Following the death of George Floyd and other Black citizens across the country at the hands of police officers, the local NAACP issued demands to the City of Springfield. They include: Banning vascular neck restraints/choke holds or any form of neck restraints; reducing the traffic stop disparity index; and making reforms to the Police Civilian Review Board.
In response to those demands, Springfield city manager, Jason Gage, made recommendations to Springfield City Council last week. The recommendations come after meetings with leaders of the local NAACP, including president, Toni Robinson, and with Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams, according to the city in a statement.
Gage recommended to Springfield City Council that the city ban the use of lateral vascular neck restraints. He said work needs to be done to reduce the traffic stop disparity rate. The city has contracted with Mike Stout, a professor at Oklahoma State University, to study the reported disparity rate “in order to understand it and reduce it,” according to city officials.
Recommended changes to the Police Civilian Review Board include requiring that all applications be forwarded to city council for consideration; eliminating the requirement that board members must have completed the Citizens Police Review Academy before being considered for the board; extending the term from two to three years and expanding the number of board seats from five members to seven.
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