Nov. 06--Though an internal review cleared one of its officers of racial profiling and other allegations of misconduct, Evanston's police chief acknowledged that his department needs to address a "community perception."
"This is an extremely volatile, touchy subject, and I think any additional help we can get so officers conduct themselves in a way that their conduct is above reproach in this area would be extremely helpful," said Police Chief Richard Eddington, who has recommended a race relations expert to evaluate and work with his department.
The comment came on the heels of a report that said Evanston Police Officer Mark Buell did not racially profile or commit other misconduct when placing a 13-year-old boy in handcuffs Aug. 30 during a burglary investigation.
Ald. Peter Braithwaite, 2nd, rejected the word "perception" to describe the minority community's feeling towards profiling.
"It's actually a reality," Braithwaite said, vowing to investigate arrest data and complaint trends to address racial profiling, which he called "the elephant in the room for many years."
Buell was reviewed after an allegation of "disrespectful behavior" for his involvement in the detainment of the 13-year-old son of a Northwestern University professor outside the boy's home. The boy's mother came outside during the detainment, but police refused to release her son until a witness arrived and confirmed he wasn't the suspect.
He was wearing cargo shorts on the day of the burglary, but they and his shirt were a different color than those worn by the burglary suspect, as described to police. A witness reported that the burglar was black.
Eddington said police act quickly in the immediate aftermath of a burglary report and work with the descriptions they are given from witnesses, which aren't always accurate.
The complaint about Buell's conduct was reviewed by the city's Citizen Advisory Board and Citizen Police Advisory Committee, and both a Watch Commander and Acting Deputy Chief found the officer had sufficient evidence and cause to handcuff the juvenile, and labeled the accusation of racial profiling "unfounded," among other determinations.
The boy was not eluding the police, authorities later said. He was not charged.
Christopher Cooper, the attorney representing the juvenile, called the report a "cover up by a small-time police agency that really needs to take lessons from the larger agencies on how to stop-and-frisk."
On Nov. 1, Cooper dismissed the City of Evanston as a defendant in a federal lawsuit related to the incident, but Buell is still named.
After the meeting, the boy's mother reiterated that her son did nothing wrong, and expressed disappointment in the police department's report.
"Just because a report says misconduct did not happen, does not mean misconduct did not happen," she said.
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