WASHINGTON — There was frank talk in D.C. Wednesday night about an
often-uncomfortable topic.
It was a panel discussion about police procedures and race in the wake of the
tragedy in Ferguson, Missouri, called “When Police Shoot: A Dialogue on the
Use of Force.”
Cedric Alexander, deputy chief operating officer of the Office of Public
Safety in DeKalb County, Georgia, says most new police officers get about six
months of training.
“My question is this: In light of everything that’s happening, are we training
enough?” Alexander says training should include opportunities for officers to
confront their own biases.
“We are going to see change in policing; I am totally convinced of that. And
it’s going to happen pretty fast in this country,” Alexander said, adding that
tough discussions about race are needed in America.
“We’re not going to continue to be a strong nation as long as we stay
divided.”
Also part of the panel was Tom Streicher, who was chief of police in
Cincinnati in 2001, when race riots broke out following the police shooting of
an unarmed black man. He supports the use of police body cameras.
“We need to require officers to wear them head-mounted, so that that camera is
recording most closely what I’m looking at,” Streicher said.
He also says it is crucial for officers to build and maintain relationships
with the public.
“You are not an independent warrior sent in there to try to keep the peace.
You are part of that community that you serve, and you become part of it. And
that has to be mandated everywhere from the chief all the way through the
agency.”
The two also talked about some of the challenges police forces are facing
today, including young officers who stay on for only a few years, as well as
what Streicher calls a “generational disconnect” in policing.
The talk, held at the U.S. Navy Memorial, was a joint presentation by the
National Law Enforcement Museum and the Memorial Foundation, which built the
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in D.C.
It’s the first in a series of free discussions planned by the National Law
Enforcement Museum called “Conversations on Law Enforcement.”
Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.
