After more than seven months of internal and external reviews claiming no wrongdoing and clearing all officers involved in the violent arrest of Aleyah Lewis, Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin acknowledged that there was a violation of policy during the incident. Local activists have been voicing their concerns about the…
Local activists have been voicing their concerns about the inadequate investigations into the violent arrest of an Urbana resident. The City of Urbana has maintained a silent stance as these faults have been brought to light (Public i article here). On April 10th, 2020, Urbana Police officers violently arrested Aleyah…
At the Urbana City Council meeting on September 8th, 2020 (video here), Chicago firm Hillard Heintze presented their report of Aleyah Lewis arrest. Following the violent arrest of Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis, Urbana Police Department (UPD) performed an internal review of the incident and concluded that the actions of the…
Nearly five months after the violent arrest of Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis, Chicago firm Hillard Heintze has cleared the officers involved of all misconduct. On April 10, 2020, Urbana Police officers arrested Lewis (video and original article here). Following the incident, Urbana Police Department (UPD) performed an internal review of…
On April 10, 2020, Urbana Police officers violently arrested and beat an innocent woman, Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis (video and original article here). Following the incident, Urbana Police Department (UPD) performed an internal investigation of the incident and concluded that the actions of the officers were within UPD policy and…
In the wake of public outrage over a recent violent arrest video, a group of Urbana residents have accomplished in a weekend what police oversight advocates and police review boards have failed to do for decades: public outreach. The website www.UrbanaPolice.com was launched on May 17, 2020 as a civilian…
At the May 4th, 2020 meeting of the Urbana City Council, residents showed up in force once again to voice their complaints about the Urbana Police Department following a violent arrest of an unarmed woman. Rather than being met with open arms by their elected officials, Shirese Hursey and others…
Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin issued an update at the May 11th, 2020 Urbana City Council meeting regarding the Aleyah Lewis incident. Her update was the latest attempt by the city to appease outraged citizens. On April 10th, 2020, Urbana Police Officers carrying rifles physically attacked an unarmed Aleyah Lewis (article…
Citizens were outraged, and at least one Urbana Council member left speechless, after Council member Shirese Hursey placed full blame for the violent arrest of Aleyah Lewis (original article here) squarely on Lewis herself. Hursey’s monologue was delivered at the May 4th, 2020 Urbana City Council meeting, immediately after 20…
“I witnessed a poor review of police conduct at last week’s City Council meeting” A publicly presented “review” by Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin and Lt. Jason Norton at the April 27th, 2020 Urbana City Council meeting has begun to draw more public scrutiny than the violent arrest that prompted…
