Some very influential voices in U.S. law enforcement came together at American University Wednesday night to talk about improving police-community relations post-Ferguson.
Members of the high-powered panel included current and former police chiefs, including D.C.'s own Chief Cathy Lanier, and social policy experts. They were brought together by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
News4’s Jackie Bensen reported the town hall meetings are part of the organizations' effort to address the crisis in community confidence faced by local law enforcement agencies after the 2014 shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Audience members, including a number of American University students, submitted questions for the panel. Bensen said some of the answers were surprising.
What could you do in the next 90 days to reestablish community trust?
“When you are evaluating the recruits for their suitablity for the job and one performance measure that you rate them on - empathy,” said Lanier.
“De-incentivize arrests for low-level offenders and focus on your most prolific offenders in your community ,” said Hassan Aden, director of research and programs at the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
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Students were pleased with the responses they heard, saying the answers to the relations problem lie in the communities.
