You have to wonder how someone can be charged with resisting something that would not or should not have happened to begin with. I believe that it was established early on that these boys were not breaking any laws by trying to access this home.It seems to me that the remaining boy has suffered enough with the loss of his friend and being detained for a few days in juvenile lockup. Imagine if you can how horrific it would be to witness your friend being shot and killed right before your eyes. Then being swept away to lockup. Personally, I would like to see him receive whatever kind of counseling it would take to be sure he isn’t scarred for life from this incident and to teach him the error in his actions that contributed to the outcome. I don’t think convicting him of a felony will accomplish anything. You don’t have to find guilt in the police to treat this boy with some compassion.I write this knowing full and well how the charges happened and how they are being justified. The question is,“are these charges in anyone’s best interest?“

I did “blast the Champaign police department” for their lack of openness and processing the new policy with the community - nor with the City Council, as it seems now. I also called for a Police-Civilian Review Board on behalf of the Quaker Meeting, and I cited the portion in the new policy that appears to give the police greater latitude to use deadly force in a resisting arrest situation. This has been challenged as having more added to it about apprehending people in the midst of a “forcible felony”  (a list of crimes which includes “residential burglary”) “which involves the infliction of great bodily harm.“ Since they were unarmed, that last qualifier seems unlikely,, but it goes on to say “OR Otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict great bodily harm unless arrested without delay.“ That brings us back to t he resisting arrest situation, which is a police judgement call. In my view, the additional language does not greatly dilute the dangers of kllling unarmed people for resisting arrest and being “within the law.“ There is one grave inaccuracy in your article: I  did not call for the dismissal of Chief Finney.  (See the videotape) Barbara Kessel
 
 

There is a Supreme Court ruling Tennessee v. Garner that prohibits the use of lethal force on a fleeing felon or unarmed suspect if the individual is not posing an immediate threat to the officer or others. Look it up and read it. And then read why this ruling was made because in a very similar case as in the Carrington case the youth attempted to run and was shot by police. Do you think unarmed people deserve to be killed when they pose no immediate threat to police? These shootings happens consistently to minority subjects. But the value of a black life in this country means nothing. That is why police very rarely get prosecuted for these acts.

But you care more about skin color. What the hell is “black community.“ MANY white people live in poverty, especially nowadays. Your “black community” is racist. Poor kid. I was crazy at 15 - coulda been me.

To Mr. Laughlin, 
Your very clean, logical essay would be “the end of the story”, if it were based on the truth that there was a burglary in progress, and the boys were disobedient and charged police. “Based on what you read and heard” as you keep repeating is a testament to how well the police have manipulated the News-Gazette, the television stations and WDWS to manage your perceptions. The police departments have done 2 things over the years: 1) cultivate a close relationship with the media 2) behave in front of the white homeowners. 
Out of this tragedy, the white middle class community has begun to hear the stories of police misconduct and corruption that folks in the black and low-income neighborhoods know too well. It may seem unimaginable to you that police would falsify a report, go to court and lie on the stand, steal money from the pockets of pedestrians, body slam someone against the hood of a car, tase someone for questioning the officer’s actions, but for folks in the hood, it happens. It really happens.
Equally frustrating is the failure of the good officers on the force to stand up to their co-employees and turn ‘em in. Only once, in the Sgt. Myers Torture Case at the county jail, have I seen other officers stand up and stop an officer from engaging in misconduct. Even then, the state’s attorney’s office tried to negotiate a plea to a misdemeanor for court supervision. 
In Champaign County there is very little oversight, very little accountability, and we do have rogue officers who are abusive and dangerous. Folks like you have been kept unawares to these facts. (And now….the rebuttal….“how do you know, you weren’t there either…...“)

Unfortunatley you have bought into Chynoweth’s either deliberate lie or deliberate distortion. The wording of the policy is the same as the wording for state law. Chynoweth took only a part of the policy and presented it as the whole policy, leaving out that deadly force can be used to defeat resistnace ONLY IF deadly force is part of the resistance.

