Knowing When to Listen
By : Andy Mills , Chief of Police – Santa Cruz PD
This year , our nation saw two events this
summer that shook this country and policing to its core . Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd until he was dead , and Breonna Taylor was killed in a late-night search warrant . These two actions caused massive civil unrest ; and resulted in numerous chiefs losing their jobs and a push for more law and policy changes for policing . Beyond the inevitable changes that frequently happen when there are unjust events , our front line staff ' s stress level has been immense .
The Santa Cruz community did a few things to understand the angst level and deflect the potential for violent protests . Immediately after the George Floyd murder , we pulled together influential leaders from the Black community and broke bread together . We brought in some food , sat next to one another , and talked . It was raw , powerful , and rewarding . The voices in the room were clear on just how damaged their relationships were with the police . But they made it clear that they were there and representing themselves not the entire Black community and that we need to make time to talk with every member of the Black community .
Several suggestions were made on how we can build relationships and put us on solid ground with those who are hurting . We learned so much from that meeting – one thing in particular stood out was how to make a good-faith effort to address problems we see across our community . When the meeting ended , we all agreed that discussions such as these needed to continue happening to help us impact our community and implement change . We continued to meet several times over the months and came up with a plan of action .
1 : The police cannot speak for the Black community ; we can ,
however , amplify their voices . We came up with a goal to ensure Santa Cruz Police are objective in their interactions with the Black community and to use the least amount of force necessary . Many people expressed they do not feel safe when stopped by the police . Even members of my agency showed concern for their loved ones if the police were to stop them . We can think the fear is unreasonable , but their fear is real and almost universal . It is our job as police leaders to fix this , not the Black community .
26 CALIFORNIA POLICE CHIEF | www . californiapolicechiefs . org