BPD could alter wording on complaint forms

Posted on February 10, 2015

Bloomington Police Chief Brendan Heffner wants to make sure the public is not afraid to make a complaint. (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)

By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – The forms used by the public to make complaints against the Bloomington Police Department might soon see some wording changes.

Police Chief Brendan Heffner said the way the forms are currently worded might be misleading some residents.

"Some people had related that they thought our complaint form makes it seem like, when you're informed from the beginning, that if you file false information that we're coming to arrest somebody," said Heffner. "That is not the truth at all. You file a complaint, a lot of times you get educated on why we did what we did, or maybe the complaint is sustained. It doesn't matter. We look at the complaint."

Heffner told WJBC's Susan Saunders he is working with his assistant chief on altering the wording on the complaint forms.

"That's there in order to be transparent, to let people know that if you just file a bogus false complaint against an officer it can go to the state's attorney's office and charges can be filed," said Heffner. "That is very rare."

Podcast: Listen to Heffner's full conversation on WJBC.

Heffner said if a resident feels they've been wronged by the department, they shouldn't be afraid to file a complaint.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].

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