AURORA -- It has been a week of unrest at Jericho Circle, and it culminated Thursday night, as Aurora Police Chief Bill Powell and several of his staff attended the regular meeting of the tenant council at the public housing complex.

Over the past week, several residents have raised concerns over what they've called unfair treatment at the hands of the Aurora Police Department. One woman, Natascha Lee, was arrested on Tuesday on a disorderly conduct charge following an argument with police over parking.

Lee spoke out about the incident Thursday, claiming that Officer Dave Brian, who made the arrest, denigrated her parenting skills.

"It's what I live for, to raise my six kids and make sure they don't grow up to be gangbangers and drug dealers," she said. "He said I'm not a good parent, right in front of my kids."

Peggy Hicks, of the Illinois Coalition for Community Services, witnessed the incident. She said several squad cars were out on the street, and people were swearing. She came out to calm people down, stepping in to make sure that the tension did not escalate.

Hicks has been working with the new tenant council at the Aurora Housing Authority complex on the West Side, helping to organize events to get parents involved and children off the street.

"There haven't been a lot of problems lately," she said. "This came as a shock to everyone."

Brian was not in attendance at Thursday's meeting, but Powell listened to the concerns of the residents and then urged them to follow the chain of command if they are not getting the treatment they feel they deserve. He also noted that police officers are human and may sometimes need to react quickly to situations.

"I don't expect my officers to demean anyone," Powell said. "It's going to take all of us to make this a safe environment."

That's Mattie Coble's goal, too. As president of the tenant council, formed in January, Coble has been trying to pull Jericho Circle together, and she hopes that the residents will take advantage of the council and let them know what concerns they have.

At every meeting, Coble and her fellow council members provide complaint forms that residents can fill out. Coble then takes up the issues with the Housing Authority or Aurora police. At Thursday night's meeting, many residents filed up to the front to get their own copies of the forms.

Powell said he welcomes the complaints, and will use them to help his staff oversee crime prevention in the complex. He specifically mentioned Lee's complaint, saying, "I will talk to Officer Brian, and if I find out that he's been demeaning people, I will take action."

But Powell's hope is that his officers can forge a partnership with the residents of Jericho, to help further reduce the incidents of crime in the complex.

"We should be able to talk to each other," he said. "We want to cooperate with everyone. We want this to be a safe place."