Board poised to consider disbandment
The Springfield Park District board may consider getting rid of the district’s police department.
“I think it’s kind of trending that way, as far as disbanding the department completely,” said park board member Gray Noll. “I think it’s something we have been considering since I’ve been on the board. … Over the last five years, we’ve certainly pared down the police department quite a bit.”
The department, which has had as many as eight full-time officers within the past three years, is now down to three officers and may lose one. Derek Harms, executive director of the Springfield Park District, said that Officer Nick Capranica is looking for other employment.
“He certainly is exploring other opportunities,” Harms said. “He’s been open about looking for other opportunities.”
The park district on Monday scheduled a committee-of-the-whole board meeting for Wednesday to discuss a management study of the police department. Also on the agenda was an executive session to discuss contract negotiations with the union that represents officers. The meeting, set to start after press time, was scheduled in the wake of a story last week in Illinois Times chronicling a history of conflict and turmoil in the department (“Law EnFARCEment,” June 11, at illinoistimes.com).
District files show a history of disciplinary problems within the department and friction between former Capt. Jonathan Davis, who served as the department’s de facto chief, and district administrators. Davis was removed from the police union last fall and subsequently served a 10-day suspension in January for approving inaccurate time cards for a ranger who was paid for hours that he didn’t work. After serving the suspension, Davis in January was placed on administrative leave for more than three months while Jeffrey Wilday, a lawyer for the park district, investigated several allegations against the captain, none of which Wilday deemed rose to the level of a policy or law violation.
Davis had clashed with officers in the months before the captain was placed on leave in January, with officers complaining that Davis was aloof and incommunicative and the captain accusing park administrators of usurping his authority by not accepting recommendations for discipline and overruling his directions to underlings. Wilday recommended that Davis return to the department and receive counseling along with his troops so that the captain and officers could learn how to get along with one another. But Davis resigned in May without returning to work, saying that he’d been forced out after complaining about corruption and racism in the district. He has filed complaints with the state Department of Human Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The number of cases filed in Sangamon County Circuit Court by park police has plummeted in recent months. Last year, park police officers filed 121 cases, including 80 traffic cases, 24 ordinance violations, eight conservation violations, seven misdemeanors and four felonies. So far this year, park police have filed just 13 cases, including one misdemeanor and a dozen traffic cases. None of the 12 traffic citations filed this year that stemmed from eight traffic stops involved moving violations; rather, there was one failure to use a child restraint device and the balance were for such offenses as driving without insurance, driving without a valid license and expired vehicle registration.
“The size of the department has decreased,” said Leslie Sgro, park board president. “I’m sure that plays a role in it.”
Sgro and other park board members said they haven’t decided whether the district should dissolve the department. Sgro said she expects the district to retain an outside expert to make recommendations.
“Right now, I have an open mind,” Sgro said. “That’s why we’re bringing in experts to give us suggestions.”
Contact Bruce Rushton at [email protected].
