Students call for resignation of Joliet Junior College security chief
Joliet IL April 6 2020 As Joliet Junior College’s police chief enters the final months of a mandated personal improvement plan, student leaders continue to call for his resignation.
Police Chief Pete Comanda chief was put under the personal improvement plan following what has been described as “racially-based statements” he made last year.
Student leaders have called for his resignation, with many students claiming they feel unsafe with Comanda at the helm of the college’s police department.
Comanda was given a written warning following complaints stemming from an August training exercise, according to a Nov. 6 memo from Rob Galick, the college’s vice president of administrative services, titled “final outcome, written warning and performance improvement plan.”
“Based on testimony given during the investigation, it is clear that you made racially-based statements that are in conflict with the college’s position on diversity, equity, and inclusion s well as JJCs core values,” Galick wrote.
An African American officer was acting as a perpetrator in the training exercise when Comanda directed another attendee to use the zip tie handcuffs on the officer and “hang him from a tree,” according to the memo.
The memo cites another instance in which Comanda equated the Black Lives Movement to a terrorist organization.
“What I will say is about each and everyone of the allegations is that they are either completely false or taken completely out of context,” said Comanda, who signed the November memo with a notation that his signature was only to acknowledge receipt and that the allegations were untrue.
Comanda, who heads the department of 14 sworn officers and 21 civilian officers, has led the college’s police department for 17 years.
“I love this college and I love this department,” said Comanda, who prevously worked at the Country Club Hills Police Department, rising to the rank of acting police chief.
Comanda said he has hired a diverse workforce within his department.
However, in addition to the complaints about statements he has made, the November letter also charges that Comanda has created a “hostile work environment.”
“Under your leadership, the culture in the police department is not a welcome and inclusive environment for everyone,” Rob Galick, the college’s vice president of administrative services, wrote in his November memo to Comanda.
Gallic wrote that he has personally seen Comanda raise his voice and “dominate a conversation for an extended period of time” when he gets angry or frustrated. Galick also points to concerns of Comanda’s use of security cameras to “keep an eye on select employees in your department.”
The letter also mentions Comanda’s concern that employees took complaints outside of the department and mentioned an “LBTQ complaint” that went to human resources, saying Comanda insisted that it should not have gone outside the department. The memo does not go into details about the complaint.
Earlier this year, a group of student leaders voiced their concerns about Comanda to Joliet Junior College Board members. Student said they felt unsafe on campus with Comanda as chief, pointing to reports about his statements. A petition with 150 signatures demanding Comanda resign also was presented to board members. The petition also sought the long-term board member Bob Wunderlich, who serves as board president.
“Personally, as a minority, I feel threatened because of (Comanda),” said Sebastian Gonzalez, a sophomore at the college who also heads the Student Government Association. “When it comes to the safety of students and you’re in charge of serving and protecting the students and then say harmful statements like that, I don’t think he should be serving us.”
Comanda also shared a petition of support signed by 23 members of the police staff and a petition signed by more than 600 students expressing their support for him. Other former JJC employees, many who worked with Comanda in the police department, also submitted letters expressing their support for Comanda.
Comanda said he does not plan to resign.
“I’ve been here 17 years and here’s never been any kind of racial allegation,” Comanda said.
He offered to meet with students and had a meeting scheduled, but student leaders instead asked to meet with another member of his staff at a later date.
Gonzalez said he hoped to have a forum about the issue and that student leaders were hoping to meet with members of the college’s police department to discuss concerns. Those meetings have not yet been held as the college remains closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Joliet Junior College President Judy Mitchell said in an emailed statement that she is meeting with Comanda regularly regarding his personal improvement plan. She also has initiated cultural assessments and conducted meetings with the police department staff.
“This has been a challenging and upsetting time because I want everyone to feel safe and supported at JJC,” Mitchell wrote in mid-March. “What we have heard publicly from our students and employees has been real and heartfelt … as leader of this college, I will work tirelessly to ensure that everyone on this campus feels safe, welcomed and understood.”
The Joliet Junior College Board is scheduled to next meet April 29.
