Rietz says she isn't second-guessing her decision

Tue, 11/22/2011 - 8:26pm | Mary Schenk, staff writer,

State's Attorney Julia Rietz said she is not second-guessing her decision to dismiss the criminal charge of resisting a peace officer against the man involved.

"I believe that everyone other than the two foot patrol officers made bad decisions so I'm declining to charge the young man. I'm declining to charge the officer," she said.

"While the officer's action may have been consistent with the department's use of force policy, I believe he could have made efforts to de-escalate the situation. The young man certainly could have de-escalated the situation by being compliant even if he disagreed with the officer's actions," she said.

Categories (2):News, Courts, Police, and Fire

Location (3):Champaign County, Champaign, Local

Tags (3):Julia Rietz, Champaign police department, Illinois State Police

Comments

News-Gazette.com embraces discussion of both community and world issues. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. We reserve the right to remove any comment at our discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.

billbtri5 wrote on November 23, 2011 at 8:11 am

yes, next time a police officer has his hands on your throat while you are in handcuffs, definitely try and diffuse the situiation....

Yea Right wrote on November 23, 2011 at 9:11 am

Yes, and when a police officer tells you to come back to the car, maybe you should comply and stop running your mouth!! It's a no-brainer for some people, and for some it takes brains they dont have!!

stoptryingjustifythis wrote on November 23, 2011 at 10:11 am

The right to free speech and press means that individuals may publicly express ideas and information—including expressions generally considered to be unwise, untrue, or unpopular—without fear of punishment by the government.

Commonsenseman wrote on November 23, 2011 at 11:11 am

I see this disrespectful attitude in many of todays young people, these are the same people who make it unsafe to be downtown or on campus at night, thank you to CPD for doing something about them, shame on who dont support them

ROB McCOLLEY wrote on November 23, 2011 at 11:11 am