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Urbana police present 2024 use-of-force report as residents raise disparity and oversight concerns
Summary
Urbana Police Department reported 72 incidents involving force in 2024 (0.29% of 24,864 calls); the department said all incidents were reviewed and within policy, while residents and some council members pressed for more context on racial disparities, body-camera review and how arrests and mental-health encounters factor into the numbers.
Chief Larry Boon and Lieutenant Cortez Gardner presented the Urbana Police Department's 2024 use-of-force report to the City Council on March 9, saying force remains a rare outcome of police contact and that 100% of incidents were reviewed through supervisory and committee processes.
The department reported 24,864 calls for service in 2024 and 72 incidents that involved force (0.29% of calls). Types of force recorded included "empty hand soft" techniques (42 uses) and firearm display or pointing (28 recorded points and displays); the department reported zero taser deployments, zero OC deployments, zero blunt-impact strikes and zero firearm discharges. Chief Boon said three cases recommended additional training or counseling but that none were sustained policy violations.
Public commenters and several council members raised concerns about racial disparities and transparency. Jessica Yasine, a resident, said she had seen figures indicating Black residents — who make up roughly 19% of Urbana's population, she said — were involved in 74–81% of use-of-force incidents and asked what the mayor and council intended to do to reduce that gap. "If equity is truly our goal, then the numbers should start reflecting it," she said during public comment.
Council members asked for more contextual data. Chris (council member) requested that future reports indicate whether force incidents resulted in an arrest, what charges (if any) followed, whether mental-health issues were involved, and whether supervisors reviewed body-worn camera footage. Chief Boon and Lt. Gardner confirmed supervisors do review body-worn-camera footage during case review and that that practice is part of the documentation and oversight process. The chief also said the department reports monthly to national and state repositories (FBI National Use-of-Force Data Collection; Illinois State Police) and noted Urbana has had no incidents meeting federal thresholds for fatalities, serious bodily injury or firearm discharges since 2019.
Councilors asked about taser availability, training and staffing. Lt. Gardner said not all officers currently carry tasers due to training timing and state requirements but that the department is starting in-house training to equip more officers with tasers. Chief Boon said additional officers funded by council give the department more flexibility to pursue community-engagement strategies in neighborhoods with concentrated calls for service.
The presentation prompted requests for the department to include additional breakdowns in future reports: arrests associated with use-of-force incidents, types of offenses charged, mental-health involvement, and a clearer mapping of incidents to calls that resulted in arrests versus those that did not. Council members and public commenters also urged continued transparency around surveillance tools and oversight policies.
