The new policy was shared in the packet for today’s Urbana City Council meeting. The Urbana Police Department worked with Mayor Diane Marlin as well as the NAACP of Champaign County, ACLU of Champaign County, and other local organizations on the revisions. According to the press release, the policy “requires use of force to be objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional and that the revision is an important first step toward meaningful implementation and enforcement so the public can be assured that all officers are held accountable for their actions on the streets of Urbana.”
Police Chief Bryant Seraphin says: “The Use of Force policy revision reflects the city’s commitment to the NAACP’s Ten Shared Principles of community policing and prioritizes de-escalation during encounters with the public. It also reflects many comments and suggestions received from the Urbana City Council and through public engagement over the past ten months and aligns with the Illinois General Assembly’s recently passed police reform legislation.”
Top photo by Anne Casey of Illinois Newsroom.