
(Ex: ACLU Model Policy)
Read the Research Below to Learn More About This Issue:
HOW HOW TO CONSIDERATIO STUDY FINDS DATA
COLORADO IMPLEMENT FOR BODY CAMS SHOWING
STRENGTHENE BODY CAMS IMPLEMENTING DON'T WHEN AND
CIVILIANS' IN A WAY BODY CAMS REDUCE USE HOW OFTEN
RIGHT TO THAT OF FORCE, BODY CAM
FILM THE PROMOTES BUT ALSO VIDEO GETS
POLICE ACCOUNTABIL DON'T RELEASED
AND INCREASE
PROTECTS CRIMINALIZATI
PRIVACY OF
COMMUNITIES
HOW BODY CRITICAL THE DANGERS WHY BODY CONSIDERATIO
CAMS POLICY OF BODY CAMS NEED FOR MAKING
IMPACTED ISSUES TO CAMS BEING THE RIGHT BODY CAM
USE OF MAKE BODY MISUSED AS A
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FORCE IN SAN CAMERAS TOOL FOR POLICIES TO FOOTAGE
DIEGO EFFECTIVE SURVEILL ANCE BE EFFECTIVE ACCESSIBLE
WHY POLICE HOW BODY HOW VIDEO LEARN ABOUT
SHOULDN'T CAMERAS EVIDENCE IS BODY
GET TO ONLY REDUCE NOW CAMERA
REVIEW BODY USE OF INVOLVED IN L AWS IN YOUR
CAMERA FORCE WITH MOST CASES STATE
FOOTAGE GOOD WHERE
BEFORE THEY POLICIES POLICE ARE
REPORT CHARGED
TRAINING
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The current training regime for police officers fails to effectively
teach them how to interact with our communities in a way that
protects and preserves life. For example, police recruits spend
58 hours learning how to shoot firearms and only 8 hours
learning how to de-escalate situations. An intensive training
regime is needed to help police officers learn the behaviors and
skills to interact appropriately with communities.
POLICY SOLUTIONS
Invest in Rigorous and Intentionally consider
Sustained Training 'unconscious' or 'implicit'
racial bias
Require officers to undergo
training - including scenario- Require current and
based training - on the prospective police officers to
following topics on at least a undergo mandatory implicit
quarterly basis and involve racial bias testing, including
the community - including testing for bias in shoot/don't
youth of color - in their shoot decision-making, and
design and implementation: develop a clear policy for
considering an officer's level
Implicit bias of racial bias in:
Procedural justice
Relationship-based law enforcement
policing certification
Community interaction the hiring process
Crisis intervention, performance evaluations
mediation, conflict decisions about whether
resolution, and rumor an officer should be
control
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Appropriate engagement deployed to communities
with youth of color
Appropriate engagement
with LGBTQ, transgender
and gender
nonconforming
individuals
Appropriate engagement
with individuals who are
english language learners
Appropriate engagement
with individuals from
different religious
affiliations
Appropriate engagement
with individuals who are
differently abled
De-escalation and
minimizing the use of
force
Read the Research Below to Learn More About This Issue:
EXPERIME STUDY HOW CHARACT LEARN THE HOW THE
SHOWS FINDS RACIAL OF ABOUT PROBLEM WAY
OFFICERS PROCEDU BIAS OFFICERS POLICE WITH POLICE
TRAINED JUSTICE INFORMS THAT DE- HOW ARE
IN TRAINING POLICE PREDICT ESCAL ATIO POLICE CURRENT
PROCEDU REDUCES OFFICERS VIOLENCE TRAINING ARE TRAININE
JUSTICE POLICE DECISION AGAINST REQUIREM TRAINED IS
LESS USE OF TO BL ACK IN YOUR INEFFECT
LIKELY TO FORCE SHOOT PEOPLE STATE
MAKE AND
ARRESTS COMPL AIN
OR USE
FORCE
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HOW HOW HOW
POLICE TRAINING PROCEDU
TRAINING REDUCED JUSTICE
IN THE POLICE AND
US FALLS SHOOTING FAIRNESS
SHORT IN TRAINING
COMPARE RICHMON IMPACT
TO PERCEPTI
OTHER OF
COUNTRIE POLICE
END FOR-
PROFIT
POLICING
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Police should be working to keep people safe, not contributing
to a system that profits from stopping, searching, ticketing,
arresting and incarcerating people.
POLICY SOLUTIONS
End police department quotas for tickets and arrests
Ban police departments from using ticket or arrest quotas to evaluate
the performance of police officers
(Ex: Illinois law)
Limit fines and fees for low-income people
Pass policies requiring local governments to:
ban issuing fines or arrest warrants for civilians who fail to appear
in court for a traffic citation (Ex: Ferguson Policy)
ban generating more than 10% of total municipal revenue from
fines and fees (Ex: Missouri law)
allow judges discretion to waive fines and fees for low-income
people or initiate payment plans (Ex: Pennsylvania law)
prohibit courts from ordering individuals on parole or probation to
pay supervision fees and other correctional fees
Prevent police from taking the money or property of innocent
people
Prohibit police from:
seizing property of civilians (i.e. civil forfeiture) unless they are
convicted of a crime and the state establishes by clear and
convincing evidence that the property is subject to forfeiture
keeping any property that has legally been forfeited (instead, this
property should go to a general fund)
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participating in the federal Equitable Sharing program that allows
police to engage in civil asset forfeiture
(Ex: New Mexico law)
Require police departments to bear the cost of misconduct
Require the cost of misconduct settlements to be paid out of the
police department budget instead of the City's general fund
Restrict police departments from receiving more money from the
general fund when they go over-budget on lawsuit payments
Read the Research Below to Learn More About This Issue:
DIFFERENT LEARN HOW HOW HOW TO HOW TO
WAYS ABOUT THE POLICE PROFIT REFORM STRUCTURE
GOVERNME CIVIL ASSET AND THE INCENTIVES MUNICIPAL FINES
PAY POLICE FORFEITURE COURTS INFLUENCE COURTS IN BASED ON
MISCONDUC L AWS IN PROFIT POLICING ST. LOUIS A
SETTLEMENT YOUR FROM IN TO STOP PERSON'S
STATE LOW- FERGUSON PROFITING ABILIT Y TO
INCOME OFF OF PAY
RESIDENTS LOW-
IN ST. INCOME,
LOUIS BL ACK
COUNT Y RESIDENTS
HOW HOW ANALYSIS 10 L ARGEST
POLICE PHIL ADELPH OF CIVIL POLICE
USE CIVIL POLICE FORFEITURE DEPTS PAID
ASSET SEIZE CASH CASH $1B IN
FORFEITURE FROM SEIZURES MISCONDUC
AS A TOOL POOR, SETTLEMENT
TO BL ACK OVER 5
INCREASE PEOPLE YEARS
REVENUE
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DEMILITARIZATION
The events in Ferguson have introduced the nation to the ways
that local police departments can misuse military weaponry to
intimidate and repress communities. In 2014, militarized SWAT
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teams killed at least 38 people and studies show that more
militarized police departments are significantly more likely to
kill civilians. The following policies limit police departments from
obtaining or using these weapons on our streets.
POLICY SOLUTIONS
End the Federal Establish Local Restrictions
Government's 1033 Program to Prevent Police
Providing Military Departments from
Weaponry to Local Police Purchasing or Using
Departments Military Weaponry
End the supply of federal Restrict police departments
military weaponry to local from:
police departments under the
1033 program. (Ex: Stop • using federal grant
Militarizing Law Enforcement money to purchase
Act) military equipment (Ex:
Montana law)
• deploying armored
vehicles, weaponized
aircraft, drones, Stingray
surveillance equipment,
camouflage uniforms,
and grenade launchers
• using SWAT teams
unless there is an
emergency situation or
imminent threat to life
and high-ranking
officers have given
approval (Ex: Cincinnati
PD Policy)
• conducting no-knock
raids (Ex: Oregon law
bans all no-knock raids)
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• accessing federal grant
money or purchasing
military equipment if the
department has been
recently found to
demonstrate a "pattern
or practice" of
discriminatory policing
• in addition to these
restrictions, wherever
possible agencies should
seek to return to the
federal government the
military equipment that
has already been
received (Ex: San Jose)
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OF EQUIPMEN PERSPECT RECEIVE IN AND RAIDS
POLICE THE ON MILITARY REVERSIN MODELS HAVE
MILITARIZ FEDERAL MILITARIZ WEAPONS POLICE FOR INCREASE
GOVERNM TO MILITARIZA DEMILITAR SINCE
HAS COMBAT POLICE THE
GIVEN TO DRUGS, DEPARTM 1980'S
POLICE NOT
DEPARTME TERRORIS
STUDY HOW ANOTHER
SHOWS MONTANA STUDY
MORE IS FINDS
MILITARIZ ADDRESSI POLICE
POLICE POLICE MILITARIZ
ARE MILITARIZA CONTRIBU
MORE TO
LIKELY TO KILLINGS
KILL BY
PEOPLE POLICE.
