Aurora community members use their voices in C.H.A.N.G.E.

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By Jason Crane

As the U. S. presidential debate, was being heard around the Nation and parts of the world, Thursday, Oct. 22, feelings of frustration and the need for answers filled Main Baptist Church in Aurora at the third community listening session for the C.H.A.N.G.E. (community helping Aurora’s necessary growth and empowerment) reform initiative.

Aurora resident and retired Aurora Police Chief William Powell expresses his support for a police officer to be on a civilian review board at the third of five community listening sessions on policing and city progress Thursday, Oct. 22 at Main Baptist Church. The 90-minute session included comments from citizens, Richard Irvin, mayor, and Aurora Police Commander Michael Doerzaph. Jason Crane/The Voice

This Summer the City was host to review-and-recommendation sessions to give members of the community a voice.

Ten review and recommendation sessions reviewing the Aurora Police use of force policy and the police training policy led to 60 recommendations.

The first recommendation of the first session was listening sessions where the community could talk.

As a result, the City set up five 90-minute listening session Thursdays beginning at 6 p.m. with mayor Richard Irvin, Aurora Police Department representatives, and other City officials.

There are two listening sessions left:

• Thursday, Oct. 29, Impact Church, 4054 Fox Valley Center.

• Thursday, Nov. 5, Society 57, 100 S. River Street.

Reservations on the City’s website are required and seating has been limited due to COVID restrictions.

Victoria Maryweather said, “My son wanted to be a police officer. The first area we moved in was predominately white and you didn’t see the police on our block at all. We moved to the next block which was like 90 percent black. My son was harassed to the point where he said he didn’t want to become a police officer.

“That instance turned away a young man who really wanted to be a part of his community,” she said.

Andy Williams said, “We can look and blame every single body and politician, it’s this, it’s that, but if we are not willing to say ‘what can we do to change within us, that greatness that’s in us. There’s going to continue to be problems.

“Instead of telling people what to do, we should show them how to live because children live what they learn.

“The result is the harvest of what we’ve done.

“The easiest way for us to change in our community is to follow the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto us.”

Retired Aurora Police Chief Bill Powell said, “I’m all in favor of a citizen review board. We actually had a citizen review board when I was police chief that came out of the Department of Justice.

“When I left, it somehow went away. I’ve been reading in the newspaper that nobody wants a police officer on the Board so my question is this: If you needed a plumber to fix your sink, would you call an electrician? Civilians, if they’re not trained in policing, don’t know what police officers do. How they go about doing it, how they’re trained. So, when you talk about civilian review board, there has to be some kind of training for all of those members on that Board. I personally believe there should be one police officer on that Board to answer any questions that those civilians might have. Because if they’re in a meeting and they have questions, now they’re going to have to hold that meeting over until they run to the police department.

Powell said, “I’m concerned at the lack of minorities in the police department. I’m concerned about the lack of minorities in the command staff of the police department. The fire department, also.

“I sued the City in the early ‘90s when a caucasian was number 17 on the list, was promoted over me when I was number five on the list, and the City had never hired an African-American in any department as a supervisor. I wound up suing the City because of that.”

Brandy Gilliam with the P.O.B.U.M.S. Society an activist group said, “I even questioned myself about coming here. Because we’ve been coming to study circles and community meetings and listening sessions for over 25 years. We’ve had them downtown, we’ve had them at Gayles Memorial, we’ve had them at the YMCA. Nothing fruitful has come from any study circle we’ve had in Aurora. No policy has been amended. No policy has been changed. No policy has been implemented. We’ve been doing this for 25 years!

“After we get done here, there’s no follow-up, we come up here and say our speech, we go back home. Nothing has happened for over 25 years. When you say this they act like you’re crazy, or you’re a trouble-maker, or you’re a rabble-rouser. The police have been terrorizing the black and Latino community for over 25 years here in Aurora.

“Chief (Kristen) Ziman, who was not even here today, would not even apologize to the Black and brown community for the treatment it has received from the police for over 25 years.” Gilliam said.

“Richard, you apologized to the Black and brown community, then you turned around and congratulate the police. That’s hypocritical in nature, it’s asinine, and doesn’t make sense.

Gilliam used the analogy, “You can’t beat your wife and say you love your wife at the same time! It doesn’t work like that!

“Everybody, even black preachers, you talk to black preachers and they’re afraid to speak up and stand with the people because they don’t want to lose friendships or relationships they’ve got with the City or because they’re close with the chief of police.

