A report to be presented to aldermen Monday clears an Evanston police officer of racial profiling complaints brought by the mother of a 13-year-old boy stopped and handcuffed as a burglary suspect last August.
The investigation, by the police department’s office of professional standards, included interviews with the youth, Diwani Greenwell, and his mother, Ava Thompson Greenwell of 1625 Kirk St., as well as with nearly a dozen police officers involved in the search for the burglary suspect on Aug. 30 and with two civilian witnesses, as well as review of video footage from patrol car cameras and audio recordings of police radio traffic.
On the several alleged violations of departmental procedures against officer Mark Buell, the report either exonerates Buell or finds the allegations unfounded or not sustained.
Greenwell’s attorney, Christopher Cooper, is continuing to pursue a federal court lawsuit against Buell, although he dropped the city as a defendant in the case earlier this week.
Cooper, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, called the city’s report a “cover up by a small-time police agency that really needs to take lessons from the larger agencies on how to stop-and-frisk.”
He says police didn’t have probable cause to detain the youth and violated his Fourth Amendment rights.
Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington, in a memo accompanying the department’s report, said “handcuffing decisions always rely on the officers’ interpretation of facts and circumstances” and that the officers had a “reasonable suspicion” based on the youth’s actions that led to his being handcuffed.
The report notes that as soon as Ava Greenwell, a journalism professor at Northwestern University, emerged from her home she accused officers of racially profiling her son, which Eddington said, “set a tone for a less than positive resolution.”
The chief added that while the department can’t influence the communication skills of members of the public, “we can influence the communication skills of our police officers.”
And to try to enhance those skills, the chief said the department plans to seek the services of Aaron Thompson, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University, whose has made several presentations in recent years on race relations issues to police groups in Illinois.
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Related document
Internal probe clears cop in ‘racial profiling’ incident
Ridiculous! Let the cops do their jobs. If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.
Big Sorry Needed
Doesn't everybody think that there are several city council members that need to publically tell the officer that they are sorry.
City council need to publicly apologize to the officer.
Aldermen Peter Braithwaite, Jane Grover and Delores Holmes owe Officer Buell, his family, and the Evanston Police Department a public apology. It should be as equally public and immediate as the one they offered the Greenwell family. Unfortunately , we all know this will never happen.
Before people start demanding
Before people start demanding that some in the city council apologize to the officer in question, they should note that this was an internal probe. It was conducted by his peers and friends. I would have been very surprised if they had come back with any findings that went against him and subsequently the department. The department generally does a very good job policing our streets and I have met cops who are very dedicated to doing their best, but is it such a stretch to believe that racial profiling is a reality for some, even if it has never happened to you?
All the aldermen owe Officer Buell a sincere apology
I think not only do Jane Grover, Braithwaite and Holmes owe Officer Buell a sincere public apology but other aldermen should chime in and give an apology.
At the very least, ALL aldermen at the next meeting should express their support for the Evanston Police Department and Officer Buell.
Anything less is unacceptable.