Police training officials have called off a local anti-terrorism class for officers after protests from a Muslim civil liberties group called the course’s instructor “notorious(ly) anti-Muslim.”
Officers from various local departments had been scheduled to attend instructor Sam Kharoba’s class, “Islamic Awareness as a Counter-Terrorist Strategy,” Monday at Lombard Village Hall. But late last week the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for the training’s cancellation.
The course was scratched Friday after the head of the state’s police training agency asked the local training agency, North East Multi-Regional Training, not to use the instructor until the state evaluates his curriculum. According to the local organization’s director, Phil Brankin, the executive director of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, Kevin McClain, said the trainer would not be used statewide until the inquiry concludes. McClain could not be reached.
The Muslim civil liberties group said in a news release that Kharoba’s training materials are “riddled with inaccuracies, sweeping generalizations and stereotypes.” The group cited Kharoba’s training materials, arguing that he portrays Islam as inherently violent.
Kharoba could not be reached for comment. The instructor has attracted controversy in the past. Last year, CAIR and other Muslim groups asked Florida law enforcement officials to stop hiring him to teach.
On the North East Multi-Regional Training group’s website, Kharoba is described as a Jordanian-born “nationally-recognized presenter … noted for his knowledge in Arabic name construction, symbols and colors” who has conducted training for more than 13,000 law enforcement officials. The course, according to the site, aims to provide “insight into the mindset of Islamic militants” and teach ways to “differentiate between moderate and radical persons.”
Brankin said he had examined Kharoba’s work and believed his conclusions were based on credible research, even if CAIR finds his message offensive. Brankin added that he recently invited CAIR to develop and offer its own training through his agency.
“I’m confident that (the state agency’s) review will find nothing wrong with the curriculum or the instructor,” he said.
Similar classes were scheduled in Highland Park and Elmhurst, but they were canceled last month for lack of enrollment, Brankin said.
The controversy shines a light on the state’s publicly funded police training apparatus, which has drawn criticism for employing instructors whose own law enforcement careers have been scarred by botched cases.
Many of the training officers in Illinois come through 16 taxpayer-funded regional organizations affiliated with the state training and standards board, including North East Multi-Regional Training, which serves police across the Chicago area. The local training agencies are almost entirely responsible for selecting and evaluating instructors, Brankin said.
The Tribune reported last year that some agencies had paid two Lake County law enforcement figures — Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Pavletic and retired Waukegan detective Lou Tessmann — to teach about homicide investigations despite their involvement in cases that helped earn their jurisdiction a reputation for wrongful convictions.
Tessmann took the confession of Juan Rivera, who admitted in 1992 to killing 11-year-old Holly Staker in Waukegan. Rivera was exonerated by DNA and released last year after 20 years in prison.
Pavletic prosecuted Rivera and another man exonerated by DNA after 15 years in prison.
Police have also taken classes on investigations and interrogations from Waukegan police Officer Domenic Cappelluti, who helped obtain confessions from two murder suspects who were later cleared.
Training agencies around the state have continued hiring the local men since the Tribune raised questions about the matter, according to online promotional materials for the classes.