The Carrboro Police Department is taking steps to address residents' concerns about racial profiling and bias among police officers.
In a presentation to the Board of Aldermen Tuesday night, Carrboro Police Chief Walter Horton said residents raised the concerns at a community forum Oct. 6.
The forum was organized in response to the incident in Ferguson, Mo. in which an unarmed black teen was shot and killed by a police officer.
Horton said the police department is looking to become involved in racial equity training and a citizen’s police academy.
“We will try to get any people of color to talk about their interactions with the police department,” he said. “This is going to be an ongoing process. We’re looking forward to seeing the progress.”
Horton said he and two other police captains would go to the racial equity training and then facilitate trainings for other officers in the department.
“People also wanted more community engagement,” Horton said. “We really want to do a citizens police academy.”
He said during the citizen’s police academy, residents can learn about the different roles of the police department and the basic laws and procedures.
“Racism exists and so racial profiling exists,” said Alderwoman Michelle Johnson. “The work that they are doing about police profiling is radical. Acknowledging it is radical.”
Johnson also said she was impressed by the proactivity of the police department.
“The forum happened pretty quickly after Ferguson,” Johnson said.
Alderwoman Bethany Chaney said preventing racial profiling is a community effort.
“I want to encourage the board to think really hard about ways we can be really thoughtful when it comes to noticing and doing something about racial inequity in the community,” Chaney said.
“It’s easy to focus on police. There’s a lot that we do as individuals that corral folks in to that conflict or situation where bias can be focused more clearly or forcefully.”
Michelle said they should also consider having a racial equity training that is open for the Carrboro community as well.
“There’s lots of ways that other departments and groups reflect and demonstrate violence,” Chaney said. “It’s everybody’s responsibility.”
Notable
The board unanimously passed a resolution supporting and welcoming unaccompanied immigrant minors fleeing violence in their own countries.
Quotable
“It makes sense to do this in schools given that children are going to be living in a world that will be dramatically different than what we are accustomed to,” said Alderman Sammy Slade, in reference to a proposal for Orange County commissioners to include costs of energy efficiency upgrades in school facilities.
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