DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen and city manager Mark Biernacki responded on Tuesday to the allegations of racism against the DeKalb Police Department, which were presented largely by NAACP executive director Mitchell Gaddis at the groups meeting Monday evening.

Feithen regretted that no one contacted him about the allegations and concerns before a full presentation was made in front of a large group.

Whereas smaller, more intimate meetings provide a more reasonable setting to make real progress toward understanding and resolving issues and concerns, Feithen said, meaningful progress is hard to make in large groups.

Feithen said he has met with minority community groups in the past, including the NAACP. He was also contacted by and agreed to meet with Gaddis twice in the past week on a more intimate level but, in both instances, Gaddis cancelled the meeting.

He said that, as in the past, he would welcome meetings with NAACP officers in the future. He also said he told them this particular meeting time was impossible for him to attend, as the DeKalb City Council met Monday night.

In response to Gaddis’ claim that the DeKalb police have “no regard for the lives of black people,” Feithen said the statement was “blatantly false; an inflammatory statement designed to incite, instead of constructively resolve, issues within the black community.”

Witness 1: Tywon Green

On Monday, Green, a senior sociology major spoke about an incident regarding his uncle, Demeatrius Walker. Green alleged Walker was assaulted while on his way to work, from Greek Row to Nestle, on Oct. 5 by a man asking for cigarettes.

Then a group of white men came out of hiding and chased him. Green also said Walker suffered from scars and a fractured back that nearly left him paralyzed for life and claimed there was no police report filed.

Chief Feithen said Walker was not on his way to work, and was also involved in multiple incidents the night prior to the alleged attack in separate areas around DeKalb.

Police reports on the incidents prior to the attack were found, as well as one for the attack itself. The suspects involved in the attack were identified by witnesses in the report as three black males, not white males.

Additionally, the DeKalb Police have had trouble pursuing the investigation further. Feithen said Walker told police that he had been advised by associates not to seek help with the police.

This occurred Tuesday after the publication of a Northern Star article covering the NAACP meeting was published. Police are still unable to verify if Walker has a fractured back, Feithen said.

Witness 2: Warren C. Jackson

Jackson, owner of J ‘N’ J Taxi in DeKalb, discussed a lawsuit he filed in 2006 with the city of Sycamore.

Biernacki was unable to comment on specifics of Jackson’s incident because it pertains to a Sycamore ordinance, but said DeKalb’s relationship with Jackson has been one aimed to “ensure his vehicles and drivers are properly licensed and inspected.”

Seeing as how Jackson’s issue is one regarding Sycamore, it is unclear why it would be brought up Monday night in association with concerns directed more specifically at the DeKalb Police, Biernacki said.

Witness 3: Michael Fitzgerald

At Monday’s meeting, Fitzgerald, owner of Java 101, 901 Lucinda Ave. appeared by video recording. In the video, Fitzgerald discussed the dance party his coffee house hosted on the night of Oct. 13.

Fitzgerald said he had over 200 people inside and outside of his establishment, and that he had everything under control until around 1 a.m. when an “army” of state and local officers came to investigate the gathering.

Officers responded to the situation after they saw gross overcrowding in Java 101 while patrolling from the street, Feithen said. This made them fearful for the safety of the patrons, as they hoped to avoid any kind of “nightclub incident” similar to a 2003 Chicago stampede at the E2 nightclub.

Fitzgerald said the officers asked if they could look around, to which he refused because he felt it would lead to problems. He later said after closing his shop, he saw the police begin to motion the crowd to leave.

Officers then observed multiple fights that broke out in the street, leading to the arrest of a Rockford man who was subsequently charged with aggravated assault.

While responding to the fight involving the Rockford man, one DeKalb police officer was left with a serious injury which will result in his missing three to four months of work, Feithen said. It is this injury to an officer, Feithen said, that likely contributed to the charge of aggravated assault.

Feithen also said Fitzgerald, who at the NAACP meeting expressed safety in the community as his moral impetus, should have been concerned about the number of customers at his business and preventing injuries.

Concerns over establishment capacity were not limited to Java 101 or any one place in DeKalb over Homecoming Weekend. The deputy liquor commissioner and the fire inspector visited a list of establishments that night, not targeting specific locations or populations of people, Biernacki said.

Witness 4: Carolyn Little

At the meeting, Little, a junior business major, alleged that on Oct. 12, police were pushing people at The House Cafe, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, which caused a domino effect that pushed her into a police dog, prompting the dog to bite her arm. She also said the police report was filed, but that she was denied access to it.

The event was admittedly oversold by an outside promoter, Feithen said. Police responded to the scene after being tipped off by a citizen about how crowded it was, and employees asked police for help because they were losing control of the crowd.

Feithen also said the dog bit Little after she bumped into an officer. He said police dogs are trained to protect the handler and the dog was triggered when Little fell toward the officer.

Feithen expressed remorse for the incident, but since it was a state police officer and K-9 unit, DeKalb Police obviously could not provide Little with the police report.

An unnamed university official had contacted Chief Feithen regarding Little’s desire to obtain the police report, Feithen said, adding that he advised the NIU official that it would have to be obtained from the state police.

This information was relayed to Little by the university official prior to Monday’s NAACP meeting, Feithen said Tuesday.

John Puterbaugh contributed to this story.