FAIR POLICE
CONTRACTS
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SOURCE | EMBED
See What Your Local Agency Received
from the Department of Defense
What military equipment has your local police, sheriff or game warden received
from the Pentagon? Click the dropdown to select your state and start sifting
through the newly released data from the U.S. Department of Defense’s 1033
program.
New York
New York received at least $26,498,384.00 in equipment since the
beginning of the program.
Agency Total Value
+ ALBANY COUNTY SHERIFF DEPT $794,855.00
+ ALBANY POLICE DEPARTMENT $56,762.00
+ ALBION POLICE DEPT $129,389.00
+ ALLEGANY COUNTY SHERIFF DEPT $132,304.55
+ AMHERST POLICE DEPT $114,497.97
+ AMSTERDAM POLICE DEPT $4,300.00
+ AUBURN POLICE DEPT $1,577.25
+ BEACON POLICE DEPT $9,880.00
+ BETHLEHEM POLICE DEPT $4,300.00
Read the Research Below to Learn More About This Issue:
THE SEE THE A POLICE HOW KEY BEST HOW
ORIGINS MILITARY OFFICER'S POLICE CHALLENG PRACTICE SWAT
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Police unions have used their influence to establish unfair
protections for police officers in their contracts with local, state
and federal government and in statewide Law Enforcement
Officers' Bills of Rights. These provisions create one set of rules
for police and another for civilians, and make it difficult for
Police Chiefs or civilian oversight structures to punish police
officers who are unfit to serve. Learn more about how police
union contracts help officers avoid accountability here.
POLICY SOLUTIONS
Remove barriers to effective misconduct investigations and civilian
oversight
Remove contract provisions, local policies, and provisions in state Law
Enforcement Officers' Bills of Rights laws that:
• allow officers to wait 48 hours or more before being interrogated
after an incident
• prevent investigators from pursuing other cases of misconduct
revealed during an investigation
• prevent an officer's name or picture from being released to the
public
• prohibit civilians from having the power to discipline, subpoena or
interrogate police officers
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• state that the Police Chief has the sole authority to discipline
police officers
• enable officers to appeal a disciplinary decision to a hearing board
of other police officers
• enable officers to use the contract grievance process to have an
outside arbitrator reverse disciplinary decisions and reinstate
officers who have committed misconduct
• prevent an officer from being investigated for an incident that
happened 100 or more days prior
• allow an officer to choose not to take a lie detector test without
being punished, require the civilian who is accusing that officer of
misconduct to pass a lie detector first, or prevent the officer's test
results from being considered as evidence of misconduct
Keep officers' disciplinary history accessible to police departments
and the public
Remove contract provisions, local and state policies, and provisions in
state Law Enforcement Officers' Bills of Rights laws that allow police
officers to:
• expunge or destroy records of past misconduct (both sustained and
unsustained) from their disciplinary file
• prevent their disciplinary records from being released to the public
via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
Ensure financial accountability for officers and police departments
that kill or seriously injure civilians
Remove contract provisions, local policies, and provisions in state Law
Enforcement Officers' Bills of Rights laws that:
• require officers to be given paid administrative leave or paid desk-
duty during an investigation following a police shooting or other
use of deadly force
• prevent officers from receiving unpaid suspensions as discipline
for misconduct or allow officers to use vacation or discretionary
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7/8/2020 Solutions — Campaign Zero
time to pay themselves while on suspension
• allow officers to receive paid leave or paid desk-duty after being
charged with a felony offense
DC Council recently passed legislation that
bans the inclusion of “all matters
pertaining to the discipline of law
enforcement officers” in their police
union contract. This policy banning police
union contracts from including language
that impacts the investigation and
discipline of law enforcement is a model
that other cities and states should adopt.
Police accountability should be non-
negotiable.
Campaign Zero
reviewed the police
union contracts in 81
of the largest U.S.
cities. 72 of the 81
cities'
contracts imposed at
least one barrier to Visit CheckthePolice.org to Learn More
holding police
accountable. Learn
more at
CheckthePolice.org.
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions#investigations 40/42
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Read the Research Below to Learn More About This Issue:
ANALYSIS: CAMPAIGN THE HOW A THE CASE THE
POLICE ZERO ROLE OF POLICE HISTORY FOR SPECIAL
DEPTS POLICE POLICE BILLS OF AND POLICE PROTECTI
WITH UNION UNIONS RIGHTS OVERVIEW BILLS OF FOR
MORE CONTRAC IN PREVENT OF RIGHTS POLICE
PROBLEM RECOMME BLOCKING OFFICERS POLICE OFFICERS
POLICE FOR POLICE FROM OFFICERS INCLUDED
UNION COLUMBU REFORM BEING BILLS OF IN
CONTRAC OH HELD RIGHTS POLICE
ARE ACCOUNT BILLS OF
MORE FOR RIGHTS
LIKELY TO POLICE
KILL VIOLENCE
UNARMED
CIVILIANS
CITIES HOW HOW HOW STUDY: HOW HOW
WITH POLICE BALTIMOR POLICE JOINING POLICE POLICE
POLICE BILLS OF POLICE UNION POLICE UNIONS UNION
UNION RIGHTS UNION CONTRAC UNIONS IN CONTRAC
CONTRAC IMPEDE CONTRAC PROVISIO INCREASE CHICAGO ALLOW
ARE ACCOUNT IMPEDES ARE NOT VIOLENT NEGOTIAT FIRED
HALF AS IN 14 ACCOUNT BASED MISCOND CONTRAC OFFICERS
LIKELY TO STATES ON BY 40% THAT TO GET
SUSTAIN SCIENTIFI SHIELD REHIRED
AN EVIDENCE OFFICERS
EXCESSIV FROM
FORCE ACCOUNT
COMPL AIN
REVIEW HOW
AND POLICE
RECOMME UNION
FOR CONTRAC
POLICE LET
UNION ARBITRATO
CONTRAC DECIDE
POLICE
DISCIPLIN
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TOP
Privacy Policy
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions#investigations 42/42
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#8toAbolition
While communities across the country mourn the the military industrial complex, both here and
loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, abroad. In abolishing policing, we seek to abolish
Jamel Floyd, and so many more Black victims of imperialist forms of police, such as militaries
police murder, Campaign Zero released its 8 Can’t responsible for generations of violence against
Wait campaign, offering a set of eight reforms Black and brown people worldwide.
they claim would reduce police killings by 72%. As
police and prison abolitionists, we believe that this As abolitionists, we recognize that reforms that
campaign is dangerous and irresponsible, offering do not reduce the power of the police–including
a slate of reforms that have already been tried those proposed by 8 Can’t Wait–simply create new
and failed, that mislead a public newly invigorated opportunities to surveil, police, and incarcerate
to the possibilities of police and prison abolition, Black, brown, indigenous, poor, disabled, trans,
and that do not reflect the needs of criminalized gender oppressed, queer, migrant people, and
communities. those who work in street economies. We believe
in a world where there are zero police murders
We honor the work of abolitionists who have because there are zero police, not because police
come before us, and those who organize now. A are better trained or better regulated—indeed,
better world is possible. We refuse to allow the history has shown that ending police violence
blatant co-optation of decades of abolitionist through more training or regulations is impossible.
organizing toward reformist ends that erases the
work of Black feminist theorists. As the abolitionist We also recognize that all police and prisons
organization Critical Resistance recently noted, 8 will not disappear tomorrow. Instead, we believe
Can’t Wait will merely “improve policing’s war on in the strategic importance of non-reformist
us.” Additionally, many abolitionists have already reforms, or measures that reduce the scale, scope,
debunked the 8 Can’t Wait campaign’s claims, power, authority, and legitimacy of criminalizing
assumptions, and faulty science. institutions. We also recognize carceral agents’
constant attempts to co-opt and rebrand abolition
Abolition can’t wait. through the language of harm reduction, as we
are currently witnessing with the #8CantWait
At its root, policing is a system designed to uphold campaign. We envision abolition as not only a
oppression. One thousand people are killed by matter of tearing down criminalizing systems
police every year, and Black people are murdered such as police and prisons that shorten the lives
at three times the rate of white people. Up to fifty of Black, brown, and poor people, but also a
percent of people murdered by the police have matter of building up life-sustaining systems that
disabilities. Up to 40% of police officers have reduce, prevent, and better address harm. We seek
perpetrated intimate partner violence, and sexual a reparations model, wherein our communities
violence is the second most common form of that have been harmed by policing and mass
police brutality, primarily targeting Black women criminalization for centuries are given their due
and especially those who are sex workers and drug from every corporation and institution that has
users. Many of these incidents of police violence profited from policing.
are undocumented by studies and only uplifted
through grassroots movements. Black people To build an abolitionist world that prioritizes
who are women, trans, gender non-conforming, the lives of Black people, we have drawn upon
sex working, and queer are often criminalized for decades of abolitionists’ work to compile this list
actions they take to survive gendered violence, of demands targeted toward city and municipal
as we have seen in the cases of Tracy McCarter, powers. Honoring the long history of abolitionist
Chrystul Kizer, Alisha Walker, GiGi Thomas, Marissa struggle, we join in their efforts to divest from
Alexander, Bresha Meadows, Cyntoia Brown, and the prison industrial complex, invest in our
many others. We reject the notion of a “perfect communities, and create the conditions for our
survivor”; we do not believe anyone deserves to be ultimate vision: a world without police, where no
caged, nor do we prescribe to the state’s notions one is held in a cage, and all people thrive and be
of “innocence” and culpability. We recognize that well.
the system of policing is heavily intertwined with 1
Abolitionist Policy Changes to
Demand from Your City Officials
The end goal of these reforms is not to create better, friendlier, or more community-oriented police or
prisons. Instead, we hope to build toward a society without police or prisons, where communities are
equipped to provide for their safety and wellbeing.
