Community members asked for more community involvement in the Champaign Police Department’s complaint process at the city’s regular study session on Tuesday at the city building.

Community members asked for more community involvement in the Champaign Police Department’s complaint process at the city’s regular study session on Tuesday at the city building.

A report was presented to the council that proposed changes to the police complaint process, which was done in an effort to mend the relationship between Champaign residents and the police department after the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Kiwane Carrington in Champaign last year. The council accepted the proposals.

Many citizens said the changes would not be enough, and the changes should be embedded throughout the entire process.

“I think if you just accept this, in terms of the human relations commission, you’re not advancing very far,” said Belden Fields, professor emeritus in Political Science.

While the report proposes more public education about the complaint process, such as how to file a complaint and increasing the amount of location complaint packets are available, community members felt citizens did not have a big enough part in the process.

“Simply increasing the education of the citizenry is not going to help solve this problem,” said Nathaniel Moore, graduate student and resident of Champaign. “It’s also important that the police department increases their own education on how to politely and properly file a report.”

Some of the complaints about the report brought up on Tuesday night included the absence of an independent voice on the complaint process that would represent the citizens of Champaign.

Urbana resident Durl Kruse asked the council to send the working committee who created the report back, so it can embed “a citizen’s perspective and involvement in the process.”

Council member Thomas Bruno said if such a citizen review board were created, it may just become a part of the system and would no longer be an outside voice.

“As you come with these renewed requests that we examine the concept of a citizen review board, the tough questions would be: who puts the people on that board, and how long would they stay and what powers do they have that we as the city council don’t have?” Bruno said.

Council member Will Kyles stood behind the creation of an independent entity that would be involved in the complaint process.