A citizens’ board with some oversight of the Bloomington Police Department is struggling to perform its primary function, leading board members and others to question their role.
Constituents have 30 days to appeal the resolution of police complaints with the City of Bloomington’s Public Safety and Community Relations Board [PSCRB]—a resource available to those dissatisfied with the results of police's internal review of complaints.
A Bloomington man who met that deadline has since waited months for a resolution. At October’s PSCRB meeting, Percy Buckley of Bloomington said he's anxious to have his complaint reviewed regarding an alleged battery earlier this year.
“I’m not saying anything’s your fault,” Buckley said during public comment. “But I was here the last two meetings, and nothing got accomplished.”
Police declined to pursue charges against a man who allegedly grabbed Buckley’s daughter's neck. According to Buckley’s complaint, officers ignored video evidence.
Buckley's is the first complaint before the PSCRB in 2 years. It was first presented to the board in August, but an administrative nuance forced the board to postpone addressing it: The complaint itself was an agenda item; discussion was not.
September's meeting was canceled due to lack of a quorum. And there's little clarity as to when or how the board discusses complaints and brings them to a conclusion.
“I know we talked to the police department last time about the complaint; we asked questions,” said PSCRB member William Bennett. “I don’t remember after that having a committee conversation. When would that conversation take place?”
It could possibly be next month, but board chair Rachel McFarland is seeking to reschedule the November and December meetings, since they fall the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas.
That means Percy Buckley will have to keep waiting.
“I see a terrible mishap here, and I’m a little peeved about it,” he said. “So, I don’t know where else to go but here.”
Buckley said he had video to support his complaint, but PSCRB is unlikely to watch it. McFarland opened the meeting by reiterating that the board's purview is limited in scope.
“We do not reinvestigate the actions surrounding the complaints themselves,” she said. “We’re not going to review evidence. We’re not going to look at testimony. We’re going to look at the complaint as it relates to the police procedures and policies that they have in place.”
Care for Victims recommendations
The Bloomington-based victims’ rights group Care For Victims wants to see changes in both the structure and function of the PSCRB. In a presentation to the board, co-organizer Amy Endicott advocated for giving the PSCRB more "teeth.”
“When we asked people if they had ever heard of or knew what the Public Safety and Community Relations Board or the PSCRB was, no one had heard of it," she said. "No one knew what it was. No one knew what it did."
Endicott suggested calling the group a Police Review Board, giving them investigatory power and authority to enact disciplinary action for officer misconduct.
“Community members have basically told us they don’t want to waste their time,” Endicott said. “It is a hurdle to submit complaints to begin with. There’s already a huge lack of trust that you’re having to submit a complaint against police officers, to police officers. Then you’re told you can appeal it, but [the PSCRB will] only look at policy and procedure.”
Endicott recommended further changes aimed at easing the burden on victims of crimes. A 60-day deadline, for example, to appeal to the PSCRB gives more time for complainants to gather additional documents through public records requests.
Whether or not such changes are possible is another matter.
“There may be some things on here that are pretty quick hitters,” McFarland said of a list of recommendations Care For Victims provided to the board. Similar reports were provided to Bloomington and Normal’s city managers, councils and police departments.
Updating a website, for example, with more detail on the complaint process can be done through coordination with city staff.
More substantive changes to the PSCRB’s structure and function would require action from Bloomington City Council. Police review boards as Endicott defines it are rare. And such changes potentially require a budget and negotiation with the police union.
Board member Art Taylor invited Endicott to stay engaged with them, acknowledging change may be needed.
“You’re correct when you say we began in one entirely different place,” he said. “Where we are right now is far from where that began.”
Taylor is an original member of the PSCRB, which held its first meeting in 2018. He urged Endicott to connect with other stakeholders who were key to the board's formation, such as the League of Women Voters and YWCA McLean County.
“I understand that it’s a hurdle,” he said. “The reason why I ask the questions I do is because I know how difficult it was to even get the PSCRB on the books.”
Town of Normal officials considered forming a similar police advisory board, but have yet to do so. Both municipalities proposed the idea in the wake of several high-profile officer-involved shootings across the country.
PSCRB chair Rachel McFarland said Wednesday they saw the highest engagement during a special meeting in August. They invited community dialog with Bloomington, Normal and McLean County law enforcement in the aftermath of Sonya Massey’s death in Springfield. Former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson is currently standing trial for murder in connection with Massey’s killing.
