It is not my intent to demonize police officers—it is not fair. They are but small parts of the larger issue. Humanizing them is one of the things that the Community Police Relations Project has helped me to do. Working and hearing of cases of racial profiling can easily lead one to think that all cops are bad but the reality is that their actions are a result of the way in which they’ve been socialized. I find policies and laws that perpetuate these stereotypes and prejudices that facilitate racial profiling to be infuriating.
Recently, police harassment cases have been shown some light, as presented in a previous post. The Cypher that was part of last month’s Trolley night led to a chain of events that has reawakened the Memphis United group. Started in January, as a response to the planned rally by the KKK, organizations, groups, and individuals collaborated and committed to create an event “to engage in self-reflection, dialogue, education, training, and non-violent action to collectively re-envision and recreate our region as a fully welcoming and nurturing community” (Memphis United Facebook description). The Cypher incident happened on Trolley night, yet a few days prior a group of H.O.P.E. (Homeless Organizing for Power and Equality) members were harassed and arrested outside a weekly meeting at the Manna House on Jefferson. The previous evening, another H.O.P.E. member was banned from a public building downtown for attempting to use a public restroom. These events in addition to the various attempts by the police to prevent The Bridge vendors to sell copies of The Bridge (even though a permit was filed to allow the sale of the paper), resulted in a letter and series of upcoming actions led by members of Memphis United (scheduled for Dec. 17th if anyone is still in town).
These cases are few of the many that happen everyday due to the relationship of community and police relations which is why I have been attending and helping to facilitate CPR forums these past few months. Through the forums I have seen and had the privilege to listen to community members and the police express their interactions on the streets of Memphis. There are plans to create a ‘Plan of Action’ that will be presented to the City of Memphis, but my question to you all is, what would it take to improve community-police relations in Memphis (in addition to these forums)? Have you seen any other attempts similar to the CPR Project? What of the community members that aren’t able to attend the forums but have rich experiences and information that would be valuable to the project?
Ronald Weitzer, "Racialized Policing: Residents' Perceptions in Three Neighborhoods"
https://www.facebook.com/MemphisUnited?ref=br_tf
http://wreg.com/2013/10/24/neighbors-say-they-witnessed-police-brutality/
http://www.wmctv.com/story/23811561/rappers-claim-police-overacted-to
http://wreg.com/2013/11/16/memphis-group-works-to-end-police-harassment-and-profiling/
As an intern of the CPR project, I have seen the understanding of the police perspective and the citizen perspective grow. In addition to these forums, I would opt for more systematic changes for the MPD, SCSD, and citizens. Citizens should be encouraged to speak out against the crimes that occur in their neighborhoods, but many are afraid due to the lack of police protection against possible retaliation.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, sensitivity training should be offered to police officers yearly instead of occasionally.