Law enforcement, public talk about improving relationship
Police chiefs, the incoming sheriff and the public met Monday night to discuss ways to improve the relationship between law enforcement and the community.
The grand juries’ decisions in Ferguson, Missouri and New York have sparked outrage across the country and calls for change.
Monday night’s panel was a blend of law enforcement officers and voices in the African-American community.
Jerry Travis participated in the panel. He is an African-American college athlete. He said cops are scared of him and that is not OK.
“Just that feeling of being watched is very uncomfortable when you know that everyone, police, or whoever is in the room, has their eyes on you. I’m not going to do anything wrong, I haven’t done anything wrong, I’m a law abiding citizen,” said Travis.
Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey said it’s difficult to hear stories like Travis’.
“That’s tough for a police officer to talk about that in a way that doesn’t sound defensive, in a way that we can say, we can do better moving forward if that’s the case,” said Carey.
People who gathered in Centennial Hall downtown asked law enforcement about their policies and procedures.
“It’s an uncomfortable conversation to have when it comes to racism,” said Shotika Cox.
“I thought the panel did a good job of having an open discussion and a respectful debate,” said Tim Schutz.
Attendees wrote their questions on cards that the moderator then read out loud. Some people didn’t like the format of the discussion.
“People are sensitive and they want to have a voice, and the audience was not able to speak out. That’s all I have to say about it,” said JJ Frazier.
Carey and incoming sheriff Bill Elder said they were pleased with Monday night’s turnout. They hope to have more discussions like this one in the future.
