Police, Worcester NAACP talk about race issues
With racial tension between people of color and police reaching a fever pitch in past weeks, police officials serving the Worcester County area met with the Worcester County chapter of the NAACP to discuss community outreach and establish common ground. Attending officers, who met at the Germantown School Community Heritage Center in Berlin, included Sheriff Reggie Mason, Ocean City Police Chief Ross Buzzuro, Pocomoke Police Chief Bill Harden and Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing, among others.
The event began with each member of the police giving a brief introduction of themselves and their goals for their departments.
"For officers to be trained, and to have positive presence in the community, is really what we're all trying to do," Downing said. "The agency itself is dedicated to working with other departments and community organizations. We can't do it ourselves, we can't expect to have effective policing if we're working by ourselves."
Harden, who lands in a precarious position amid racial scandals in the Pocomoke police department before he became chief, also spoke strongly.
"If you're a thief, and you make it through the police academy and become a sworn officer with a gun and a badge, you're still a thief," Harden said. "If you're a racist, and you make it through the police academy and are given a gun and a badge, you're still a racist."
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Following the officers' introductions, both NAACP officials and community members in attendance had the opportunity to voice their concerns and thoughts on the police force.
"What are you doing for officers to help them better understand and work with African-American community?" NAACP vice president Judy Davis asked. While several officers noted a requirement of 18 hours of cultural diversity training is required, all agreed that, with small police forces, it's difficult to find the time for a more suitable amount.
"If we look and see there's a class being given on cultural awareness or race relations, we can certainly go ahead and send as many officers as we can," Harden said. "The problem is, being short-staffed and having a small department, we have several officers wearing multiple hats ... but if I see something that is relevant to our department and I think can help them, then I'll do my darnedest to make sure as many officers as I can send receive that training."
Downing, meanwhile, noted the nuances of cultural training.
"There's no way I can tell you right now that, for someone from Saudi Arabia, the details of what their belief system is, I can not teach everyone everything," Downing said. "But what I can do is teach them to find the shared, common grounds and responsibilities that we all have."
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Anne Watson-Waples, an RN at Atlantic General in attendance, passionately asserted her concerns for her children when it came to the police force.
"When my children are told that you are there to look out for them, to take care of them, to serve in the best interest of them, but you may approach them in a way that is not always fair and friendly, but sometimes firm and aggressive," Watson-Waples said. "How do I teach them to handle that?"
Mason responded with advice he gives his deputies.
"One of the things I try to stress with all of my deputies is to reach out to the kids, to take interest, to be a role model," Mason said.
Watson-Waples restated that she believes that young adults are often approached by police on suspicion, rather than simple community outreach.
"I find that children are approached more with a negative than a positive," Watson-Waples said. "You may find a circle of children, and immediately assume they are involved in a negative event, rather than reaching out and getting involved in positive events. I see nationally on television police officers playing basketball and games with children. I've seen none of that here."
Harden responded by explaining that difficulty in asking every officer to become involved in the community in this fashion.
"You see politicians out there kissing babies all the time," Harden said. "And sometimes its sincere, and sometimes it's bull crap. And if you are strong in your feelings, you can tell when someone's being sincere or not."
Harden and Watson-Waples, following a brief back and forth, reached a conclusion that a mutual emphasis on respect has to be made.
"While this was a small step, it was a step nonetheless," NAACP president Ivory Smith said. "And we thank these officers for coming out here and taking the time to listen and explain their positions, and we thank everyone in attendance for coming out and voicing their concerns. It's with events like this that we can make progress."
