Flossmoor 'At A Boil' After Police Shooting, Residents Seek Solutions

FLOSSMOOR, IL —Tension was palpable at times in a school gymnasium Saturday, as Flossmoor residents and officials gathered for a community forum planned to address police and citizen relations following the fatal police shooting of a resident this summer.

Nearly 70 members of a community fractured by the shooting found their way into small discussion groups, led by facilitators, to guide conversations around police policy and procedure, community concerns, and proposed solutions. Residents called for better training for officers regarding mental health crisis intervention, as well as supplementary services from trained mental health professionals on-scene as possible preventative measures.

Madeline Miller, 64, was fatally shot by police in July, after officers responded to a call of a domestic disturbance. Miller, a Black woman, was shot three times—once in the arm, twice in the torso—after reportedly advancing at officers while holding a kitchen knife. Miller was in mental crisis, her family has since said, also voicing concerns that the encounter could have been handled differently. The use of force is still under investigation by the Illinois State Police Integrity Task Force. Many residents have since called for greater accountability from the Flossmoor Police Department and the Village, asking for changes in policy and procedure, specifically regarding mental health emergency calls.

Residents and activists have attended multiple village board meetings urging officials to address the public's concerns about the shooting, police conduct, and relations between officers and the public.

Related: Cop's Fatal Shots Were 'Difficult, But Necessary': Flossmoor Chief

Village officials, including Mayor Michelle Nelson, trustees and police leadership attended the forum, which was facilitated by Carla Madeline Kupe, an attorney and consultant in diversity, equity and inclusion. Co-facilitating was Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police president and current Hazel Crest Police Chief Mitchell Davis.

The forum was meant to begin the "community healing," said Flossmoor's Chief of Police Tod Kamleiter, yet anger, grief and frustration were high among those inside Parker Junior High.

Protesters gathered before the forum and later interrupted it as participants were dispersed into small groups. They sought clearer structure and a more open dialogue than that which they thought the forum would foster. Though present at the forum, trustees did not join the breakout sessions.

"How is that a community forum, if the trustees who are supposed to be overseeing this town, are not in with the community to have these conversations?" questioned resident and protester Jenny Curtis.

Nelson said the trustees did not participate in order to make people more comfortable.

"Some people will not want to voice their opinions if the trustees are in the room," Nelson. "We want to make sure that the rooms are safe spaces for people to speak freely."

The forum was intended to open the floor to more in-depth discussion than the limited public comment time at board meetings.

Related: Flossmoor PD Shooting: Residents Call For Internal Investigation

"... We wanted to give people a space to express what's at the top of their mind, and their heart, and hopefully get ideas, also, that will help us move past this incredibly tragic event," said Nelson. "We're a beautiful community, we want to stay that way. I want to give people a space to grieve."

In group sessions, participants echoed an appreciation for their town, but also spoke of underlying racial tension and preconceptions. Their talking points were brought back before the larger group in between sessions.

"We’re existing at a boil, and we need to turn the heat down," one resident said during the small group session. "We’re at a 10, constantly, all the time, right now, and we need to figure out how to reduce a lot of this stress and trauma and anger, frustration and anger we have going on right now. These conversations we’re having now are very appropriate, and needed, but also needed is accountability.

"The Village doesn’t really acknowledge the racial tension, that subtle racism, an issue that we have in this community ... As long as it’s not overt, it gets ignored, but those are the issues we need to get together and talk about before it continues to boil. There is a fear that exists here in the Black community, that they feel the community is not aware of, and again gets exacerbated when something like this happens."

Other residents suggested residency requirements for police officers, believing that, "if police lived in the community, they would know the people better." Other suggestions included clear language and procedure around mental health crises calls and how they are communicated to emergency dispatch; if in the future there are other services in place to address these instances, dispatch will send that specific resource. Also suggested was a mental health registry, where families who have individuals considered at risk of mental crisis can denote that, which could help officers' awareness and response to a situation. The latter, Nelson said, does currently exist, in a more informal format.

Kupe commended the participants on their passion for their town.

"One thing I’m learning is that you really love your village," she said. "There’s this craving for understanding how you as a collective, a community, can heal, but also prevent this moving forward … improve relationships not just with each other, but with people who protect the community."

The forum is likely the first session of several, officials said.

Activist Casey Aster said the group calling for action after the shooting felt the forum did not accomplish as much as they'd hoped—specifically, they still seek disciplinary action against the officers involved in the shooting, in addition to publicly disclosing their names.

"It feels like the state's timeline is being used as a crutch for Flossmoor to lean on, so that they don't have to take immediate action," Aster said.

Aster and other protesters did not join in the initial breakout sessions, but participated in the second.

"It feels like a first step, but we want action, we don't just want talking," Aster said.

Nelson understands that many want clarity on the investigation, but stated it is a multi-layered process that is funneled through several different channels before a decision is handed down to the Village.

"Some things are out of our hands," Nelson said. "It's a little frustrating, because we're in this limbo. I know there are some folks who want answers, and they want them now, and unfortunately, to uphold the integrity of the process, we can't do that. We have to take the time, the measured steps, to get to an answer. Some people are going to be relieved when those answers come, other folks will not be."

Kamleiter hoped the forum would help to bridge the divide between officers and residents.

"We have a department full of dedicated officers who really care about the community which they serve," Kamleiter said. "It's been difficult for them, as it has been for everyone, including Madeline's family, and we hope to heal that."

Kamleiter in August said that the officer's actions were "difficult, but necessary," and that the officers acted in accordance with the department's use of force policy. Deputy Chief Keith Taylor on Saturday repeated that viewpoint.

"We support our officers, we believe that their acts were justified based on the circumstances, it's certainly a sad happening," Taylor said. "We do everything we can to use the least amount of force for every situation that we encounter, and that is based on the behavior of those that we deal with. We empathize with the family certainly, and with our officers who had to go through that, and the community. We've always been committed to community relations, building those relationships, forging new ones and being as honest and open as we possibly can."

Aaron McIntyre, 17, of Homewood, argued that Saturday's event was redundant. McIntyre has attended village board meetings since the shooting and has spoken at eight of them.

"This step has already been taken," he said. "It's not a step forward, it's a step sideways. Everything that was discussed here, has been previously discussed, and I mean everything. ... when it comes to what we can do with policing, that has all been discussed at Flossmoor Village Board meetings ... the fact that we are now acting like this is such a huge step, shows exactly where the heart of the people holding this is right now."