Aldermen, residents urge Springfield police to attend town hall after activist’s exclusion

At a Tuesday meeting of a Springfield City Council committee, aldermen and community leaders pressed Springfield Police Department leadership to attend a community town hall about police misconduct and to stop excluding a local activist from meetings.

Community organizers with Faith Coalition for the Common Good invited the department to a town hall scheduled for Sept. 29, 2025, at the Lincoln Library Carnegie Room; the coalition said SPD leadership has declined to attend because Tiara Standage, a community leader and executive director of Intricate Minds, is part of the panel. Kawani Barney, a Faith Coalition community organizer, told the committee the panel would include a police-union representative and asked the chief to participate.

The matter drew sustained discussion because the coalition and multiple aldermen said the department’s absence undermines accountability and public trust. At the committee meeting, Tiara Standage described being choked by an officer at a protest one year earlier and said video released this year shows the same officer using force again. “This is not protect and serve. This is abuse,” Standage said.

Alderman Gregory said he supports an independent response and recommended the city consider bringing the Massey Commission’s work or a similar independent body to the city’s attention. “I am prepared to work with my caucus members and those, in this sense, to figure out how we do this and what our ordinance looks like to present before this council,” Gregory said.

Chief of Police told the committee he offered to meet with the Faith Coalition without the particular person in the room and that he had provided dates but had not heard back. “I offered to meet with the faith coalition, without that particular person in the room, and I've yet to hear back from them,” the chief said.

Several aldermen and residents said the department’s refusal to appear at a community-organized event is effectively denying a community voice and risks further erosion of trust. Assistant Chief Leach and other department staff were mentioned by council members as trusted interlocutors the community has worked with in the past; some aldermen urged continued outreach through those contacts while pressing the chief to reconsider the department’s stance.

Multiple residents testified during the citizens’ request portion of the meeting. Jordan Shaw, a volunteer at Intricate Minds, described the protest incident and subsequent volunteer work: “I wanted to help in any way that I could,” he said, recounting donations and harm-reduction work following the protest. Kayla Maguire and other speakers cited national and state cases and asked the council to insist on department attendance and fuller accountability; Amber Mahler urged the council to fund the Massey Commission’s continuation and to engage with community leaders.

Council members and speakers also urged the chief to reconsider a departmental decision that the department would not meet with the Faith Coalition while Standage participates, framing the refusal as collective punishment of community members who seek redress. The Faith Coalition’s town hall invitation asks SPD to participate on Sept. 29, 2025, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and was cited repeatedly in the committee discussion.

The committee did not adopt a formal ordinance or motion requiring SPD attendance at the town hall during the meeting. Several aldermen said they would follow up with the chief and the community to try to arrange a meeting that would include police leadership and community stakeholders.

The issue is expected to remain on city leaders’ and the community’s short-term agenda while organizers pursue the Sept. 29 town hall and council members consider proposals to formalize independent review or engagement structures.