CHAMPAIGN – A Champaign man was arrested Tuesday after making violent threats against a local college campus. Champaign Police arrived at 9:06 a.m. to Parkland College following a report of threats made on social media, according to a news release. Police were made aware of a social media post that contained threats against the college
This story is part of a partnership focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police Data Project of the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization, and IPM Newsroom, which provides news about Illinois & in-depth reporting on Agriculture, Education, the Environment, Health, and Politics, powered by Illinois Public Media. This investigation was
This story is part of a partnership focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police Data Project of the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization, and IPM Newsroom, which provides news about Illinois & in-depth reporting on Agriculture, Education, the Environment, Health, and Politics, powered by Illinois Public
Meetings of the Champaign Community Coalition include regular reports from local police departments. And at Wednesday’s meeting, those reports were dominated by reports of shootings. “I think it’s fair to say that it’s been a sad and busy couple of weeks, leading up to today,” said Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman, addressing the gathering local
CHAMPAIGN – Nearly four months ago, Champaign officials began installing cameras around town to take pictures of license plates on passing cars. According to Kevin Olmstead, Champaign police’s interim deputy chief of operations, 28 of the department’s 46 license plate readers have been positioned on Champaign streets as of September 15. “It gives us basically
Tisha Bryson has been shackled, hospitalized and shoved to the ground by central Illinois law enforcement officers more times than she can count while experiencing a mental health crisis. “I try not to hold grudges,” Bryson said, a resident of Hammond in Piatt County, about 40 miles southwest of Champaign. “But some of the ways
CHAMPAIGN – The city of Champaign has announced three finalists for the role of police chief. Angela Coonce is the Commander of the North Patrol Division of the St. Louis, Missouri police department. She has held that post since November 2019. Most of her career has been with that department. She holds advanced degrees in Security
CHAMPAIGN – This week, the city of Champaign dedicated a portion of University Avenue to police officer Chris Oberheim. Oberheim was shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call on the morning of May 19. Officer Jeffrey Creel, who was shot and wounded, killed the suspect, Darion Lafayette of Champaign. On Tuesday, members
The vast majority of police staff members for Champaign and Urbana don’t live in the communities they serve. In Champaign, nearly four out of five police officers live outside the city, despite a one-time $3,000 bonus for living in Champaign. In Urbana, nearly nine out of 10 police officers live outside the city, and there
Despite pledges over the years to diversify the police department, both the Champaign and Urbana police staff have remained overwhelmingly white. In 2014, the police staff in Champaign was 88% white and Urbana’s police staff was 84% white, CU-CitizenAccess reported at that time. Almost seven years later, those numbers are virtually unchanged. In Champaign, 99 out of
CHAMPAIGN – Champaign Chief of Police Anthony Cobb announced Thursday that he’ll step down from his position. He’s leaving the job to join the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, where he’ll serve as deputy director. Cobb was appointed in 2012 and has overseen the Champaign Police Department for more than nine years. Before
This is a developing story. It will be updated as we learn new details. CHAMPAIGN – Champaign Police say a 17-year-old male was killed and four other people were wounded Friday afternoon, in a shooting at a large post-funeral gathering for a previous shooting victim at the American Legion Post 559 on Hickory Street on
Editor’s Note: Illinois State Police released videos of the deadly May 19 shootings in Champaign. You can find a synced video of area surveillance cameras and police body cams here. The video is graphic. Viewer discretion is strongly advised. CHAMPAIGN – On the day after Champaign Officer Chris Oberheim’s funeral, Illinois State Police released surveillance
DECATUR – An estimated 2,000 friends, family and police officers filled a church in Decatur Wednesday for the funeral of Champaign Police Officer Chris Oberheim. He was killed last week while answering a domestic disturbance call. The funeral was closed to the public and the news media. But the public was encouraged to come out
CHAMPAIGN – Champaign Police Officer Jeffrey Creel has been released from the hospital, after being wounded by gunfire during the domestic disturbance call, in which fellow Officer Chris Oberheim was killed. Meanwhile, a Decatur funeral home says Oberheim’s funeral will be held next week. Graceland-Fairlawn Funeral Home announced on its website that services will be