Dave, that addition to the policy makes much more sense.  If Chynoweth did indeed deliberately leave out that part of the policy, I’m very disappointed because it weakens the case of the people who want answers and a dialogue with CPD.  It seems unnecessary on her part considering the boys were unarmed.

Per Dave’s comment #9 above, here’s the relevant section of the CPD’s Use of Force Policy & Procedure, Order 1.3, Effective Date 10/01/2009 (link is a PDF, emphasis mine below):

1. A peace officer is justified in using deadly force only when:
    a. He reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another: or.
    b. Such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape; and,
    c. The person to be arrested has committed or has attempted to commit a forcible felony which involves the infliction of great bodily harm, or,
    d. ls attempting to escape by use of a deadly weapon; or
    e. Otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict great bodily harm unless arrested without delay.

Let’s try to keep the focus on whether the officer’s actions were consistent with this policy, and not what Ms. Chynoweth did or didn’t say.

Thanks Joel.

The debate is a good and healthy one to have, and I am happy that sp.com is one forum in which people can discuss the issue.
 
Additionally, I know VERY few of the details of the case, and will withhold any judgements or thoughts till they are all collected.
 
One thing I wanted to say was how crazy it is to label this posted story as “news.“ This is an obviously slanted article meant to stir up emotions in favor of one side. This post belongs in an opinion section, or rename the section “news as we see it” (something more clever than that, naturally.
 
It’s interesting the story linked to the Five W’s of journalism practice, yet does not follow them throughout the piece.

Mr. Gillespie, 
You are assuming the use of force policy is what will be the determining factor to assess the officer’s actions that Oct. 9 day. I’m afraid the Use of Force policy has nothing much to do with this whole debate. While it was disturbing, to even some council members, that the policy was changed to include tasers without council knowledge; state law has always allowed for officers and you, the public, to blow anyone away you feel is about to cause you or someone near great bodily harm or goes into your home without notice or permission. While Ms. Chynoweth did enumerate circumstances that should not be answered with deadly force, you are right that her comments and the poorly worded policy has distracted us from the issues of the Kiwane Carrington Killing.
The story remains that the police had control for about 3 days after the shooting of all the evidence, the body, the press releases, and have changed their story several times, engaged in questionable practices, and all this is to be decided by an attorney who has already bought the story from Finney to charge the surviving youth, and lone civilian witness, with a juvenile felony.
We are about to be sold the two little kids rushed the officers and in either self defense or out of a grab for a gun, Kiwane killed himself by what he did, and perhaps by accident. Some of you will believe that. End of story. But for those of you who were at the vigil, the funeral, have participated in understanding it from the other side, you know, that much of the community has long tired of the falsified police reports, the inside buddy system of law enforcement, the favoritism of the State’s Attorney toward officers and negating civil lawsuits; and will never believe Kiwane and the surviving youth did what officers will be claiming. That’s a real problem for this community if hotheads do something rash in response.
As for the assertion that Caleb Curtiss thoroughly researched this article, well, perhaps Mr. Curtiss should try knocking on doors and talk to people, instead of just taking pictures of the doors.
We need an independent investigation into the police behavior the week of Oct. 9. That’s the only way this community can begin to heal, and to get some new leadership at the CPD.  

This is a clearly biased article, and does belong in the Opinion section of sp.
While I am terribly saddended that a young man is dead, I am also frustrated by the almost rabid assumption that the shooting was based on racism.  Right and wrong should have nothing to do with the shade of one’s skin, whether of the perpetrator or victim.  Things have become so tense and “politically correct” in this town that it is almost impossible to criticize the behavior of a person of color for anything. In the public schools, I have had personal experience where unacceptable behavior was condoned because of “cultural” differences between my child and another (my child is white, and the other child is black - however both children have been raised in the same town, by parents who have been to the same schools).   The most heartbreaking thing is that, by not holding everyone to the same standards, we are setting more kids up to be shot.   As adults, we reduce the level of authority the police (and other people in command) when we are so vitriolic and (perhaps) assign prejudices and behaviors that may not exist.  What does the community’s reaction to this  incident say to a young black child?  It does not say, as another poster stated, respect the police and do what you’re told.  It says, police are racist thugs who are out to get you, simply because you happen to have a higher concentration of melatonin than they do.     
It’s just sad, any way you look at it.

