Body camera video and police reports obtained from the Urbana Police Department (UPD) show what appear to be highly questionable uses of force on a fleeing subject.
On April 13th, 2019 Urbana Police officers responded to a call about five individuals allegedly engaged in a dispute in an apartment complex parking lot. The caller told METCAD-911 that one of the individuals had his hands in his pockets, speculating that he may have been in possession of a firearm.
Urbana Police responded and did not locate anyone in the parking lot, but Officer Elizabeth Henry spoke with the reporting person (RP) and wrote in her police report:
“Nobody actually saw a gun, and stated that it just looked like a weapon could have been in one of the male’s pants by the way he was standing.”
About an hour later, officers were called back to the same area in response to a similar complaint. Henry reaffirmed in her report, “[The reporting person] again confirmed that she did not see a weapon, nor did anybody say anything about a weapon.”
Shortly after Henry spoke to the RP, officers Colby Wright, Matthew McKinney, and James Cory Koker followed a man into a nearby apartment building and began giving him orders to come down the stairs. Though the RP indicated that the individual who suspiciously had his hands in his pockets was wearing jeans and a black shirt, this individual was wearing a blue hoodie and sweatpants.
The man, later identified as Adriene Dillon, said he’d just arrived at the apartment and he hadn’t done anything wrong. Dillon asked the officers what he had done, but they did not respond. When the officers continued to shout orders at him he fled out the back of the building. Video of the encounter can be viewed here:
Officer Wright pulled his TASER and fired squarely into Mr. Dillon’s back as he tried to leave the building. Wright’s TASER failed, and he continued to chase Dillon through a parking lot and past several bystanders, including two residents pushing a baby in a stroller.
Mid-pursuit, Wright pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Dillon’s back with his finger on the trigger, and yelled “Show me your hands! Show me your hands!” At this point, Wright was wielding his TASER in one hand and his pistol in the other.
About 20 seconds later, Mr. Dillon was captured bare-handed by Officer Henry. Henry did not appear to see Dillion as a significant threat and she did not appear to think that he possessed a weapon.
Colby Wright explained in his police report:
“I shot Adriene in the back with my TASER…I was afraid Adriene may be reaching for a weapon and would possibly turn around to shoot me . I drew my sidearm from its holster and pointed it in the direction of Adriene while giving him numerous verbal commands to show me his hands.”
Sergeant Brian Wilfong, who was also on scene that day, filled out an “Urbana Police Department TASER® Usage Form” for the incident. On the form, Wilfong indicated a “Violent Suspect”, an “Armed subject”, and “Fighting suspect w/gun”. Wilfong indicated that the subject was not injured, even though he complained of back pain from being tackled.
This TASER incident was reviewed by the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) on April 28th, 2021 – more than two years after the incident occurred. Deputy Chief Richard Surles (soon to be Interim Chief) presented his opinion that all uses of force were justified.
Surles admitted that Mr. Dillon was not involved in any of the alleged or speculated activities and that he did not possess any weapons. Mr. Dillon had been misidentified by the officers. However, Surles argued that the mere notion of a handgun constituted a “violent felony”, and therefore fully justified shooting Mr. Dillon in the back.
Some of the CPRB members took issue with the identification of the subject, and the use of the TASER. Surles became defensive and said that debate over the subject’s description was focusing on “minutiae”. Surles tried to justify the officer’s actions, but at the same time, said that the police reports were thirty pages in length and he was not very familiar with the incident.
The entire CPRB TASER review can be seen below. The video is set to start playing where the Board members begin questioning Surles.
Founding CPRB member Scott Dossett said confidently that the TASER discharge did not violate any policies: “the use of the device was proper, if a difficult shot to make.”
CPRB member and licensed attorney Tony Allegretti argued that the UPD policy only allows for TASER usage if the situation involves violence. He said “I think this is more of a pure flight scenario. Whether this person was a suspect, based on the information they had, I would tend to disagree”.
Allegretti further argued that even if a subject does possess a handgun, simple possession does not constitute a “violent felony”.
“Is possession of a handgun a violent felony? I think there may be a large contingency of this country that would say ‘no’. Having a handgun is a constitutional right, and if you’re going to treat me as a violent person just because I have a firearm…”
“I read the statutes, not just the ordinances, but I don’t think the Illinois Compiled Statutes would classify mere handgun possession as a violent felony.”
CPRB Chair, Ricardo Diaz, appeared uninterested in the TASER use policy, agreeing with Surles that the mere suggestion of a firearm permits officers to resort to extraordinary measures.
Following a one hour review and discussion, the CPRB members voted that the TASER usage was improper. Members Tony Allegretti, Anthony Rice, and Katrina Kindle voted improper usage, whereas Scott Dossett and Ricaro Diaz voted the usage was proper.
The April 28th, 2021 TASER review marks the first time that the CPRB has ever determined improper usage. Immediately after that meeting, City Administrator Carol Mitten told the Board that they were no longer allowed to discuss improper TASER usage. City Attorney David Wesner attended a subsequent CPRB meeting to issue a similar warning.
A FOIA request sent to the City of Urbana yielded police reports from five officers, but only 96 seconds of body camera video was provided. The reports indicate that at least three officers recorded body camera video for this incident.
Check CU also notes that the City of Urbana blurred the faces of the police officers involved, and even blurred the name badge of Officer Henry (though it is still visible in some frames). Urbana also bleeped a short section of audio during the attempt to handcuff Mr. Dillon. There do not exist any FOIA exemptions which would allow the City to deny the bulk of the video or to obfuscate the identities of police officers while engaged in law enforcement activities.
The thirty pages of police reports provided by the City of Urbana in regards to the April 13th, 2021 TASER incident and arrest, labeled Case # UU1901716, can be viewed by clicking on the image below.
So much harder for good cops when they don’t treat the situation correctly