1 // defund the Police
zz Reject any proposed expansion to police budgets.
zz Demand the highest budget cuts per year, until they slash police budget to zero.
zz Slash police salaries across the board until they are zeroed out.
zz Immediately fire police officers who have any excessive force complaints.
zz No hiring of new officers or replacement of fired or resigned officers.
zz Fully cut funding for public relations.
zz Suspend the use of paid administrative leave for cops under investigation.
zz Require police, not cities, to be liable for misconduct and violence settlements.
zz Ban police contracting for nonprofits and institutions.
zz Reduce the power of police unions.
zz Until the police are fully defunded, make police union contract negotiations public.
zz Pressure the AFL-CIO to denounce police unions.
zz Prohibit city candidates taking money from police unions and stop accepting union funds.
zz Withhold pensions and don’t rehire cops involved in use of excessive force.
zz Abolish asset forfeiture programs and laws.
zz Deplatform white supremacist public officials.
zz Prohibit private-public innovation schemes that profit from temporary technological fixes to
systemic problems of police abuse and violence. These contracts and data-sharing arrangements,
however profitable for technologists and reformists, are lethal.
2 // Demilitarize Communities
zz Disarm law enforcement officers, including the police and private security.
zz Remove cops from hospitals.
zz Prohibit law enforcement from accessing private patient information.
zz End the militarization of Black and brown neighborhoods by ending broken windows policing,
“precision policing,” community policing, and all iterations of quality of life policing programs
(neighborhood policing, “gang” policing, “repeat-offender” policing, etc).
zz Surveillance technologies (CCTV, face printing, DNA and biometric databases, acoustic gunshot
detection, drones, AI and risk profiling algorithms, and other forms of predictive policing) are
weapons in the hands of law enforcement. End police, military, and immigration enforcement
contracts with any private companies that provide these services, and prohibit the experimental
design and rollout of in-house systems.
zz Dismantle fusion centers, county crime analysis centers, real time crime centers, gun and gang
violence intelligence centers, and purge the attendant databases.
zz Withdraw participation in police militarization programs and refuse federal grants that entangle
municipal police entities with the Department of Homeland Security, the Joint Terrorism Task
Force, and FBI.
zz Prohibit training exchanges between U.S. law enforcement and global military and policing
entities. These relationships circulate deadly techniques and technologies, exporting the
American model of racist policing worldwide.
zz Repeal all laws that hide, excuse, or enable police misconduct.
2
3 // Remove Police From Schools.
zz Remove police, both public and private, from all schools.
zz Call on universities to dissolve relationships with police departments.
zz Prohibit police departments from using city contracts with universities to do IRB-exempt data
analysis, geographic and community profiling, human-computer amelioration studies, and predictive
analytics. Instead, divert funds to public service-related studies and community collaborations.
zz Remove surveillance tech and metal detectors from all schools.
zz End school zero-tolerance disciplinary policies.
zz End the use of carceral-lite punishment of students, including suspensions and expulsions, that
disproportionately target Black and brown students, especially Black girls.
zz Urge states to repeal truancy laws.
zz Prohibit the surveillance of Black and brown students by their teachers, counselors, and school
officials through programs that criminalize students and exploit relationships of trust with school
officials, including Countering Violent Extremism/Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention.
4 // Free People from Prisons and Jails.
zz Permanently close local jails.
zz Pressure state legislatures to end mandatory arrest and failure to protect laws that lead to the
criminalization of survivors of gendered violence.
zz Reject “alternatives to incarceration” that are carceral in nature, including problem-solving courts
and electronic monitoring and coercive restorative justice programs.
zz Reduce jail churn by reducing arrests.
zz Free all people from involuntary confinement, including but not limited to jails, prisons, immigrant
detention centers, psychiatric wards, and nursing homes, starting with vulnerable populations such
as those who are aging, disabled, immunocompromised, held on bail, held for parole violations, and
survivors.
zz Cut funding to prosecutor offices.
zz End pre-trial detention.
zz End civil commitment.
zz Release all people held pre-trial and on parole violations.
zz Make all communication to and from prisoners free.
zz End immigration detention, end family separation, and let our undocumented community members
come home.
zz End data and resource sharing with ICE.
5 // Repeal Laws That Criminalize Survival
zz Repeal local ordinances that criminalize people involved in the sex trades, drug trades, and street
economies.
zz Call on Mayors to grant clemencies to criminalized survivors of violence.
zz Repeal local ordinances that criminalize the occupation of public spaces—particularly for people
experiencing homelessness—under statutes against loitering, loitering for the purposes of sex work,
fare beating, panhandling, soliciting, camping, sleeping, and public urination and defecation.
zz Refuse to deploy police when they are contacted in relation to the above.
zz Repeal statutes that criminalize survivors of gendered violence, including mandatory arrest and
failure to protect laws.
zz On the road to complete decriminalization, immediately decriminalize all misdemeanor offenses,
which currently account for 80% of total court dockets.
zz End all fines and fees associated with the criminal legal process, including ticketing, cash bail, court
costs, and parole and probation fees.
3
6 // Invest in Community Self-Governance
zz Promote neighborhood councils as representative bodies within municipal decision making.
zz Invest in multilingual resources for immigrant and asylum-seeking communities.
zz Assess community needs and invest in community-based resources, including groups from tenant
unions to local shop-owners and street vendors, prioritizing those from marginalized groups.
zz Invest in community-based public safety approaches, including non-carceral violence prevention
and intervention programs and skills-based education on bystander intervention, consent and
boundaries, and healthy relationships.
7 // Provide Safe, accessible
Housing for Everyone
zz Cancel rent without burden of repayment during COVID-19.
zz Repurpose empty buildings, houses, apartments, and hotels to house people experiencing
homelessness.
zz Prohibit evictions.
zz Provide unequivocal support and resources to refugee and asylum seeking communities.
zz Allow Community Benefits Agreements to be a community governed means of urban planning.
Make public housing accessible to everyone, repealing discriminatory laws barring people from
accessing resources based on income, race, gender, sexuality, immigration status, or history of
incarceration.
zz Support and promote the existence of community land trusts for Black and historically displaced
communities.
zz Remove cops from all re-entry and shelter institutions.
zz Ensure that survivors of gendered violence have access to alternative housing options in the event
that their primary housing becomes unsafe.
zz Provide non-coercive housing options for young people experiencing abuse or family rejection of
their queer or trans identities.
8 // fully Invest in Care, Not Cops
zz Allocate city funding towards healthcare infrastructure (including non-coercive mental
healthcare), wellness resources, neighborhood based trauma centers, non-coercive drug and
alcohol treatment programming, peer support networks, and training for healthcare professionals.
Make these services available for free to low-income residents. Adopt a care not cops model.
zz Invest in teachers and counselors, universal childcare, and support for all family structures.
zz Free and accessible public transit.
zz End the use of property taxes to determine school funding.
zz Install safe and sanitary gender-inclusive public restrooms.
zz Ensure investment in community-based food banks, grocery cooperatives, gardens, and farms.
zz Ensure free, and more extensive, public transport, especially servicing marginalized and lower-
income communities.
zz Invest in youth programs that promote learning, safety, and community care.
4
How to Use This
This is an offering for abolitionist vision and transformation. Although there are many policies here, this
is not a policy document or website, nor are we an organization or policymakers. We hope this serves
as a resource for people to build from and incorporate abolitionist demands into local organizing efforts
around municipal, state, and federal policies. Originally, this resource was formed as a direct response
to a harmful reformist campaign.
