Staff report: three complaints under investigation; portal and video‑redaction process reorganized

At the Aug. 27 meeting the board’s staff reported three citizen complaints submitted since the prior meeting; all three are in the investigation phase and available in the board portal. Board staff summarized the complaints’ stated allegations as: being pulled over for no reason, failure to generate a police report for an accident, and inappropriate comments captured on body‑worn camera video.

Staff also reported the office responded to one Freedom of Information Act request for complaint information during the reporting period. Board staff described work with Urbana Police Department personnel to reorganize the portal and the process for producing redacted videos and reports: Lieutenant Cervantes and Wendy Murphy coordinate evidence preparation and redaction, and staff have begun using a spreadsheet to track tasks and deadlines for each review.

Carla Boyd said the process improvements should make it easier for board reviewers to find new items and complete assigned tasks. "Lieutenant Cervantes put together a spreadsheet where I now know what my tasks are, and I can hit a button, and I've when I've completed it, and I know what I need to complete, when and when it needs to be complete very organized," Boyd said.

All three complaints remain in the investigative stage; no appeals or adjudications were presented to the board at this meeting. The officer’s report also noted recruitment and outreach activities and that a new member, Renee Nicholson, had been onboarded and would receive orientation and access to the portal.