My Story With The Invisible Institute Out Now! Read About Urbana Officer John Franquemont
My much-awaited article about Urbana police officer John Franquemont, written in collaboration with the Invisible Institute, is now live at WILL/Illinois Public media. You can read the article online with supporting documents and photos, and listen to my interview with WILL’s Reginald Hardwick:
A “Pattern of Problematic Conduct”: Urbana Officer Tests Police Accountability - Illinois Newsroom
As we uncovered, officer Franquemont had a penchant for taking people, with their hands handcuffed behind their back, and throwing them face-first into the back of his squad car.
The editors at the Invisible Institute stumbled across a couple complaints against officer Franquemont and sent them to me to investigate. I was able to locate the two African American women who filed complaints—Tianna Morrow and Laquesha Thadison. They both told me their stories about receiving lumps on their foreheads from encounters with officer Franquemont.
Urbana did the right thing and fired Franquemont in March 2022, but he is still trying to get his job back. The arbitration process, as agreed to in the police union contract, is weighted toward the cops.
The article benefits from a combination of the Invisible Institute’s digging for public records through their “citizens police data project” and my ability to highlight the stories of people impacted by the carceral system. The Invisible Institute is best known for obtaining the video of Chicago police killing Laquan McDonald in a hail of 16 shots.
My story captures the words of Laquesha Thadison who said she was “glad” that Franquemont was fired. She described him as being more “intimidating,” rather than helpful, as police are supposed to be.
Rantoul Update
I wanted to update my readers about the death of Jordan Richardson, one of two African American youth killed by Rantoul police this year. A statement by State’s Attorney Julia Reitz found the killing was “justifiable.” She cites Rantoul officer Jerry King who reported that he “felt” Richardson was going to shoot him. Video released by Rantoul police does not show Richardson pointing a gun at police, as Reitz first claimed. Amy Richardson, Jordan’s mother, has hired an attorney to pursue legal action.
One of my contacts in Rantoul says that officer Jerry King is already back on patrol and was recently seen looking on as a group of Black youth played basketball at an outdoor court.