We know abolition is far more transformative than 8 points or a website, and hope that these points
serve as a resource that demonstrates practical changes we can make now towards abolition. If you or a
campaign you’re a part of uses this to shape city based-campaigns, let us know by contacting us!
campaigns
Care Not Cops | carenotcops.org
No New Jails NYC Abolition Plan | nonewjails.nyc
No New Jails DC | bit.ly/nnjdc
Close the Jails ATL | closethejailatl.org
additional resources
Transform Harm Resource Hub | transformharm.org
Justice LA COVID-19 Decarceration Proposal | justicelanow.org
Policing, Prisons, and Punishment Resource Guide | Micah Herskind, medium.com
“Police Industrial Complex” Primer from Carceral Tech Resistance Network | carceral.tech
We Came to Learn: A Call for Police-Free Schools | advancementproject.org/wecametolearn
Reformist Reforms vs. Abolitionist Steps in Policing | criticalresistance.org
Collective Action for Safe Spaces 2018 Policy Platform | collectiveactiondc.org
She Safe, We Safe Campaign | shesafewesafe.org
What the Prison-Abolition Movement Wants | Kim Kelly, teenvogue.com
Beyond Bars: Prison Abolition Should Be the American Dream | Reina Sultan, bitchmedia.org
Thinking about how to abolish prisons with Mariame Kaba: Podcast & Transcript | NBC News
Police “Reforms” You Should Always Oppose | Mariame Kaba, truthout.org
Many thanks to contributors,
Mon Mohapatra, artist and organizer
Leila Raven, mama and organizer
Nnennaya Amuchie, organizer and lawyer
Reina Sultan, journalist and organizer
K Agbebiyi, organizer and social worker
Sarah T. Hamid, anti-carceral tech organizer
Micah Herskind, organizer and writer
Derecka Purnell, lawyer and writer
Eli Dru, uncle & organizer
Rachel Kuo, organizer & designer
5
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MINUTES
CITY OF DEKALB
Human Relations Commission
July 7, 2020
The Human Relations Committee (HRC) held a regular meeting on July 7, 2020, in the Second
Floor Training Room at the DeKalb Police Department.
Chair Larry Apperson called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m.
Before roll call was taken, Chair Apperson, announced he appreciated the public turnout for
such an important meeting. Some residents were not able to make it, and from requests made by
the public, audio and visual were recorded.
A. ROLL CALL
The following members of the HRC were present: Larry Apperson (Chair), David Barrow, Nadine
Franklin, Joe Gastiger, Norden Gilbert, and Lisa King.
Members absent were: Tyrus Wright.
Other City officials/staff present: Alderman Scott McAdams, Alderman Carolyn Morris, City
Manager Bill Nicklas, Community Services Coordinator Joanne Rouse, Commander Jason
Leverton, Management Analyst Jason Blumenthal, and Management Intern Adam Grubbs.
B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA – ADDITIONS / DELETIONS
Motion to approve the agenda was made by Mr. Gastiger and seconded by Ms. King. Motion
was approved by a unanimous voice vote.
C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion to approve the minutes of March 3, 2020 was made by Mr. Gastiger and seconded by Mr.
Barrow. Minutes were approved by a unanimous voice vote.
D. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Chair Apperson called for public comment and stated that anyone who would like to speak will
have the chance to.
Vivian Meade was the first member of the public who spoke first. Ms. Meade said the meeting
should have taken place on a zoom call. She continued by saying that the HRC meeting should
not have been hosted at the Police Department. She finished by saying that she and other
members of the community felt uncomfortable to attend the meeting because it was at the Police
Department, and instead it should be hosted at a bipartisan community center.
Chair Apperson responded to her by stating that the Second Floor Training Room at the Police
Department is the city’s largest space that they are able to utilize. This was important because of
COVID-19 guidelines. He said the point is well taken though.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 2 of 8
Next to speak was Bessie Chronopoulos. Ms. Chronopoulos began by presenting a document that
was a policing program involving mental health from CNN. She talked about how public
participation has been difficult with the city, and that the meeting should have been hosted on
zoom due to COVID-19 concerns and because many individuals wanted to participate but could
not be there.
Alderman Carolyn Morris agreed the HRC meeting should have been hosted on zoom. Ms.
Morris continued by saying that all meetings should be hosted on zoom at this point of the level
of technology seen today. There also should be another space. She thinks the Library is just as
big
Amber Quitno echoed that the HRC meeting should have been hosted on zoom. Ms. Quitno
finished by saying that holding a meeting at the Police Department is intimidating for community
members.
Erin McNeal said that she wants to push leadership to do the right thing. Ms. McNeal continued
by saying the issues that they have been seeing in the city are not new, and it seems to be caused
by a lack of leadership. This seems to be a lack of leadership. She finished by saying these issues
should have been resolved a long time ago.
Ms. Emily said she is tired of hearing excuses that the room was not big enough. Community
members wanted to attend, but they felt uncomfortable, and were not sure if there were warrants
out for their arrest. She finished by saying the meeting should not have been at the police
department.
E. OLD BUSINESS
1. Police-Community Relations/Building a Better Community
i. Review of Community Recommendations
Chair Apperson began by looking at the recommendations. He said that the commission wanted
to compile all recommendations from the community forums, town hall meetings, the DeKalb,
IL Black Lives Matter (BLM) demands, City Council meetings, and the HRC meeting into the
City Council packet and provide it to the DeKalb Aldermen. He continued by saying that the
compilation of these documents are just the beginning and they will be continually edited to and
added upon to best fit the needs of Dekalb residents. He said that they began by making
categories for the recommendations, and that the committee used the categories created by the
organization Campaign Zero. The committee liked the Campaign Zero categories because it was
a comprehensive list and fit well with the recommendations they have seen from our community
members. Chair Apperson then began by listing some of the recommendations the committee
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 3 of 8
had heard from community members. These recommendations included but are not limited to the
reallocation of police department funds to incorporate social work, police brutality, the
demilitarization of police, use of force limits, increased training, increased oversight from
residents on Police business, more representation in positions of power, investing more in social
services, a common lease, and job creation. A large issue that the committee discussed was the
unjust incarceration rate, department of justice policies, criminal justice systems. These issues
may be on the county, state, and federal level. These are being addressed, but the committee may
also need to address these on the city level. The committee now has a comprehensive exhaustive
list of recommendations that they are now ready to present to City Council at the next Committee
of the Whole (COW) City Council meeting on July 13th at 5:00 P.M.
Ms. Meade asked how similar the recommendations were to Campaign Zero
Chair Apperson answered that Campaign Zero was just a starting point, but the themes the
committee saw were like campaign zero
Ms. Meade said that the committee did not include banning stop and frisk as a recommendation.
Chair Apperson said he did not notice this
Ms. Franklin said that it was on the document she created. Chair Apperson said he would be
correct this error. He continued saying that as soon as the recommendations were created, the
committee received recommendations by email from the DeKalb County Jewish Committee for
Social Justice and the former Mayor John Rey.
Chair Apperson read the DeKalb County Jewish Committee for Social Justice recommendations.
A summary of the recommendations are as follows: Now is the time to act. The community
needs swift and effective change. It is now time for Black Indigenous Persons Of Color (BIPOC)
to be protected by our community. The community needs to craft policies proposed by BLM and
implement them. The City Council, BLM, and police should meet over these policies and discuss
them.
Ms. Franklin thought it was a great document, Ms. King and Mr. Gastiger agreed with Ms.
Franklin. Ms. King thought it was great citizens met together to craft these recommendations.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 4 of 8
Chair Apperson said that the document is like the recommendations they have crafted, but the
wording may be better.
Chair Apperson then read the recommendations that Mr. Rey submitted by email. Chair
Apperson read off the recommendations. Chair Apperson liked that Mr. Rey focused on the
criminal justice system. Chair Apperson commented that these recommendations are similar to
what the HRC had discussed previously, that there needs to be change within the criminal justice
system.
Ms. King then said that the document Ms. Chronopoulos provided was great and that the HRC
should include this with the other documents that they would give to the city council. Chair
Apperson said if there was no objection, he favored the idea. Ms. King liked this document
because it offered a great model to follow and it is clear to understand. Mr. Blumenthal said that
he will include this document to the city council packet and will also be found within the minutes
of this July 7, 2020 meeting along with all the other recommendations and documents. Chair
Apperson confirmed that it would be good to accept all these additional recommendations,
models, and information. He said it is good to go on record and say that the document is not
static, and it will be continually be changed. Mr. Nicklas reiterated that anything presented at the
meeting will be submitted to the city council. Mr. Nicklas also said that all documents can be
found on the City of DeKalb website (https://www.cityofdekalb.com/) and also the city council
packet.
Mr. Barrow gave mention to Chair Apperson that he had put in a lot of time and effort in a short
amount of time to put all these documents together. Barrow explained that the HRC members
could not meet to work on the recommendations because it violates the Open Meetings Act
(OMA). Mr. Barrow continue by saying the HRC had collected recommendations from the
community, and they tried to be comprehensive. Mr. Barrow stated the committee are not just
collators, but also very passionate individuals who also want change for this community. Mr.
