A call for police reforms

Residents packed the Springfield City Council chambers on March 31 to demand an independent investigation, and even reforms, of the Springfield Police Department following its response to a contentious arrest last Friday of a Black female teenager.

Bodycam footage and bystander video show Officer Jacob Walter, in an attempt to execute a warrant for arrest, chasing 19-year-old Promyss Davis before sitting on her and punching her in the head as she struggles before finally being handcuffed. The incident occurred near the intersection of 15^th Street and Cornell Avenue following a traffic stop March 27.

Council members, including the Black caucus, pressed SPD Chief Joseph Behl about the department’s press release issued a day before the Committee of the Whole meeting.

“This is not my first time speaking on a situation (like this) that has happened in our community, and it won’t be the last,” said Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory. “I just think that situation can be handled without striking the young lady.”

‘Followed his training and established policy’

Springfield police officials defended Walter’s actions as “the lowest level of force necessary” in a March 30 press release that also claims the teenager accidentally shut off Walter’s bodycam when the struggle began. While the bodycam footage shows Davis running from the officer after he initially questions her, it cuts off before the main portion of the altercation. A bystander began recording once Walter had her pinned to the ground and that video began circulating on social media, prompting SPD to later release a statement and bodycam footage several days later.

“Officer Walter followed his training and established policy in effecting this arrest,” the release states. “A comprehensive review of this use-of-force incident was conducted by the Springfield Police Department. The incident and associated evidence was also evaluated by use of force trainers and experts. While videos of police interactions with criminal suspects can sometimes be jarring to watch, the Springfield Police Department supports Officer Walter and all men and women of the Springfield Police Department who put their safety at risk every shift to make our community a safe place to live.”

Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams asked Behl to answer the council’s questions about the arrest.

“Your statement told me what you thought of the incident, but I have problems with the statement,” Williams said. “I have a genuine disagreement with you on putting something out like this that this is our established training and this is our established policy – this is the way that we operate as police officers.”

Williams said that while the young woman was running from the officer, “nothing justifies getting hit in the head and choking (and putting) pressure against her throat like that…  we need to take action and reform your department, because this is not the first time. I guess if she was dead, you’d probably say, ‘Oh well, it was in the training and within our policy.’ We need to look at the policy,” he said.

Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase told the chief that it wasn’t a good look for the department.

“The optics just suck for you guys right now, for the cameras to turn off when innocent bystanders are driving by and (they) picked up what we should’ve picked up,” she said. “Imagine that somebody didn’t have that camera there.”

Behl said, “I agree with you; I wish the camera worked the entire time.”

However, he defended his officer’s actions. “He could have tased her, but he didn’t, and I’m glad he didn’t, because that’s another level of force up from hard empty-hand control.”

Purchase said there needs to be further discussions between SPD and the Aldermanic Black Caucus.

“The three of us at the Springfield Aldermanic Black Caucus, we’re going to request for you all to come and we’re going to do a meeting so that we can have open dialogue,” she said. The Faith Coalition for the Common Good and Springfield NAACP have also formally requested meetings with SPD regarding the arrest.

Community reaction

In addition to statements issued by Faith Coalition for the Common Good and Springfield NAACP, various community groups including The Purple Coalition and Black Lives Matter SPI asked citizens to attend the March 31 council meeting and sign up to speak. Many criticized not only SPD’s handling of the incident but the department’s recent request to purchase a new armored vehicle as examples of over-policing.  

Sontae Massey, a cousin of Sonya Massey who served on the Massey Commission, said “the fear that that I saw in this young lady’s eyes is familiar to me.”

Reggie Guyton, a community activist and District 21 Sangamon County Board Member, admonished Walter’s use of force and SPD’s response.

“We now see how easy it is for SPD to justify any kind of force against any and everybody,” Guyton said. “You may say that she was detained and she resists arrest, etc., etc. But if you’re restrained and a person is on your back, why do you have to hit them while they’re down?”

He also criticized the City Council for approving the SPD’s recent $445,000 purchase of an armored truck. Only Ward 3 Ald. Williams and Ward 6 Ald. Jennifer Notariano voted against the ordinance.

“Spending $400,000 for a vehicle that resembles a tank is the lowest form of intimidation I can think of,” Guyton said. “The people of Springfield are dealing with real-life issues that are more common than SPD, or even City Council, cares to acknowledge. Decatur (City Council) just (approved) a 24-hour daycare center with $400,000. Do you know what something like that could do for the city of Springfield? Do you know what that could do for my people?”

Michelle Cruz Hine, an area teacher, also lamented the recent armored truck purchase as a “giant weapon” and told the council to stop increasing SPD’s budget without scrutiny.

“This council needs to stop approving money, weapons and equipment, and mandate all police officers to go to” various mandated trainings, she said. “There should be no budgetary increases, no more funding. This training needs to be ongoing. Police officers need to understand how their biases show up in their policing. Priorities need to be made clear. De-escalation over physical intervention, always.”

Council members and public commenters referenced how the Police Community Review Commission continues to face issues. Multiple speakers, including those not involved with the commission’s work, also invoked the Massey Commission’s calls to action published in full nearly four months ago that remain largely unaddressed by county and city governing bodies.

Ethan Posey, Springfield’s director of community relations, said the next PCRC meeting is scheduled for May 21 and multiple candidates to fill vacancies are going through a background check.

Kelly Hurst, former managing director of the Massey Commission, criticized the tactics of the arrest and reminded the council members of the Commission’s 26 separate calls to action. “This is not abstract, this is actionable, and it is already written,” she said. “A young Black girl punched in the face by a police officer – she did not deserve that. There is no version of public safety that makes that acceptable.”

Hurst also criticized the PCRC for a lack of transparency.

“The May 21 meeting that Mr. Posey mentioned is not even on the website for the city – it’s not listed. There’s no communication. How would anyone have known that there were even things being done for that?”