I’ve lived in at least a half dozen other towns in IL. While this whole ordeal is very sad, NONE of them would have nearly as many people, from as many different perspectives, with as many different motives, care about this case as this town(s) has. This is amazing. Let’s evolve though. Let’s look at facts. Its a fact this is ONE community, and this boy got shot by our cops here. This IS the ideology. Calling for the chiefs head, our yelling racist, or demanding certain organizations cease existing gets us nowhere. Justice needs to be served in this case with clear heads and focused attention.

To JP,
You say, “Things have become so tense and “politically correct” in this town that it is almost impossible to criticize the behavior of a person of color for anything.“
Had you gone to the vigil, attended the funeral and have been listening to some of the black pastors, and black radio shows, the one most prominent message being hammered at black youth right now, is straighten up and fly right. You couldn’t be more incorrect about there being no criticism of people of color. It’s constant and almost unfair how the blame for this tragedy is assumed to be squarely on the kids. I suspect that much of this type of talk is rooted in sound principle of respecting all authority, but also out of concern for the future safety of the youth. Sen. Meeks at the vigil, reminded the packed house, “These guys have got guns, and they are edgy…“
So many of us keep buying into the mantra: “Had they done what they were told…“ which assumes that is what happened the day of Oct. 9. That idea comes straight from a police press release through the News-Gazette and everyone assumes (a prejudice in itself) that police are telling us the exact truth. As I said before, some of you just can’t imagine a falsified police report. I would suggest you look at the Ray Hsieh case from November 2005 and read the transcripts from the investigation. Very chilling how Sgt. Myers admitted to falsifying his report, and was coercing his co-workers to do the same. Having talked to so many defendants with near tears in their eyes, “that cop is lying” goes beyond the common assumption, “the guilty will tell you anything.“ My suggestion is you look at the Oct. 12 press conference and listen to the mother of the surviving youth. Is she lying?
A good counter would be, “What makes Local Yocal so sure it’s a falsified police report?“ I’m not. But the story has major holes and problems, and there is incredible incentive to lie. Also, Finney’s past record on many cases, like the Larry Martin case, or the Brian Chesley case, indicate Finney is more than willing to lie to the press. He’s even willing to lie to his own city council and sneak tasers in a use of force policy when tasers have been rejected by council. We need an outside independent investigation that does not have investigating officers who know Norbits and Finney, and a state’s attorney evaluating that investigation who does not already have their mind made up that the Chief is telling the truth (as evidenced by her charging the lone civilian witness on Oct. 13).
As for race being part of law enforcement practice, well, the numbers don’t lie, the stories that may rise out of the black community aren’t being faked, and as white folks we have to ask would this happen to us, and would we tolerate it? There are some officers on the CPD who do act out a racist grudge. Not all, some. I just don’t think we white people would allow for these few officers to be demanding I.D., our personal information being tracked in the A.R.M.S. data base, searches without consent or reason, cash money being confiscated without arrest, drug dogs being brought to the car during routine traffic stops, passengers being hauled out of cars and searched, our cars just being followed for no reason by police, tickets for jaywalking, loud noise, resisting arrest where there is no arrest- and then the extreme violence that comes when someone stands up for the constitutional rights. 
This happens, according to the black community. Will the white community believe it? When they say, “Enough is enough”, they are talking about behavior in progress. Perhaps a review of the 2004 documentary Citizens Watch, (which landed the videographers Class 2 felony eavesdropping charges) might be a good refresher course. What’s really been revealing these recent weeks are the predominant attitudes and assumptions about black youth, and about the police. The rogue officers can smile because their badge so outweighs the complaints to their criminal behavior. Please keep the word “some” in mind. I didn’t say all officers act this way. And that’s the challenge for the community: for the black community to finally stand up and report their experiences without fear of retaliation, and for the white community to listen and demand better from their police department. I fear once the report is in, the State’s Attorney says officers acted “appropriately”, you in the white community will say, “See? All is well.“ 
 