Barrow then asked if it was acceptable for him to read the introduction he prepared for the city
council at the next council meeting before they submit they review the recommendations.
Mr. Gasiger then motioned to change the agenda so that Mr. Barrow could read his introduction,
and Ms. King Seconded the motion, all HRC members voted unanimously to pass the motion.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 5 of 8
Mr. Barrow read the introduction of the presentation to the room. Chair Apperson thanked Mr.
Barrow and said it was a great reflection on how the commission feels. He continued by saying
that they needed to now put together the HRC recommendation to given to the city council.
Mr. Nicklas said that there will be a summary provided to council, which will include resolution
and ordinances. It is a large document, but this is just the beginning and there will be more
change to come. Chair Apperson was pleased that the city has started to implement some of the
recommendations the community has suggested. Mr. Gastiger wanted to highlight some of the
changes such as the banning of choke holds, policies of punishment of excessive force and for
not intervening in the case of excessive force, cultural biased and diversity training, elimination
of no knock warrants, contracting a social worker for certain police calls, reorganizing the police
department, and a leasing policy. Mr. Gastiger wanted the public to know that the city has
already made some steps to address the issues seen.
Chair Apperson then read off the HRC recommendations that they wanted to pass on to the city
council. He said that Campaign Zero will be provided to be referenced. There also needs to be an
examination of Illinois Statues and lobby to change the statues that the community does not
agree with.
Chair Apperson noted that not all these compiled recommendations are possible to be
implemented immediately, but they will work to get them implemented as quickly as possible.
Mr. Gastiger furthered this by stating to the public that there are two phases. Some of these
recommendations will take time to research, but some of them can happen tomorrow. There
needs to be research to find the best solution. He reiterated that some changes would happen
now, but some will take longer to make a decision. Mr. Barrow suggested the recommendations
and a timeline should be made public. Public member suggested to give the city a recommended
timeline, so they have structure to implement the recommendations on a timely basis. Mr.
Norden said we can commit to the recommendations now, but some will still take time to
implement. Mr. Barrow said that the recommendations and a timeline need to be made public.
Mr. Gastiger noted that the city council can make many changes, but other changes happen from
policy changes by the City Manager and the Police Chief. Ms. Chronopoulos stated that all these
recommendations and policy changes need to be made more public. She mentioned that the
media was in attendance and that the media needs to commit to making these things public. Mr.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 6 of 8
Gastiger agreed with Ms. Chronopoulos. Ms. Chronopoulos said there needs to be another way
to get the information out there to residents besides the internet.
Member of the public Maurice McDavid said that there needs to be more communication. He
continued by saying the city started a diversity plan when he was a senior in high school, it took
12 years for this to be passed. The community have waited for action for a long time, and the
Dekalb community will not be happy until things really change. He said it needs to happen, and
it needs to happen in good time.
Ms. McNeal said the culture of the community needs to change. One way to do this is by
publicizing the recommendations and policies to show the entire community what the priorities
are, and hopefully the culture will change.
Mr. Nicklas stated he remembers what Mr. McDavid said at the Hopkins Park Townhall
Meeting. Mr. Nicklas agrees that it is time for action. Mr. Nicklas met with Chief Redel and
Police command staff and there is an agenda piece on this. He provided a draft for
recommendations, and he tried to address what he can do in his authority, and he will give
what’s not in his authority to the city council. The reorganization of the Police Department is no
small feat, but they will do it with regards to the budget process. All changes happen within the
budget, one of the budget changes will be Police reorganization. This is the start of action, and it
will hopefully lead to more action. Nicklas said the city council meeting will be focused on the
compiled documents of recommendations and other information. Mr. Nicklas finished by saying
they will begin to create monthly police reports. The DeKalb Police are trying to do their job, but
he also wants to keep everyone accountable.
Chair Apperson said in the interest in time is there other recommendations the commission wants
to make at this time. Mr. Norden made the motion to incorporate item F. to provide transparent
and thorough background checks for police hiring and item G. to assure accountability for officer
misconduct and particular use for excessive force to recommendation #3. Mr. Gastiger seconded
the motion. There was an unanimous vote to pass the motion.
Chair Apperson asked if anything else should be included. Ms. King said the abolitionist and
campaign zero should be available for the public to see. Ms. King stated there is no reference to
these groups, they should include the reference.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 7 of 8
Mr. Blumenthal clarified that all documents will be available on the City of DeKalb’s website
and will be provided in the city council packet.
Mr. Gastiger said we should pass along all recommendations, though he did not think that social
workers should go to domestic abuse cases, which was a recommendation from the public.
People from across the country have worked hard to have police recognize the seriousness in
these cases. Mr. Barrow countered saying that the recommendations from the public should be
unfiltered and that the city council needs to make the decision on this. Mr. Gastiger said as long
as his concern was heard, he has no objection.
ii. HRC Recommendations
The HRC, led by Chair Apperson, then went through and revised the HRC recommendations to
make them clearer.
Mr. Norden Motioned to approve the HRC recommendations and to submit them to the city
council. Mr. Gastiger seconded the motion. There was an unanimous vote to pass the motion.
Ms. King wanted to add that the HRC should start making every meeting zoom compatible. She
said residents should still have access even if they can’t physically attend the meeting, and this
will also alleviate the issue of the venue being at the Police Department. Residents will be more
comfortable to attend online through zoom. Ms. King said they should accommodate the public
comments the committee heard that night. Mr. Blumenthal said he will talk to the City Manager
and the IT department about this accommodation.
The HRC decided that Mr. Barrow with read his introduction to the HRC presentation of the
recommendations at the COW city council meeting on July 13th.
Chair Apperson announced he may not be around in August due to his wife’s extensive surgery
F. NEW BUSINESS
None.
G. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:49 p.m. Motion by Mr. Gastiger, seconded by Chair Apperson.
Motion approved by a unanimous voice vote.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 8 of 8
*PLEASE NOTE* That in addition to these minutes are all public comments that were
submitted to the HRC for public comment. This includes the chat feature of the Zoom
meeting, as well the link to the video of the HRC meeting at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K572sFy5hxM&t=1s.
_____________________________________________
Jason Blumenthal, Management Analyst
Minutes approved by the Human Relations Commission on:
Agenda
AGENDA
Human Relations Commission Meeting
Location: DeKalb Police Department
700 W. Lincoln Highway
Second Floor Training Room
DeKalb, Illinois 60115
July 7, 2020
6:30 p.m.
Having reached Phase 4 of the State of Illinois reopening plan, the HRC July 7th
regularly scheduled meeting will be held at 6:30 pm in the Training Room of the
City of DeKalb Police Department. Community attendees will have seating set-up
for social distancing and be required to wear face masks. The Commission will
not be using any remote technologies to link to the meeting. If you would like to
make a public comment but will not be available on the day of the meeting please
send an e-mail to Jason.Blumenthal@cityofdekalb.com by 4 P.M. on July 7th and
those comments will be given to the commission.
A. Roll Call
B. Approval of Agenda – Additions/Deletions
C. Approval of Minutes – June 16, 2020 Special Meeting
D. Public Participation
E. Old Business
1. Police-Community Relations/Building a Better Community
i. Review of Community Recommendations
ii. HRC Recommendations
F. New Business
1. None
G. Adjournment
For questions regarding this agenda, please contact Jason Blumenthal at 815-748-2396 or
jason.blumenthal@cityofdekalb.com.
MINUTES
CITY OF DEKALB
Human Relations Commission
June 16, 2020
The Human Relations Committee (HRC) held a regular meeting on June 16, 2020, in the Second
Floor Training Room at the DeKalb Police Department.
Chair Larry Apperson called the meeting to order at 6:06 p.m.
Deanna Cada from the DeKalb County Mental Health Board was the facilitator of the Zoom feature
for this meeting.
A. ROLL CALL
The following members of the HRC were present: Larry Apperson (Chair), David Barrow, Nadine
Franklin, Joe Gastiger, Norden Gilbert, and Lisa King.
Members absent were: Tyrus Wright.
Other City officials/staff present: Mayor Jerry Smith, Alderman Carolyn Morris, Alderman Scott
McAdams, Alderman Tony Faivre, City Manager Bill Nicklas, Acting Police Chief Bob Redel,
Community Services Coordinator Joanne Rouse, Commander Craig Woodruff, Commander Jason
Leverton, Management Analyst Jason Blumenthal, and Management Intern Adam Grubbs.
B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA – ADDITIONS / DELETIONS
Motion to approve the agenda was made by Mr. Gilbert and seconded by Mr. Gastiger. Motion
was approved by a unanimous voice vote.
C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion to approve the minutes of March 3, 2020 was made by Mr. Gastiger and seconded by
Ms. King. Minutes were approved by a unanimous voice vote.
D. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Chair Apperson called for public comment and stated that anyone who would like to speak will
have the chance to.
The first member of the public to speak was Maurice McDavid. Mr. McDavid said that he
appreciated the ability to join the conversation. He is hopeful that this will be more than a
conversation. He wants to make sure we are being active. There needs to be a standing and active
citizen police relations advisory board separate from the police department. He wants an
opportunity to see the diversity reflected where decisions are being made. He is proud of his former
students protesting. There needs to be diverse voices and experiences at the table. Citizens need to
be a part of the problem-solving process. There has been mistrust in government for awhile, but
he is hopeful that we can build trust.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 2 of 7
Next to speak was Sasha Cohen. Mr. Cohen said that simple reform is not the answer. There needs
to be a rebuild of our system from the ground up. We should replace Police Officers with Social
Workers.
Mr. Mark Charvat brought up finding a new police chief. He talked about continuing the interview
panels that have consisted of members of the public to interview for the new police chief. He liked
the idea of giving more power to the people for hiring the new permanent Police Chief. He hopes
the recommendations of this meeting will go to the City Council. City Manager Bill Nicklas noted
that they have been trying to recruit a new Police Chief since John Petragallo retired. The City was
planning to have the citizen interview panels, but COVID-19 has stopped the hiring process.
Ms. Dory Berg said she does not want to see helpless people tortured by police officers. No room
for tasing, or choking, this is a crime against humanity. As a town we need to work together to
solve these problems. We are not Nazi Germany.
Ms. Amber said she went to some of the protests. She said she has seen changes in the last 15
years. She asked some of the protesters what are their suggestions. Some of the protesters told
Amber they wanted to suggest the implementation of an oversight Citizen Review Committee, to
reallocate funds and provide emotional response training, to have law enforcement and city
manager meetings monthly, non-lethal training for police, monthly psychological checks, bias
training, be more proactive about finding open positions to push diversity, not hiring police officers
with past excessive force complaints. This brings on battery and murder to residents. Be proactive
and not hire officers with past excessive force complaints. Hire top candidates. It starts with the
officers we are bringing in.
Ms. Sarah Slavenas started with the suspension of Officer Weese. She talked about the training he
had to enroll in due to the choking incident. She continued by saying that the chokehold was
unnecessary and it left Elonte McDowell unconscious. She found out through FOIA that if Sargent
Weese finished the training, his suspension would be reduced by 5 days. She wanted to know if
these days were shaved off. If so, why are they being misled. She hoped through the HRC that
these questions can be answered. She wanted to know if the police commission did an investigation
or which party determined the 30-day suspension for Officer Weese, why he got the minimum
punishment he could have received, and why he was not fired. She does not think a man who used
unnecessary deadly force should still be working for the Police Department. She is worried how
this Police Officer will react with residents with disabilities or other concerns. She does not think
police have the proper training.
Mr. Gavin Jackson echoed what Sarah said. He said that the City of DeKalb and DeKalb County
are not doing their job. He is disheartened to know killer cops continue to be on the Police force.
He said that it is ridiculous the amount of money police officers are paid.
Ms. Shrestha Singh and Reverend Eric said that this time has a lot of opportunities. Ms. Singh
stated police reform cannot wait. Even though there are some reforms, there are still problems with
police brutality. She wonders what the alternatives could be. The City of San Francisco is replacing
police officers with trained social workers to respond to nonviolent calls. She talked about creating
safety and security in our community. We need to be proactive to do this. She talked about the
money for Community Development and CDBG funds. We are spending roughly ten times the
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 3 of 7
amount on Police. Public Safety is different from Police, and resources should be allocated in
different ways. Reverend Eric said how we spend the budget shows what we value. The budget
shows us what we value. Instead of all these categories falling under the police, can these
operations be reallocated into different departments. With a process of reprioritizing where the
funds in the general fund go. Reimagine how to structure the budget based on serving our
community, especially the most vulnerable.
Ms. Shirley Lassiter wanted to raise awareness for Kela Moss. Kela Moss is a woman who lived
in DeKalb County that was in an abusive relationship and did not get the help she needed. She said
it was the type of situation where it was “kill or be killed”. Kela Moss killed her abuser, she turned
herself in at the DeKalb Police Department, she was arrested in 2016, and is still incarcerated. Ms.
Lassiter wanted to raise awareness to get Moss’ charges dropped from murder to manslaughter.
Rev. Linda Slabon shared a report from 2019 that promotes and protects civil rights. She thinks
we can learn from them. It is from the Citizen’s Community Council, and it speaks on citizens
having direct power with leadership. She also noted that psychological and trauma screenings
should be required for officers regularly.
Ms. Amber came back and asked if police will commit to the policy of not hiring officers that have
had complaints with excessive force because there are officers with past excessive force
complaints. We have seen how police sweep complaints under the rug. She asked how the officer
got past this process if it is in place, and she wanted to make sure she emphasized recruitment and
training.
Mr. Peter Gerlach wrote a letter in which he spoke to the commission and the public. The letter
noted that American policing is a racist system. African American officers are conditioned to be
biased against black people. Another large problem with the policing system is the continued
militarization of the police. We should focus more on de-escalation and non-lethal tactics. There
should be no use of excessive force, the officer who performed the chokehold should be fired
immediately. Police should wear Police uniforms, not body armor. We also need to get the cops
out of school. He also added that DeKalb police officers do not need to carry tactical weapons and
do not need to carry the amount of ammunition they do. We need to get rid of the us vs. them
mindset. More officers should be on foot and get to know the community instead of just policing
it.
Ms. Jen wanted to talk about public safety, and how there should be zero tolerance for excessive
force. This should be a policy. Also, before hiring new officers, they should check into their
previous employment.
Mr. Tom proposes that there could be an unarmed partner trained in human relations to help take
care of the situation if it is a nonviolent call. There need to be measures of supervision and keeping
each other accountable.
Mr. Steve Kapitan asked about police collective bargaining and if there are in policies in there
about this. He also said Governor Pritzker might introduce licensing officers, or individual liability
insurance.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 4 of 7
Mr. Peter Lindsay said he has been hearing a lot about reimagining the police. If police are
committed to prevention instead of solving crimes, the police department should be getting smaller
and not larger.
Ms. Anna Wilhelmi said that we need to address the hiring policy. It is not ok to harass people for
small violations. Police need to be a part of building community trust. She thinks it would be
valuable to have a tracking system to see where, when, and who the police are stopping and why.
She does not think the problem is a lack of training, she believes the problem is in the individual
person.
Ms. Jessica Lyon does not want to speak about the police. She wants to talk about having the
community hire the Police Chief and revising the hiring process. She says there should be
education for everyone, including the City Council. We need to assure accountability. DeKalb, IL
has double the poverty rate of the entire country. We need to think about poverty when solving
problems. We need to reallocate resources to help the black community.
Ms. Bessie Kronopolus said it is great to see everyone coming together. HRC has a long history
of civil rights advocacy. She strongly suggests that the public and commission look at past minutes
to look for solutions. She said that policies and practices need to be put into place to resolve these
issues, and we as residents need to assure that this happens by staying involved. We cannot be lazy
anymore. We should not be trying to reinvent the wheel, let us look at what has been working, and
what we can utilize, or create new initiatives to foster trust and change.
Ms. Slavenas wanted to speak again, She said there should be a consideration that none of the other
officers were punished in the Elonte McDowell case. She spoke of the George Floyd incident and
how Officer Daniel Chauvin was fired. The other police officers involved were disciplined. She
suggests policy makers need to consider how to fund police liabilities, residents should not have
to do that.
Mr. Tom wanted to speak again. He said when job offers open for police, military receive
preference. He thinks this should be abolished because a soldier has a different mentality and
different skills than a police officer should have.
Mr. Mark Charvat wanted to speak again, He mentioned the police chief is present and some city
council members. He wanted to hear comments from the police chief, the mayor, and the city
council members.
Acting Chief Redel stated they are trying to work with the community as best they can and trying
to keep everybody safe. There have been points that have been brought up he has not thought
about. He will think more about this going forward to make this a better community for its
residents, and to make DeKalb a better city.
Chair Apperson said before closing the public comment portion, the public can still send
recommendations to City Hall or the Police Department. He asked for comments to be as specific
as possible. He wants to use recommendations that are clear, and he thanked everyone that was
involved in the Zoom meeting and public participation. He hopes that we can make this a model
city for police and citizen relations. We will now go into old business.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 5 of 7
Management Analyst Blumenthal told the public that they can send recommendations to his email
at Jason.Blumenthal@cityofdekalb.com.
