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Police chief addresses citizen complaint

Commercial-News - 1/26/2023

Jan. 26—DANVILLE — A week after the Danville City Council was addressed by a concerned resident over multiple traffic stops, Danville Police Chief Chris Yates at Tuesday night's Public Services Committee meeting addressed what had been found out.

Resident Derek Cooper, 59, a Black veteran suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, asked city officials for answers after having been stopped by the Danville Police Department nine times since 2018.

Yates said he ordered an informal inquiry the morning after the complaint at the meeting last week. He said they determined, over the course of about 40 to 50 hours of gathering information by the police department, information technology, 911 and other divisions, that an internal affairs investigation wasn't needed.

Yates said there were three additional traffic stops not presented to the council involving the complainant, including a traffic crash that wasn't his fault and he wasn't cited for and a latest stop on Sept. 21, 2022. There is body worn camera video that Yates said he can share with aldermen that doesn't show police officers coming at the complainant hard and aggressive. He said one incident showed the complainant and officers shaking hands.

Yates also said the complainant had a revoked driver's license with driving limitations to go to work and the VA.

Ward 4 Alderwoman Tricia Teague said she believes the complainant was more concerned with the number of stops than how he was treated by police officers.

She said she can feel the same way as an African-American woman. She can feel nervous anytime she gets stopped by police because she's been profiled elsewhere, not in Danville. When someone has been stopped for no reason, it sticks with you, Teague said.

So, she said she can understand that even if he doesn't appear visually shaken, he could still get scared.

"I think that that comes into play for him," she said, about not knowing the officers and being stopped so often. "I can see why he was rattled even though I understand that you have all done your due diligence and have found no ill procedures... and I am happy for that."

Yates said he understands, regardless of race, that he may never comprehend fears and anxiety someone may have, and he respects that.

Teague said she's been informed of Black, male family members being profiled and stopped multiple times, but it isn't as prevalent here.

Yates said he can't speak for other cases, but there is a system in place to investigate complaints.

Also Tuesday, the committee reviewed 2022 crime totals. There were seven homicides, down from nine in 2021; and almost every category including theft, criminal damage, domestic battery and residential burglaries also were decreased. Domestic batteries totaled 670 in 2022 and 738 in 2021. Criminal damage reports were 658 in 2022 compared to 796 in 2021. Armed robberies were up with 18 in 2022 from 11 in 2021, and robberies totaled 38 in 2022 from 30 in 2021.

"We're doing what we can," Yates said. The police department has been working on a string of storage facility burglaries.

The committee also reviewed a 2022 municipal court report on 1,994 total filed violations and about 2,900 cases completed.

In other business, the committee recommended approving:

* A memorandum of understanding and intergovernmental agreement with the Vermilion County Metropolitan Enforcement Group.

* A budget amendment in public affairs due to increased costs and revenues equaling out by an additional $25,000 for First Fridays.

* A budget amendment in finance for found hotel/motel revenues.

* Setting the effective date of the new city of Danville ward boundary changes for April 5, 2023.

* Amending city code regarding the freedom of information act officer and requests.

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