CITY OF ROCKFORD: Statement Regarding Charges Being Dismissed Against an RPD Officer

By Press release submission

Feb 24, 2021

City of Rockford issued the following announcement on Feb. 20.

“With ongoing litigation in this case, it’s difficult for me to share more in-depth thoughts. However, in our community, and across the country there has been a call for more transparency in the public’s interactions with police. Now that charges against a Rockford Police officer for his actions during an arrest in June 2020 have been dismissed, the City and the Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office have released the dash camera video and police reports to the media. In addition, the State’s Attorney and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office have released to the media other evidence, including a recording of a call made from jail. It is important to provide this type of information to the public whenever possible. Following our standard protocol, now that the criminal case has concluded, the RPD will begin its own internal investigation. I’m hopeful that the internal investigation will proceed swiftly, as well as the pending litigation, and that we, as a community, can learn from this incident and move forward together.” - Mayor McNamara

*Dash camera video, police reports and the recording of a call made from jail were given to the media this morning by the State's Attorney's Office. We expect media to share those files soon.

For easy reference, we've uploaded a pdf of the State's Attorney's news release. You can find it at https://rockfordil.gov/.../Press-Release-Frank-Fabiani.pdf.