LY - I have no doubt that the things you state have happened, and there are bound to be bad apples any time you focus on a group of people.   I hope that cool, objective heads are able to arrive at a true conclusion to this investigation. 
I also believe that the division amongst our communities isn’t strictly about racism, but more about economics.  There’s a huge division between the haves and have-nots here, and it’s pretty clear that have-nots tend to commit more crimes than the haves, for many sociological reasons (other than white-collar crimes, of course).  In my neighborhood, for instance, the people who drive down our streets with salacious rap music blaring at full volume have many different shades of skin - their commonality is that they are not financially stable (superficially judging by their appearance and vehicle).   The kids in our neighborhood school who have been labeled as “troublemakers” also have several things in common (unemployed / underemployed parents, parents dealing with addictions, poverty, etc.), but skin tone is not one of them. 
Seth said that this would not happen in one of the more affluent neighborhoods of our town.  This is probably true, but not because the police would act differently, or because crime doesn’t happen in those neighborhoods (which are made up of more than white people, by the way).   The people in that neighborhood have learned to commit crimes that are not readily seen, and do not lend themselves to confrontations with armed police officers.   
I have no idea how I ended up on such a tangent!  This is such a complicated issue, with history and heartbreak on all sides. 
 
 

That has been a great question through the years, is it class or is it race that yields the crime stats and the demographics of who is in the county jail and who is “catching cases”? There is no doubt that low-income whites are equally vulnerable to the perceived police abuses or targeting. What seems to be the predominant pattern, however, is the voice of many black youth reporting problems with police behavior. The irony is that most calls for service are to the campus area, and crime on campus, usually alcohol-related, goes unpatrolled, or as you say “unseen”. It seems no matter how bad the behavior is, whether it’s a priest dealing cocaine out of the Rectory at Newman Hall, or “Operation Thunder Strike” where 21 U of I students were arrested in late April of this year for dealing drugs, or the rape epidemic that goes unabated on campus; Law Enforcement refuses to “ruin the future of young people for one little mistake”.  Meanwhile, the sentencing for crimes committed by people of color and low-income whites are usually much harsher. There has not been enough research to confirm this. That is why the ancedotal stories, the perceived attitudes among police officers, and the common understanding that there is a bias in law enforcement, and this bias falls along a racial pattern, makes the objective discovery of what the heck happened Oct. 9 a racially charged subject. What the black community is trying to say, I think, is police react differently when “confronting” black poeple. For most whites, police don’t “confront” them.

it wouldn’t have happened in a more affluent neighborhood because the police have a different mission.  They’re protecting the value of the neighborhood, not policing the people who live there. 
and as far as I’m concerned, cops lie when it’s needed.
as for sociological reasons, we never seem to see the idea that economic, white collar crime is far more damaging than crimes that are symptomatic of poor economic conditions.
the cops should be shooting Ameren IP big shots who refuse to deal with their waste, insurance company profiteers instead of kids. 
 

Hey Sethfein-

The same thing happened in Turnberry, where the guy got a 223 round in the leg. White Male 60’s on his own property.  Seems that he pointed the bb gun at the cops and they fired back.  So where was the hue and cry over that?  Was that too based on race or age bias?

“ That’s just what I’m guessing from what I’ve read in the Gazette and heard on 97.5.“
At least your honest where you get your ideas, Mark. That you defend the police based on the press releases of the police could be as dangerous as Germans depending on official sources for what’s happening in Jewish ghettos- if the police are lying. I guess it depends on your belief of what the local police would and would not do. You can think the police are always straight up if that’s your experience. Understand, that’s not everyone’s experience with the CPD. You don’t see any incentive in the Kiwane situation for the police to avoid costing the city government a lot of money in civil court?

This whole concept is ridiculous though - you know where you can run stop signs right? What about the frat that got raided last year for Weed? Should cops start raiding Esquire for 19 year olds with fake ID’s and puke on their jeans? Of course cops have different protocol/attitudes for different areas. Its also based on experience and basic human judgement - however perfect or erred that may be. I’m not defending their actions, but this debate has takin a wrong turn.