E. OLD BUSINESS
1. Police-Community Relations/Building a Better Community
Mr. Gastiger started by thanking the new Police Chief. He said the Police have been doing
a great job with the protesters. Police have been taking a lot of verbal abuse and they have
been practicing a lot of restraint. He referenced the video with the looting and stated having
the Rev. Joe Mitchell talk to the looters was a great idea. He said the City should try to
start a database of excessive force violations. This is not currently in existence. He also
wanted to create a policy stating that DeKalb Police prohibit police maneuvers that block
oxygen and the use of excessive force, no use of federal programs that militarize police,
require counseling services, better education, better mental health services, healthier police
officers, and to keep officers accountable.
Ms. King wanted to thank the members of the community for the suggestions. A lot of
these ideas and notions are covered now because of the media. It is important to reiterate
that police officers have training, racial bias training, culture competency. Officers need to
know who they are serving. It needs to be a budget priority to have regular training. There
needs to be a public shared value. Officers need to get to know the community. The first
interaction a resident of DeKalb should have with the police should be a positive encounter.
When officers have a heightened encounter, they need to take a pause. Officers should
meet with social workers. We need to have younger people be more involved with the
police and get them to know each other.
Mr. Gilbert talked about Campaign Zero recommendations. He said it would be interesting
to know what extent the DeKalb Police Department matches the recommendations.
Recommendations that are being made should line up with best practices from 2020.
Mr. Barrow thanked Deanna for moderating. He said a police department that succeeds
should get smaller and not larger. He talked about reallocation of funds to services as
opposed to policing. The best police department would be able to reallocate the maximum
amount of funds to fix the root problems that create police calls. The police use a lot of the
budget, so how can we relocate funds to make the police department more effective. This
could redefine what a police officer is, adding different professional, unarmed officers.
Mr. Gastiger noted from Mr. Barrow that Police are doing a lot of tedious jobs that should
not necessarily be done by them. Ms. King mentioned the small amount being spent in
community development compared to the police. Mr. Barrow and Ms. King pointed out
that there is an imbalance in spending. Ms. King continued saying that a lot of the training
is dependent on funding the City does not have. There needs to be way for a better balance.
Mr. Barrow talked about having a professional body chosen by the community to oversee
actions. Ms. Franklin said that she supports what has been said, but more needs to be done.
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 6 of 7
Many of these solutions are only band aids. If someone files a report, it needs to go to the
end. There needs to be accountability, and there needs to be answers given.
Mr. Gastiger said that he wanted to pass on the tenents of Campaign Zero to City Council.
He wanted these tenents approved. Mr. Gastiger moved to pass the Campaign Zero Tenants
to be sent to City Council. Chair Apperson said he wants to get all recommendations
together and then vote on them. Mr. Gastiger disagreed, saying he wanted to pass
something that night to show they have acted. Management Analyst Blumenthal said there
is a motion on the floor by Mr. Gastiger. Mr. Barrow seconded the motion to pass the
Campaign Zero tenents. Mr. Barrow said he liked the idea of submitting something so the
City Council can consider recommendations from the HRC. Mr. Gastiger withdrew his
motion. Chair Apperson said he has 10 suggestions made, and some from John Rey. Chair
Apperson suggested we go over what we have in writing, then approve the
recommendations. Chair Apperson stated the Commission can leave here tonight with
concrete recommendations.
Ms. King was concerned that they would not have all the recommendations of public by
the next Council meeting. She wants to include the information from the community. She
suggests that they should submit the recommendations from both the commission and
public at the same time. Mr. Barrow said they should make a recommendation for Council
to watch this video.
City Manager Bill Nicklas thanks the commission. He stated that the community is in the
middle of an experience we have not seen since the 60’s. We have an opportunity to get
some lasting improvements. There will be a townhall meeting on Thursday, June 18, for
more recommendations. Manager Nicklas wants to start making change, but also wants to
have a comprehensive list of suggestions before the City Council. He suggested to wait for
two weeks, and to create a stronger list. He said this is an important topic to take seriously.
We need to have a lot of conversations?
Mr. Gastiger talked about creating a Citizen Advisory Board. He sees that things need time,
but actions need to be taken. At the very least, he wants a press release saying that they do
not condone excessive force. Manager Nicklas talked about the affirmative action and
intervention policies they have when at the scene of a crime. Our Commanders and Chiefs
are all in support for action being taken. Mr. Gastiger said if this already exists than this is
alright. Chair Apperson said that if these things already exist why do residents not know
about these, why are we keeping these from residents.
Mr. Nicklas said by the July 13th COW meeting we will get all the recommendations
together and go forward with action then. Ms. King agreed that she wants to not just do it
and get it over with, but to do it, to take time doing it, and do the best job we can to finding
a solution. She wants to take all suggestions and then prioritize them. Manager Nicklas
said that everyone needs to weight into this decision. This way all the facts come out.
Mr. Gastiger said if you have been following the feed, the people want us to act tonight.
Mr. Barrow confirmed he had been watching the live feed, and that he sees the need to act,
but also that we need to consider all actions before going forward. Chair Apperson said
Human Relations Commission Meeting Minutes
June 16, 2020
Page 7 of 7
that they want to collect all recommendations, and to have a complete list of suggestions
and recommendations, and at the July 7th meeting they will review them, and then pass
them on for approval to the City Council.
Chair Apperson said everyone’s recommendation will be reviewed, we just need a more
complete list. He wants to still consider the recommendations that will be submitted in
writing. Then July 7th, they will vote on the recommendations to pass to city council.
Chair Apperson said he is very appreciative that the public joined for the Zoom meeting.
They have accomplished what they wanted to tonight. They have some recommendations,
they want to receive more, and then once there is a comprehensive list, the Commission
would vote on it.
Ms. Meade said that action needs to be taken now. Chair Apperson confirmed they want to
wait for a complete list. Ms. Meade reaffirmed that action needs to be made tonight. Chair
Apperson said he sincerely appreciates that; we are going to consider all recommendations.
He reaffirmed that they would wait for the rest of the community for recommendations to
make a final recommendation.
Chair Apperson said we need to be inclusive going forward with all the recommendations.
He thanked everyone for participating, and we will have recommendations soon.
F. NEW BUSINESS
None.
G. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:59 p.m. Motion by Mr. Gilbert, seconded by Mr. Barrow. Motion
approved by a unanimous voice vote.
*PLEASE NOTE* That in addition to these minutes are all public comments that were
submitted to the HRC for public comment. This includes the chat feature of the Zoom
meeting, as well the link to the video of the HRC meeting at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K572sFy5hxM&t=1s.
_____________________________________________
Jason Blumenthal, Management Analyst
Minutes approved by the Human Relations Commission on:
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HRC Categorization of DeKalb Community Input on
Improving Police and Community Relationships
This document compiled by the Human Relations Committee (HRC) lists: 1.
All the recommendations stated at the DeKalb County Community Forums on
June 4 and June 25, 2020; HRC Special Meeting on June 16, 2020; Black
Lives Matter Town hall Meeting on June 18, 2020; the June 22, 2020 City of
DeKalb Committee of the Whole Meeting; and the Black Lives Matter Lists of
Demands reported in the June 25, 2020 Daily Chronicle and 2. All those
recommendations that were received in a written format.
The HRC Recommendations to the City of DeKalb are attached to this listing
of community recommendations.
Note: The HRC categories were selected by first grouping similar themed
recommendations together and then selecting a title that encompassed all the similarly
grouped recommendations. Category titles also tried to incorporate some words from
nationally reported categories. This was done to allow for anyone to search the main title
words and locate more information on the category title topic.
Note: The HRC regrets any errors in accurately reflecting the verbal recommendations as
they were turned into written ones.
Mental Health Personnel to Respond to Non-violent Calls
1. Have Social Workers go to non-violent calls.
2. Decriminalization of mental illnesses.(taking those with mental illness,
charging and jailing vs mental health treatment & care.)
3. Armed officers should be partnered with an unarmed individual
(community professional) when respond to a call where there is a
danger of violence.
4. Replace officers with social workers as first responders for non-violent
mental health, drug, and domestic cases. Police response should only be
considered as a last resort.
5. The City and Police Dept. review how to add mental health and social
workers as on-call professionals to assist police in responding to
2
domestic disputes and those with mental or emotional disabilities. It is
recommended that the DeKalb County Mental Health and other local
mental health agencies be consulted.
Transfer of Dollars to Increase Support of Social Services
1. More social services
2. Increased social services.
3. Find ways to divest from policing and instead make meaningful
investments into health care, education and counseling services.
4. The system should be rebuild from the ground up by dismantling the
municipal police and start over (3 similar)
5. Cut the police department’s budget by 50% and put it into community
services.
6. Re-allocating funds to more social services specialized in areas of abuse,
rape, drug abuse, and adolescence, etc. will relieve some of the burden
on police as the catch all responders.
7. Defund does not mean unfund, but allocate to services to help police
and citizens.
8. Cut the Police Department’s Patrol Division’s Budget by 50% and divert
those funds to hiring social workers, providing de-escalation training
for officers and social workers, investing in the DeKalb County
Community Mental Health Board, and the Annie Glidden North
Revitalization Project.
