There was, however, time for listening and taking questions from the community at Springfield’s Southeast High School Wednesday night.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, State’s Attorney Dan Wright, and U.S. District Attorney Greg Harris were among those participating in a Community Summit on hate, hosted by The Jewish Federation of Springfield and the Springfield Branch of the N.A.A.C.P.
Springfield Police Chief, Ken Scarlette, also on the panel, voiced his disgust at expressions of hatred said to have come from a (now former) member of his department.
“If there are people in our agency I am not aware of who express similar beliefs, I wanna know names, I wanna know what they said, and they’ll be dealt with appropriately. I don’t have any use for that hate speech in our department in our city.”
The “Community Unity Summit” came in the wake of numerous social media posts ascribed to former Springfield Police Officer Aaron Nichols.
As Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul pointed out, online expressions of hate—reprehensible though they may be—are not necessarily illegal. If those expressions can be proved to be connected to criminal actions, however, that’s a different story.
All available bodycam footage, police reports, and arrests pertaining to former officer Nichols are being reviewed as investigations continue to see if Nichols broke any laws, including any civil rights violations, while acting in his capacity as a Springfield police officer.