Peoria Standard

City of Peoria Advisory Committee on Police-Community Relations met July 15.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

The Advisory Committee on Police Community Relations met at Twin Towers Building, Room 420 on Monday, July 15, 2024, with proper notice posted. Chair Burch called the meeting to order at 6:05 P.M.

ROLL CALL

Present: Allen, Amick, Bragg, Echevarria, Darrell Jackson, Malcolm, Richardson, Sommerville, and Wilson.

Excused: Cuizon and Lang.

Absent: Boone, Donald Jackson, Schaidle, and Smith.

City Staff Present: Deeb, Kirby, Walton, and D. White.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Councilman Allen motioned to approve the June 17, 2024, meeting minutes; seconded by Member Sommerville. Motion passed. Councilman Allen motioned to approve the June 21, 2024, meeting minutes; seconded by Member Wilson. Motion passed.

MEETING

Chair Burch introduce Max Walton, City of Peoria attorney. He discussed remote attendance for Advisory Committee members as it relates to the Open Meetings Act. He briefly discussed the reasons that apply and how members need to reach out to the staff liaison (Christina Kirby) as soon as possible. He also clarified that there isn’t a set number of times that this can apply. Asst. City Manager asked about if members could do a blanket vote to allow a member to attend remotely for a time period; Max said that he would clarify.

Chair Burch provided a brief overview of the June 21, 2024, special meeting. She discussed how members went over a couple complaint examples and then process that they went through. She also discussed creating a subcommittee of 3 members to review any complaints that were given to the committee by citizens. She also mentioned that members discussed attending six community events to further advertise the committee. Lt. Deeb briefly went over the complaint process for the three new members. Lt. Deeb discussed how after the complaint process is completed, he sends a letter to the citizen that includes the findings and how to contact the committee if they would like to. Asst. City Manager Richardson pointed out that there is a lot of training that goes into employees handling these issues. She mentioned how members may want to focus on the thoroughness of the investigation rather than the outcome. Member Malcom asked about public record regarding complaint recommendations by the committee. ACM Richardson mentioned that these complaint reviews would need to be discussed in an executive session and that minutes would need to be taken in order to abide by the Open Meetings Act. Chief Echevarria invited members to tour the station to become familiar with police equipment such as body cameras and in-car cameras and how they operate. He discussed how this type of equipment helps protect both the public and officers. ACM Richardson, Councilman Allen, and Chief Echevarria mentioned several upcoming community events that members could be a part of – Great Neighbor Appreciation Week, Night Out Against Crime, and the Peoria Police Department’s Walk and Talks. Councilman Allen volunteered to create a sign up for the remaining Walk and Talks.

GENERAL POLICE UPDATES

Chief Echevarria asked new members to think about what type of updates they would like to hear about. Member Amick asked about police training and the Co-Response Unit. Lt. Deeb discussed the 40-hour yearly CORE training. Chief Echevarria discussed the Co-Response unit’s employees that have been hired and those that are in process of being hired. Chief also briefly discussed how it could be useful for the committee to get an overview of the training unit and what types of training officers receive.

Lt. Deeb provided a brief overview of internal investigation statistics. He reminded members that again Professional Standards investigations are the department policing themselves and that the written complaints include such neighborhood issues as dogs barking, etc.

Councilman Allen reminded members that the Chair/Vice-Chair elections are coming up and asked members to think about if that would be something they would be interested in.

CITIZEN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE – none

ADJOURNMENT – Meeting adjourned at 7:08 P.M.

https://il-peoria.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07152024-679