At the July 24th, 2019 meeting of the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (article here), founding member Scott Dosset called for a “special meeting” to discuss police Taser policy and reviews. The controversy which led to this request began when Urbana Police Lt. Richard Surles announced that the Police Department was going to stop using Taser-mounted cameras. Since Taser-mounted cameras were supposed to be required so that all Taser displays could be reviewed, Dosset responded very negatively:
“I made a promise to myself. I was going to be as transparent and thorough about this with the citizens of Urbana. We had 12-year olds crying in their testimony about how their City of Urbana was going to be damaged because the police would abuse Tasers. That happened in this room for hours. So, I don’t take any change to the implementation of the Tasers or the policies that we created lightly.”
Understandably, Dossett wanted a special meeting to discuss what appeared to be an overt action by the Urbana Police Department to dilute the civilian review process. However, when the CPRB gathered for Dosset’s special review meeting on September 25th, he was nowhere to be found. The rest of the CPRB was in full attendance, and no explanation for Dossett’s absence has been issued.
Citizens have pointed out that apathy, disorganization, and confusion have been defining characteristics of the CPRB for years. The board has not filed their required annual reports for 5 years, and failed to hold a single meeting for 9 months between 2018 and 2019. When the CPRB does hold meetings, board members are often confused about their directive and responsibilities. Since Urbana’s current Mayor, Diane Wolfe Marlin, is politically married to the Urbana Police Department, citizens are unlikely to see the integrity of the CPRB improve anytime soon.
A full article on the September 25th Civilian Police Review Board can be found here: Urbana Civilian Police Review Board Votes to End Mandatory Taser Camera Reviews of All Taser Displays