The September 25th, 2019 meeting of the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) was unique in many ways. It was a “special meeting” called with the apparent goal of diluting the review powers of the CPRB. During this meeting, Urbana Police Lieutenant Richard H Surles attempted to persuade board members to review fewer Taser incidents, which he claimed were very time-consuming presentations for him to prepare. It is not clear why Surles even thought this suggestion appropriate given that the CPRB Ordinance requires every single Taser usage to be reviewed.
The nature of the meeting itself was rather curious. The meeting time and place were posted only 5 days in advance, which meant that citizens would have little chance of knowing about the meeting. Normal meeting dates are posted months to a year in advance.
The meeting location was not in the usual place. Normally, CPRB meetings are held in the City Council Chambers in the Urbana City Building, where everyone has access. This “special meeting” was held in the 2nd floor executive conference room, where citizens must be be buzzed through a locked door before they can access the hallway to the meeting room.
Next, “Community Relations Specialist” Preston Maurice James, a retired Urbana Police Officer, directed the UPTV Station Manager Jason Liggett, not to record any video of the meeting, wereas every other CPRB meeting has been video recorded for the public. Instead, James only wanted an audio recording of this meeting, and it was not to be posted on the City website.
It should be noted that the time and location of the meeting appear to have been arranged by “Executive Department Administrative Assistant” Monique James, who is Preston’s wife.
No member of the public attended the meeting, because no one was aware that the meeting was going to occur. It was not until after members of the public began to complain, that the audio of the meeting was made available.
Nothing about this meeting reflects well on the CPRB or the City staff involved. The result of the meeting was that the CPRB voted to stop reviewing all Taser incidents, even though they are mandated to do so by law. Human Resources Director Todd Edmund Rent, Community Relations Specialist (and retired UPD officer) Preston James, Preston’s wife Monique James, and Urbana Police Lieutenant Richard H Surles all encouraged this, even though every one of them certainly knew such a move would violate the law. Perhaps this is why Preston James did not want the meeting publicized.
A full article on the September 25th, 2019 CPRB meeting can be found here: Urbana Civilian Police Review Board Votes to End Mandatory Taser Camera Reviews of All Taser Displays