9. Do not gut the programs from the police department that contribute to
the quality of life in the community.
10.Support initiatives that are in partnership with other community
institutions.
Limit Use of Force/De-militarization of Police/Increase
Community Policing
Limit Use of Force
1. Ban use of excessive force
2. Prohibit police maneuvers that restrict the flow of blood or oxygen to
the brain, and treat the use of excessive force as a federal civil rights
violation.
3
3. Adopt the rules for police that are a part of the Justice in Policing Act of
2020 (choke hold use, dashboard & body camera use, national registry
that tracks officers with records of misconduct, end the use of no-knock
warrants in drug cases, ban racial profiling, require training, make
lynching a federal hate crime, end qualified immunity for officers
personally liable for constitutional violations such as excessive force and
require state and local law enforcement agencies to report use of force
data by race, sex, disability status, religion and age).(2)
4. An increased amount of transparency of the police force.
5. Continue the review of the Police Department Policies and Procedures
with a diverse citizen’s committee to identify those that may allow or
result in discriminatory actions or excessive use of force.
6. Mandatory, public reports for any time an officer unholsters a
weapon, lethal or less lethal, as well as any use of force, which includes
justification for the action.
7. There must be no tolerance of excessive force; to this end, Jeffery Weese
should be immediately terminated. (1) Press charges against and fire
Sgt. Jeffery Weese for the use of an illegal chokehold without severance
pay.(1)
8. Look into hiring police with non-traditional police backgrounds.
9. Possibly licensing police officers.
10.Implement mandatory dash-cam and body cameras for officers.
11.All officers in DeKalb must have full body camera coverage (on) any
and every time they interact with citizens, and must immediately be
indicted and terminated in the event they tamper with, disable, or
obstruct the camera (view).
12.Police need to be mandated to report any police use of force and be
required to intervene if a fellow officer is applying excessive force.
4
13. Mandatory, public reports for any case that requires or received
medical treatment as a result of an arrest, unless the arrested
individual requests that information remains private.
14. Require police, or any other party aiding in de-escalation, to exhaust all
other alternatives of de-escalation, starting from least to most invasive,
before firing any weapon.
15. Any officer who uses, or has a past history of using excessive force needs
to be indicted and fired without severance pay.
16.Retroactive firing of police officers with records.
17. Any officer who uses, or has a past history of using a chokehold needs to
be indicted and fired without severance pay.
18. Any officer who does not intervene and de-escalate police use of
excessive force must be indicted and fired without severance pay.
19. Require police to present a clear and understood warning before
firing any weapon.
20. Ban the City of DeKalb (or its police) from working, or
collaborating in any way, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE).
Demilitarization
1. Change the police culture from one of the “Warrior Mindset” to that
of a “Guardian Mindset”
2. Prohibit the use of no-knock warrants
3. Withdraw from any federal programs that provide military equipment
to law enforcement.(2)
4. Make police less paramilitary.
5
5. The police should divest themselves of all military type weapons.
6. Police should carry less ammunition.
7. Issuing 6-shot, .38 caliber revolvers to police, banning reloads and
back-up guns would both lessen the officers’ natural tendency to regard
the available massive firepower as a main component of their
occupation and would present a far less hostile and threatening image
to the public ….
8. No additional points for hiring in regard to military experience.
9. Resource officers removed from schools.
10.Police need to be banned from any school that serves children under
18 years of age.
11.The City enact prohibitions against police use of military grade
equipment in response to peaceful demonstrations/protests. This
prohibition to include use of grenade launchers, bayonets, tear gas,
pepper spray, rubber bullets, skip fire rounds, and concussion sound
devices.
12.Police should wear police uniforms, not military-style BDUs.
13.Body armor (protective vests) should be warn under the uniform to
avoid the appearance of hostility or aggression.
14.Changing the name of the Police Headquarters to something not as
intimidating.
Move to a more community-based policing strategy
1. Move to Fuller Use of Community Policing (Guardian culture, etc.)
2. Require police officers to live in the community they serve.
3. Police should be out walking a beat more often with less use of the
police vehicle.(2)
4. More officers participating in events in non-uniform.
6
Independent Investigations & Prosecutions
1. Hold police accountable for their actions by ending the qualified
immunity doctrine that prevents law enforcement officers from being
held accountable when they violate the law.
2. Hold police accountable for what they do and treat them the same as
civilians. No slap on the wrists.
3. Support the National Justice in Policing Act 2020. (re: Indp. Invest.)
4. Prosecute officers privately, under a state’s attorney subcontract, to
prevent people who work with the police from prosecuting the police.
(likely means use of non-DeKalb County State’s Attorney office)
Training
1. Continue Cultural competency training for City Staff and Police/Fire
Personnel.
2. Education and training on implicit bias.(3)
3. The city to require de-escalation training (2).
4. Continue training of officers in philosophy and techniques of anti-
racism, human rights and respect.
5. A review of the State of Illinois Police Training Academy that details
each training component including the diversity and de-escalation
training. Lobby appropriate state authorities to make changes, if
necessary.
6. Current and future officers must complete crisis intervention training
and de-escalation training.
7
Community Oversight & Representation
1. A standing citizen advisory board on citizen and police interaction and
relations.
2. Public input into the hiring of the new police chief and quickly.
3. Database of photographs and a system of all police officers so the
community can identify them.
4. Not allow the Mayor to pick people for committees.
5. Continue local practice of independent investigation and review of
policing discipline matters and keep the Fire and Police Commission as
a local appeal board for such matters.
6. More diversity reflected in the decision-making room.
7. Have equal opportunities for minorities to become officers.
8. Rebuild community trust with police.
9. Look into hiring (for police force, those) with non-traditional police
backgrounds.
10.Possibly licensing police officers.
11.Publish all complaints filed against officers.(2)
End of Police Involvement in Creating Revenue or Costing
Cities for their Violations of Constitutional Rights.
1. End For-Profit Policing (refer to Campaign Zero for further info.)
2. End the Cash Bail System. (at County Jail and locally)
3. Settlements of use of force should come from police pensions as
opposed to through taxpayer’s (funds).
8
4. Requiring officers to have their own liability insurance.
5. Take fines from the police department and put it in the community.
6. Revisit the NIU/DeKalb Co-policing agreement. Work on specificity of
liability claims that leave the city open for liability. (payments)
Investment in Social Services, Recreational, Housing-
leases, Economic Improvement for Those in Poverty
Conditions, Jobs, Education, etc.
1. Reallocation of funds to root problems of poverty, education, and topics
that solve the problems of crime.
2. Spending more money on preventative measures to minimize the police
force.
3. Restructure the allocation of the money throughout the city and
reimagine how a different set up could serve the community.
4. Community members are losing possible hires due to DeKalb having a
stigma that it is a racist community.
5. The poverty level is how we should allocate resources.
6. Implement a common lease.
7. The City of DeKalb will partner with the DeKalb Tenant Association to
establish and enforce a common lease.
8. Demo 912 Edgebrook Housing
9. Demo Campus Cinema and turn it into a community center (1) or food
center (1).
10.More parks in the AGN area.
11.Rent Control
12.Build more affordable housing
9
Police Contract Changes
1. Extensive vetting of officer and not allowing (hiring individuals with)
any excessive force background.
2. Get rid of any clause for the deletion of records after three years in the
collective bargaining agreement.
3. Consequences for actions individuals (police) take.
4. Mayor will re-open police contract regarding firing officers.
5. Monthly psych exams for officers.
6. Recruits should have a psych and trauma evaluation. Then have a
support system in place for police during their tenure.
7. More vigorous temperament screening.
8. The law MUST apply police too, there MUST be appropriate justice for
their victims.
10.Hold police accountable for their actions by ending the “qualified
immunity” doctrine that prevents law enforcement officers from
being held accountable when they violate the law.
11.Review the Police/City Union Contract to determine if there are
sections that shield abusive officers from public accountability. If such
clauses are identified, to work in negotiations to eliminate these
clauses.
10
Statements of Concern & Others
The following statements either stated a general concern without indicating a
specific recommendation or were unclear in the wording/intent and/or could
be a part of every recommendation.
Consequently, these statements were not able to be placed under one of the
above categories. However, several state important issues that are worthy of
addressing as a community.
1. Distrust of police by the black community.
(Yes, a fact that could apply to the entire category recommendations.
If most of recs. under all categories implemented, then the distrust
likely be reduced.)
2. We need to not have a quick solution. We need a permanent solution.
(Amen!)
3. Needs to be taken more seriously.
(Unfortunately, not specific to an action, but all recommendations
need to be taken very seriously!)
4. Address the white supremacy groups in the area.
(Yes, an issue. Benefit from knowing how this individual believes this
issue could be addressed.)
5. Sentencing is whole another issue. (Unequal sentencing of POC.)