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 here). Two videos of the altercation, taken by witnesses, went viral on social media and generated widespread concern, criticism, and anger among citizens.
In the last four City Council meetings since the incident, residents have called for Sgt. James Cory Koker, Sgt. Michael P Cervantes, and Officer Eric L Ruff to be held accountable for their unchecked violence (article here). To date, the city and Urbana Police Department’s response has been dishonest, biased, and focused on justifying the violence of the police officers involved.
To justify the use of force, Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin has been pushing the narrative of an “active shooter” situation, likening it to a “school shooter” or a “shopping mall” active shooter scenario (article here).
However, the 911 call received on April 10th, tells a different story. The caller reports that someone had accidentally shot themselves and may need medical attention.
Transcript of the 911 call:
“There’s umm a boy that had shot himself, but he’s like walking up and down the street with a gun in his hand. I just wanted to like, report that. Cause when I was taking groceries in we heard like a loud gunshot, and he fell but now he’s like up, stumbling, back and forth in the street, and some girl was like behind him, trying to, I dunno, see something. I dunno but. He’s got the gun in hand, cocking it in his hand, and stuff like that.” “I seen him like drop the clip. He had it in his hand, the clip fell out and hit the ground, and he had to put it back in there, and he prolly tucked the gun in his pants.”
“So that is the initial 911 call, and as a matter of fact this is the only call received on this particular incident,” confirms Chief Seraphin.
In Mayor Marlin’s latest update to citizens, she continued to defend the Urbana Police Department and push Chief Seraphin’s “active shooter” narrative.
Marlin goes so far as to provide a fictitious version of the 911 call.
In Marlin’s version of the call, the caller reports that “a bullet went over the heads of bystanders and through the window of a first-floor apartment which was occupied at that time.”
There was no such report in the one and only 911 call received for the Lewis incident on April 10th.
Citizens were outraged at Marlin’s dishonesty.
“Mayor Marlin, why are you lying to citizens? Why do you keep perpetuating these lies?” asks a citizen during the public participation session.
Mayor Marlin refused to comment on her depiction of the 911 call during the City Council meeting. Other City Council members also kept their silence.
In response to public records requests, the Urbana Police Department has indicated that it has no records or reports indicating that “a bullet went over the heads of bystanders.“