Local law enforcement recruitment, retention, and morale have been an ongoing issue in Champaign and Urbana. Lately there has been a slew of retirements in leadership positions as well. WCIA had an overview of recent retirements of area police chiefs:
Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin announced his retirement Thursday. He’ll be leaving in March. That makes him the fourth Central Illinois Chief to announce they’re leaving in less than a year.
Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Huerman has been in his position for over three years. During that time, he’s watched three police chiefs retire or resign.
It started in July, when Decatur Police Chief Jim Getz retired. The next day, Champaign Police Chief Anthony Cobb said he was resigning. Then Kenny Winslow, the Springfield Police Chief, announced his retirement. Finally, Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin said he would retire.
Full article with video segment here.
The News-Gazette and other area outlets have also been highlighting a lot of feedback from police officers and former leadership in local law enforcement about their concerns. They generally focus on:
- a lack of public appreciation and/or vilification.
- the extreme dangers of the job, especially with various firearm factors.
- viewing many accountability and reform policies by local government officials as undermining police or outright anti-police.
Prior to the pandemic, the local Citizens Police Academy had an extensive class that covered many aspects of local law enforcement, especially the dangers involved. The split-second decisions when firearms could present themselves in any interaction, it was argued, didn't lend itself well to second guessing after the fact. While emphasizing the danger to police while having to scrutinize every subtle gesture, even if just adjusting one's pants, it also highlighted the danger to the public. After all, who can feel safe with someone constantly making those split-second decisions about whether you continue to live? Especially if their fear and anxiety is disproportionately higher with someone of your race or simply very obvious from their speech and body language.
This is a charged and emotional life-and-death subject where objectivity may be extremely difficult. If you're generally critical of police, it may be useful to run through a thought experiment of "what if they're right" to better understand their perspective. If you're more critical of activists, the same thought experiment of "what if they're right" can similarly help. Whether one agrees with them, either in whole or in part, it can be helpful to at least understand their concerns better.
Below are some excerpts and links to articles of recent local law enforcement input on these subjects:
Champaign Deputy Police Chief Nate Rath spoke about the morale issue and other views on policing throughout his career in a News-Gazette commentary:
I’ve been a police officer for 25 years, and the sentiment toward officers by those involved in crime has never been worse or more evil. Some sections of public sentiment are equally as troubling toward law enforcement. Criminals seem to care even less for others than they have in the past and hold the rule of law and those who uphold the law in especially low esteem.
The prevalence of illegal firearms in the possession of people who by law cannot possess them is at a critically high level. Criminals are illegally carrying guns to hunt people down to settle disagreements, and others are illegally carrying guns to protect themselves should they be attacked. Social order and civility have eroded to a point that gun violence is occurring anywhere at any time...
I retire in a few weeks, and I will miss my law enforcement family. I have the utmost respect for every one of you. While underappreciated and often second-guessed, you show up day after day to put your lives on the line and better this world.
His full commentary is available here. Some of the language may indicate the influence of some of the "warrior" training and "othering" in some popular law enforcement seminars. Most of the commentary attempted to humanize officers and encourage appreciation for the difficult and deadly situations the work puts them in.
Similar sentiments were expressed to the News-Gazette by former Urbana Police Chief Sylvia Moore:
“I cannot begin to place myself in the shoes of the current law enforcement officers since I have been retired for over three years. All I can tell you is that it makes me sick to think that 2021 saw a record number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. A world where officers have become prey for those with evil intentions and a point to prove.
“You ask if the mass exodus of officers is coincidental to the all of this. Absolutely not. If it makes sense financially and in regard to their families, they are leaving the profession they once chose willingly and not looking back.
“And why not? While there will always be ‘bad apples’ in every profession, the past few years have seen officers being villainized merely for wearing the uniform. And isn’t that exactly the opposite of what so many are fighting for? To be judged fairly and on their own merits?
More at the News-Gazette article here (part of its series on gun violence here). That link also includes commentary from the former Chief Deputy Allen Jones of the Champaign County Sheriff's Office. He focused his criticism on recent criminal justice reform legislation he deemed anti-police and a lack of local government support:
“It is concerning that the negative effects from the passage of the anti-police bill HB 3653 — including lack of support for policing, unfunded mandates, decertification of officers and the future removal of cash-bail requirements — are now factoring into the decision-making process for these very talented leaders. I am concerned that these factors are driving high-quality people out of the profession and deterring many others from joining it.
“Qualified candidates exist, some even within the current agencies, and they will continue to serve and lead as best they can. However, city/county/state leadership need not just speak about supporting police, but actually show it.”
Former Urbana Police officer Bob Fitzgerald and Champaign Police officer Katherin Thompson also have comments available at that same News-Gazette link.
Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman reiterated many of the same safety concerns in the News-Gazette and WDWS interview:
It’s not just private citizens who are concerned for their safety these days, Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said. Law-enforcement officers are as well — on duty and off.
“It’s a tough time to be a police officer. It’s a tough time to be a corrections officer,” he told host Brian Barnhart on Wednesday’s “A Penny For Your Thoughts” on WDWS 1400 AM...
He said though some think police need to crack down by conducting safety checks for drugs and weapons like they do for potential impaired drivers, as a private citizen, he doesn’t want to be pulled over for no reason any more than anyone else does.
Full coverage and links to that here.
Guest commentary by a well known local attorney, Bryan Freres, also stressed the importance of public appreciation for those who wear the uniform. Excerpt from the News-Gazette:
1. Thank a cop.
Being a police officer is a difficult and dangerous job. They are the front line dealing with the violence. They consistently deal with people who are at their worst or who are facing the worst in others. The stress is immense.
Despite that, a phone call brings them rushing to our aid. We are blessed to have excellent law enforcement in our community. While we all should expect high standards and accountability from our officers, we should also be extremely grateful for their service.
Community support is a big deal. A random thank you or gesture of appreciation may be a small thing, but the gratitude and support adds up and helps morale. And thank a cop’s spouse, too, while you’re at it. The stress and dangers of the job don’t end simply because an officer is off the clock.
Full commentary available here.
Wherever one falls on policy issues with accountability, reform, or gun control, the illegal weapon concerns only seem to be growing. From an WCIA article on the types of weapons being seen in the area:
Area law enforcement continues to see cases involving guns modified to be fully automatic or so-called “ghost guns” – guns assembled without a serial number.
The latest case in Champaign County involves a 17 year-old who allegedly committed a robbery last Friday in Champaign with a type of handgun that can be built at home. State’s attorney Julia Rietz said the gun was also modified to be fully automatic. Rietz is planning to charge the teen in adult court based on the nature of the crime and his previous run-ins with police.
That full article here. Perhaps one of the more universal concerns on both the law enforcement side and the community activist side pushing for more accountability of the equation, is the fear of firearms emerging in any interaction. Also the frustration of feeling afraid of people you shouldn't have to fear suddenly ending you in a split-second decision out of the best or worst of intentions.