“How can the black church, which was the backbone of the Civil Rights movement not speak for black people in Aurora? Roughly 10 percent!

“The mayor doesn’t need our vote to even win an election, so when the kid from Eastwood says he’s terrorized by police and there’s a white investor who has money, who is city hall listening to?” Gilliam asked.

Mayor Richard Irvin responded to comments made and shared his own experiences:

“There’s a lot of emotion, and I can understand why.

“Earlier this Summer I did apologize to our minority/black and brown communities for the injustices that I know we experienced over the last 25 years as brother Gilliam pointed out. And I meant it.

“Brother Gilliam also said it seemed like I was being hypocritical because I praised our police department a month later and I showed arrogance in my praise of the police department. I’d like to use another word, and that word is confidence. The reason I showed that confidence is because we’re not that same police department 25 years ago. Are we perfect? Absolutely not. Do we have work to do? Absolutely!

“Twenty-five years ago, I was a law student walking down the street minding my business here in the city of Aurora with a couple friends of mine that happened to be Mexican. Black and brown walking down the street in an area where a white police officer maybe didn’t think we should be in. They pulled us over and harassed us. Not because we were doing anything other than walking down the street. We had shorts on, tank-top as we had just come from playing basketball. Had the basketball in our hands, yet they pulled us over and threw us against the wall. Said there was some call for somebody committing a burglary in the area. We didn’t have anything on us except for our shorts, tank tops, and a basketball.

“I don’t even know if we matched a description or if this even happened. That’s what he said at the time 25 years ago and called four or five squad cars to assist as they patted us down, looked at us as though we were less than people.

“When they determined we had nothing on us and we weren’t doing anything illegal, they didn’t apologize. They just walked away like ‘we didn’t get you this time, we’re going to get you next time.’ I was a law student at the time. We’re not that same city.

“I was in a lot of those meetings over the last 25 years, probably some of the same ones folks are talking about. That we come out and talk. May even have a conversation about it after we get home. Maybe a little bit the next day, but then it goes away and nothing happens.

“I can’t speak for those mayors over the last 20-25 years but I can tell you that I want to make a difference! We want to make a difference!

“If I wasn’t too confident in talking about the progress that we’ve made, because I don’t feel as though if I was that same 25-year-old walking down the street with my Mexican friends that the police department would harass me the way they did then.

“Now, are there issues? Are there bad police officers who may not be sensitive to our culture or community? I expect there probably are. That doesn’t mean we give up. That doesn’t mean we don’t do the work we all need to do to make change.

“Community helping Aurora…Aurora, the city that we all love. Necessary growth and empowerment.

“Although I did say there were 90 percent of the people who were satisfied with what we’re doing in the City and satisfied with the police department, as the first black mayor of this City, I cannot and will not forget about that ten percent. That ten percent is just as important. That ten percent was me and my friends walking down the street when I was a young kid. That ten percent is my son who I have to worry about as he drives down the street in his car. He’s 18 years old. That ten percent is my nephew who is 16-year-old kid who likes to walk around with his pants almost hanging down to his knees and wear braids in his hair.

“I apologize if I expressed as though I did not care about that ten percent.

“If I were as arrogant as suggested, then I would not be here listening to my community, hearing what you have to say, allowing people to beat up on me.

“It is what it is. If I’ve taken the role as a leader of this City, I can’t just accept the niceties and folks telling me I’m doing a good job. I’ve got to take those times when people come and talk to me and say, ‘we’ve got work to do’ or ‘I don’t appreciate what you said or what you’re doing.’ Unless you tell me, I don’t know.

“Now that I have been told and put in my place, I can say that I will work hard not to let all of us down.

“I’m not going to lie to you and tell you it’s going to change overnight.

“Since I’ve been mayor, we’ve had more minorities in command in the police department in the history of the City.

“Unless we, and I’m talking my black and brown people, unless we are willing to do the work necessary to make change in our community.

“Unless we are willing to become police and firefighters, we’re never going to have the change we’re looking for.

“We have to tell our young people, ‘look as Chief Powell pointed out. This is a good career being a police officer. He was able to retire a couple years ago at 55. Maybe a couple of years older than that,” Irvin said with a chuckle as he looked at Powell.

“Unless we’re willing to invest in our community, change will never happen. We can always talk about what they should do to make a difference.

“What are we going to do to make a difference?”

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