Mark, you’re a difficult one to debate because you keep conceding points, like there’s an incentive to lie, police are not always straight up, police act differently in different neighborhoods, then you go back to spouting the party line that the cops just made a mistake- and you make those conclusions based on the police press releases. 
I do not assume the police officers are lying racists, unless we are talking specifically about Sgt. Griffets, Yonka, Deputy Chief Murphy, Medlyn, and others who have a proven track record of such behavior. I have seen upclose other cases that always makes me suspicious whenever I read a Champaign Police report. The reputation of the Champaign Police goes beyond my personal report, and you should go to the north neighborhoods and talk to some folks about their experiences with the CPD. You won’t recognize who they are talking about from your shelter days. That many people are lying, right? The movie Citizens Watch, had what? staged actors?
My opinion is that Kiwane’s death might have been an accident due to recklessness. And that’s the benefit of alot of doubt I am willing to give. However, you have to look at the whole weekend, Mark. You have to look at more than just what the police say. Police did not act like they made an innocent mistake. They’ve been acting like they need to cover up something. And the story they have finally arrived at doesn’t make sense.
I strongly urge you to go outside your normal sources and simply take a look at the press conference of Oct. 12, Realize as I’ve stated before, the investigation is going to come back as nothing wrong here. Shooting an unarmed 15 year old is okay and they’ll have their “officer safety” or bogus story of “rushing teenagers” to “justify” their actions. And I’m telling you, there are many in this community that are not going to buy that ever. You will have your “instincts” confirmed by the upcoming announcement. You will feel right about your commentary, your thoughts about the case. A better analogy to what we will be treated to is like the White House investigating the Monica Lewinsky issue. 
Just don’t be surprised by the reactions of the local youth in response. Champaign is about to re-enter one of the great civil rights struggles not seen since the 60’s. I just hope the serious analysis of police behavior doesn’t get tabled to address a “new” problem of a hothead doing something rash. The police shooting range has been using more automatic weapons lately and the cops are seriously gearing up for what they know will be outrage at the exoneration to come.
As for Caleb’s piece, it’s not bad, but other than his personal pursuit of the SRO numbers, the piece is very superficial investigative-wise, He was in a hurry, and relied on work that had already been done. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s mostly a summary, not a researched article of his own doing. It’s a big story and his pursuit of the SRO’s racial enforcement was an original contribution to what will be a story from many perspectives. I wouldn’t have bothered to blog here if I didn’t think the article had some merit.
 

What a wonderful debate! 
Caleb, I doubt that creating such passion was your first intention when writing this piece, but thanks for sharing your work!  

I love it when cases are tried on the Internet…...I just don’t believe any of it.

Not all that happens is C-U gets reported but it might be prudent to pay closer attention to what happens as a constant in communities close by, for example
By TONY REID | tony.reid@lee.net | Posted: Tuesday, September 8, 2009 10:35 am
 
DECATUR—A Decatur man allegedly beaten by a group of teenagers in the street died from his wounds last weekend, according to the Macon County Coroner’s Office.
Jerry Newingham, 61, had been on life support at Decatur Memorial Hospital after he was beaten savagely in a 10 p.m. attack Aug. 24 in the 500 block of West Sawyer Street.
Macon County Coroner Michael Day said Newingham had been pronounced dead at 4:59 p.m. Saturday.
Five boys, none older than 16, have already been arrested and are facing charges of attempted murder before Newingham’s death.
Deputy Police Chief Todd Walker said Friday that Newingham’s assault was related to another vicious attack later the same night.
Walker said that three teenage boys who had watched their five friends beat Newingham had later gone with them to Garfield Park. Once there, those three battered and robbed a 46-year-old man while the other five watched. That victim, who has not been named, could be paralyzed for the rest of his life, according to Walker. The three teenagers who attacked him have also been arrested for investigation of attempted murder, aggravated battery and robbery.
Decatur police, who cracked both cases by canvassing neighborhoods and talking with residents, said they have not been able to come up with a motive for the assault that led to Newingham’s death.
Day said an autopsy on Newingham conducted Sunday revealed that his cause of death was a massive brain hemorrhage “consistent with injury during an assault.“