By Howard Packowitz

NORMAL – Normal’s police board will be in place in the coming weeks, according to City Manager Mark Peterson, although it’s not known yet if the so-called Community Policing Culture Board will be an entirely civilian panel.

“The mayor (Chris Koos) is already talking to people,” said Peterson.

“He’s getting feedback from the (town) council on who would be appropriate appointees. One of the questions is would it be appropriate to have a police officer involved,” Peterson added.

“In fact, we’re having some meetings with police officers, and that’s part of the discussion,” the city manager said.

Peterson also said a police representative on the board, if approved, might be an active or retired officer.

Unlike the debate in Bloomington that led to creation of the Public Safety and Community Relations Board, Peterson said there’s been no discussion whether a convicted felon would be eligible to serve on Normal’s commission.

Bloomington’s police board met for the first time last month. Members plan a series of community outreach meetings. They’ll also publish a brochure detailing how citizens can file complaints against officers and ways to contact board members and the police chief.

Peterson said Normal’s board will focus on addressing race relations, and improving communication between the public and the police department.

Peterson acknowledged receiving some grief last summer when he said racism exists, mainly on a subconscious level, in all parts of the community, including the police department.

“Not everybody was happy about that,” Peterson said.

“But I had meetings with (police) leadership, and I think they understood where I’m coming from,” he added.

“All I suggested is police officers are no different from anybody else, including myself. We all have probably latent racial biases that we may not even realize,” said Peterson.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected].