By Nick McClintock

BLOOMINGTON – More than 50 community members came to weigh in on the divisive topic of police relations in Bloomington Monday night.

The topic of a citizen review board was the main source of the conversation of the Bloomington City Council’s Committee of the Whole. The idea, which has been floated as a check on the Bloomington Police Department’s complaint process, has been brought up in recent weeks by Black Lives Matter, the Bloomington-Normal chapter of the NAACP and YWCA, among others.

Michael Herzog, a Bloomington resident who spoke during the meeting’s public comment period, said the reason for this push now is so the community doesn’t have to deal with a tragedy down the road.

“We are here today because we don’t want to be like many other cities, and wait for another tragedy to strike to rethink how police and the community interact.” Herzog said. “Specifically the communities of color.”

Recent stories have come to light concerning the complaint process for the Bloomington Police Department doesn’t go far enough to investigate claims against officers. Other claims have been made that citizens are afraid to come forward and face potential retaliation from police.

The council asked Bloomington Police Chief Brendan Heffner about the department’s complaint filing process for nearly 40 minutes during meeting. Alderman David Sage seemed satisfied with the status quo.

“What I keep coming back to is, what is the problem.” Sage said. “I haven’t heard a compelling reason for a citizen review board.”

After nearly an hour and a half of discussion, council members said they would continue to look at the idea and educate themselves on how to address the concerns in the community.

Head of the NAACP in Bloomington-Normal, Quincy Cummings, said he was pleased overall with how the idea was received.

“The idea here is not to be anti-police or anything like that. It’s to help the community and the police department,” Cummings said.

Nick McClintock can be reached at [email protected].