By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington Police officers are apparently unhappy having a civilian set of eyes examining the department’s internal investigations, but Police Chief Brendan Heffner said there will be no change in how the officers do their jobs.

The city council capped months of contentious debate by voting eight-to-one to establish a civilian advisory board.

“We’re professionals,” said Heffner.

“It’s no different than sometimes you lose in court. We don’t stop working. We don’t go cry. You can be disappointed,” Heffner also said.

Prior to the vote, aldermen heard in public for the first time the views of rank-and-file police officers. Two officers told the council they believe the department is unfairly labled as racist.

Chief Heffner said the department will continue working closely with the local NAACP, Not In Our Town, and other organizations that lobbied for a civilian board.

The council adopted a revised proposal, which limits the board’s powers to only monitor whether the department follows proper procedures when investigating complaints against officers.

The board can not reinvestigate complaints, but community outreach is a key function. The revisions helped convince council member David Sage to endorse the commssion. The final vote was 8-1 with the only no vote coming from council member Diana Hauman.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]