Aurora Establishes Civilian Review Board For Police Complaints

AURORA, IL — Six months after thousands of people protested in downtown Aurora for police reform, city officials have created a civilian review board that will give residents a say in how to discipline officers.

The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance establishing the civilian review board — which Aurora chief management officer Alex Alexandrou called “an historic moment" — despite objections from many of the residents who spoke during the virtual meeting last week.

The civilian review board is 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.

The ordinance calls for nine Aurora residents to serve on the board for three years. Members are set to be appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council.

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Aurora officials will start accepting applications at 8 a.m. Tuesday from residents who want to serve on the inaugural civilian review board. The application window will close at noon Dec. 22.

APPLY HERE: More information and applications for the Civilian Review Board

Qualified applicants 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.

The Aurora Civilian Review Board will accept complaints from residents about police behavior, 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.

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The city'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.

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, Veenstra said.

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.

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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.

Several residents urged the Aurora City Council to delay a vote on the ordinance because it “falls short” of fulfilling the community’s calls for independent oversight of the city’s police department.

Resident Edward Ash told aldermen the civilian review board ordinance, as written, is nothing more than “false hope and a pacifier” for those who want significant reform.

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The civilian review board should be given authority to conduct its own investigations into complaints and issue its own disciplinary measures, instead of making recommendations to the police chief, Ash said.

John Laesch, who is running to unseat Mayor Richard Irvin next spring, said the civilian review board’s lack of authority and independence from the police department does little to rebuild trust between residents and police. He also called for officials to authorize the board to conduct investigative and issue discipline.

Another resident who spoke during the meeting’s public-comment period told the Aurora City Council to “go back to the drawing board” and write an ordinance that gives the civilian review board more power.

“If you want to actually gain trust of the community, then you need to trust the community,” the man said. “Let the community police the police.”

Irvin said the city cannot grant subpoena power or other investigative authority to the civilian review board as "it would violate state law.”

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