Patrick Sellers, the Freeport Township Supervisor since 2013, released a 14-page policing reform plan on Wednesday night. The plan, which is addressed to Freeport’s new Social Justice Committee, calls for an expansive reform of Freeport’s police department and for support of national racial justice efforts.
The wide-ranging plan seeks to reform Freeport’s officer hiring practices, amend the police department’s Use of Force policy, and create a Civilian Complaint Review Board. It asks for the reintroduction of community policing practices, which Sellers hopes would increase Freeport’s trust in the police department and “could also create a passion for our children from our own community to become police officers and serve with integrity, right here at home”.
The plan calls for transparency across the board, with Sellers noting that documents like the Use of Force plan must be available online for the public to view. In addition, Sellers asked for a federal judge to be established as an independent mediator who could enforce a legally binding reform plan.
Sellers’ proposal doesn’t stop with the Freeport Police Department. He calls on all local bodies which collect taxes, such as the city government, the County Board, Freeport School District, and the Park Board, to issue a joint statement condemning police brutality.
He also asks for a letter of support to be sent to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who is proposing that police officers be licensed by the state so that officers cited for misconduct can be punished more easily.
Sellers also urged that multiple letters be sent to the US House of Representatives. One would ask House leadership to reform the doctrine of “qualified immunity”, a legal term which prevents citizens from suing law enforcement for violating their constitutional rights. Another would ask that the House supports the Congressional Black Caucus’s proposed reform bill, which includes language that makes lynching a federal hate crime and limits the transfer of military weaponry to state and local police departments.
When asked for comment, Sellers told The Voice that he took action out of a “necessity for true and unadulterated comprehensive policing reform”.
Sellers said that “the atrocities of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others, combined with similar atrocities right here in Freeport”, prove that police reform is necessary. He wrote the plan after researching similar efforts nationwide.
The plan asks the Social Justice Committee to “take an objectively pragmatic look” at the proposed reform measures. Sellers urged the committee to consider his plan as “a starting point, designed to encourage thought-provoking dialogue all the while establishing a potential foundation upon which to build our community policing reforms.”
The plan was released the day before the Social Justice Committee’s first meeting, which was held Thursday June 25th at 5pm.
