A review by Springfield police finds that a former cop who posted racist and anti-Semitic content online did not appear to engage in biased and prejudicial conduct on the job.
Springfield police and the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s office undertook the review after Aaron Nichols abruptly resigned last April when he was confronted with evidence of the disturbing material posted under assumed screen names. The review found that Nichols did receive some bigoted content through his official email, but did not send such material through his department account. Body cam footage and traffic stop data did not reveal any patterns of discrimination, and State’s Attorney Dan Wright says after a review of Nichols’s case files, he did not find evidence to support charges of official misconduct or other offenses.
The department has instituted increased bias training and other precautions to guard against extremism on the force. And Wright has asked that Nichols be decertified as a police officer, but that request is still pending.
