After a failed attempt by Police Chief Bryant Seraphin to get Council approval for a new Police Use of Force Policy, the Champaign County ACLU and NAACP are taking a more hands-on approach.
On January 11th, Seraphin presented an updated version of the Urbana Police Department Use of Force Policy, but the Council conversation went in the direction of disapproval. This was rather notable for a Council that traditionally just goes with the flow of City administration.
The January 11th Urbana City Council Use of Force discussion can be viewed here:
The presented policy was unquestionably meant to be a final version for rubber-stamping by the Council. However, Mayor Marlin became visibly anxious as the Council members expressed growing concern that the policy was lacking the requests made by the community. Marlin then started referring to the document as a “work in progress” and quickly wrapped up the discussion indicating that they would engage with “stakeholders” and bring back a new version.
More than two weeks later, nothing new has been presented to the City Council. The Champaign County ACLU and NAACP, however, took matters into their own hands. On January 28th, representatives from the Champaign County ACLU and NAACP sent an letter to City leaders which included a thirteen page version of their proposed Use of Force Policy.
The ACLU/NAACP letter:
“Dear Mayor Marlin, City Council Members, and Members of the Civilian Police Review Board and Human Relations Commission,
Attached is a Draft Document for a Proposed Urbana Police Department Use of Force Policy created by the NAACP-Champaign County Branch and the Champaign County ACLU. Attached you will also find a list of some of the resources we drew on to draft this policy.
We know the people of Urbana want a model and professional Police Department that practices community-centered public safety carried out with the utmost regard for racial equity and the value of every human life. Chief Seraphin and his department have committed to the Ten Shared Principles. It’s time to make principles into policy.
We appreciate your leadership and we look forward to discussing this policy with you and with the people of Urbana.
Best Regards,
Minnie Pearson, President, NAACP Champaign County Branch
Carol Leff, President, Champaign County ACLU
Carol Spindel, Director of Communications, Champaign County ACLU”
The drafted policy begins with the “Value of Human Life”, and goes on to include items such as “De-escalation as Mandatory Response” and “Officers’ Duty to Warn Before Using Force”. Though the document does have a section on accountability, it does not give any specifics about how accountability measures will actually function. Any observation of the history of policing demonstrates that law enforcement officers seem to be almost entirely incapable of holding themselves accountable.
The entire ACLU/NAACP proposed policy, can be viewed here (click for full 16-page PDF):
