State board will have final say on Aaron Nichols' future as police officer
A former Springfield police officer who was accused of making racist, antisemitic and homophobic comments that appeared in an online blog post last year will now have to go to a state board to seek re-certification.
An attorney from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETS) clarified last week that Aaron Paul Nichols, who resigned from SPD on April 5, 2022, shortly after being placed on unpaid leave, can only be reactivated "upon application of an employing agency and with approval of the board."
"It’s fair to say if the media reports are true, Nichols will never again be an active Illinois law enforcement officer," said Patrick L. Hahn, an attorney and ethics officer for ILETS, in a letter to Sangamon County state's attorney Dan Wright last week.
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Wright was seeking clarification of Nichols' status. The state's attorney's office and the SPD did separate internal reviews of Nichols.
Wright did not bring charges against Nichols, concluding in November there was "insufficient evidence" to prove Nichols committed a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt.
The 18-year veteran of the department resigned after being the subject of an online article published by Anonymous Comrades Collective last year. Nichols was put on unpaid leave on April 1, 2022, stripping him of police powers with SPD.
SPD Police Chief Ken Scarlette recommended to the ILETS board that Nichols not be a certified police officer in the state "as a result of the egregious actions that were uncovered." Shortly after Nichols' resignation, the board received a "Professional Conduct Report" from now-Assistant Chief Joshua Stuenkel on Nichols for unbecoming conduct for violation of SPD's social media policy.
That report went into the Officer Professional Conduct Database, which is maintained by the board.
Wright also submitted a letter to the board supporting Nichols' decertification, noting that "no community should be subjected to an encounter with Nichols as a member of law enforcement at any time in the future."
Although it is unclear if Nichols' status was the direct result of action by the board, "the board may refuse to re-activate the certification of a law enforcement officer who was involuntarily terminated for good cause by an employing agency for conduct subject to decertification under this Act or resigned or retired after receiving notice of a law enforcement agency's investigation," Hahn stated in the letter.
Hahn did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment from The State Journal-Register.
It would be an uphill climb for Nichols to get certification again. A chief administrative officer or designee looking to hire Nichols must check the professional conduct database, contact each his previous law enforcement employers and document the contact.
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Hahn said in the letter that, to date, the board has not received any application to reactivate Nichols’ status.
The Nichols situation led to a change in how SPD officer candidates are hired.
Candidates now undergoing background checks are asked questions about membership in or affiliation with "private persons, groups, organizations, or associations that are of the belief or support any racial, ethnic, religious, or sexual orientation as inferior."
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: An Illinois board will have a final say on Aaron Nichols being a cop
