66 Apply For Aurora Police Review Board During 1st Week

AURORA, IL — Dozens of Aurora residents have put their names up for consideration to serve on the city’s inaugural citizen-led board to review complaints against police.

The city received 66 applications for its nine-member Civilian Review Board within a week of opening the window on Dec. 1, officials announced Tuesday. Aurora officials will accept applications through noon Dec. 22.

The Aurora City Council unanimously approved an ordinance last month establishing the civilian review board, fulfilling a major component of Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin's CHANGE initiative, which he announced in early June in the wake of a large protest set off by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

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The first week’s applications include 64 Aurora residents who live throughout the city, with at least one applicant in each of the city’s 10 wards. Fourteen residents of the Ninth Ward and 11 in the Fifth Ward submitted applications, along with eight in the city’s Eight Ward, according to officials.

Two of the applications were submitted by residents of other cities.

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Officials revealed the names of the 66 applicants during the Aurora City Council’s meeting Tuesday, as they have promised to do throughout the process. Any additional applications will be made public at the council’s Dec. 22 meeting.

The first wave of applicants include: Peter Aguilera, Laura Arredondo-Feliz, Janine Arriola, Matthew Baaske, Michael Bankhead, Michael Bialko, Matthew Bloemker, Kim Bradshaw, Katy Bray, Timothy Brown, Eduardo Cantarero, Jaime Castaneda, Kathy Sherwin, Karen Christensen, Daniel Cordes, Dawn DeSart, Scott Diehl, Jessica Duplessis, Harold Eich, Vincent Gaddis, Gina Garapolo-Ciaccio, Rosa Garcia, Lisa Garcia, Horacia Garza, Patrick Genovese, Valencia Gidron, Kevin Griffins, Craig Gunty, David Gusse, Alphonso Gwin Jr., Kate Hall, David Hartigan, Linda Healy, Ginger Ingram, Noel Jackson, Elizabeth Jarvis, Kwasi Jenkins, Glenn Jones, Deanna Kariotakis, Stuart Kuhn, Janice Lindley, Marjorie Logman, Ben Macaux, Kim Magnuson, Guadalupe Mathieu, Andrea McMillian, Wilson Morales, Brian Moreno, Sumeet Nirula, Raymualdo Ortiz, Brian Patchik, Adam Pauley, Manuel Rivera, Melody Rodriguez, James Shaw, Tamara Smith, Anthony Stanford, Pierre Stephens, Yolanda Stovall, Mary Taylor, Jamario Taylor, Carol Tidwell, Scott Voris, Andy Williams Jr., Mark Zelman and Ralph Zimmerman.

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Officials are set to announce finalists for the Aurora Police Civilian Review Board at a City Council committee meeting Jan. 5. Finalists will be interviewed by city officials between Jan. 6 and Jan. 16.

The city's Rules, Administration and Procedures Committee could confirm the civilian review board's first nine members at its Jan. 19 meeting.

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The board will accept complaints from residents about police misconduct, but city officials have made it clear the board is not an investigative body, with much of the Aurora Police Department's complaint-review process to remain the same.

Aurora’s Office of Professional Standards receives and investigates complaints against officers, acting as a "fact-finding body" for the police department, Aurora's corporation counsel Rick Veenstra has said.

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The OPS sends its findings to police commanders, who recommend disciplinary actions to Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman. An employee review board made up of Aurora police officers also reviews the investigation to recommend potential discipline.

Ziman is the only person who can discipline officers under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement between the city and police union, according to Veenstra. Any recommendation to fire an officer must be approved by the city's director of human resources, he said.

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The civilian review board will review OPS investigations into complaints after police commanders and the employee review board make their disciplinary recommendations, the proposal shows.

The nine members of the board would also review those disciplinary recommendations before making its own recommendations to Ziman. Officers facing discipline would receive a hearing before the chief issues a decision.

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Several residents urged the Aurora City Council to postpone its vote last month on an ordinance establishing the civilian review board.

Resident Edward Ash told aldermen the civilian review board ordinance is nothing more than "false hope and a pacifier" for those who want significant reform. Aurora mayoral candidate John Laesch said the board’s lack of authority and independence from the police department will do little to rebuild trust between officers and residents.

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