Cops and Good Trouble

Kerry Myers is in his first year on NorCo Council

On May 25, African American George Floyd was detained and eventually arrested by Minneapolis police officers for passing a counterfeit $20 bill. A white police officer knelt on Floyd's neck for nine minutes, while three other officers kept bystanders at bay. Pleas of "I can't breathe" were ignored, and the officer refused to remove his knee from Floyd's neck despite pleas that he do so. Floyd died. A video of this obvious brutality sparked nationwide outrage, and by people of all colors. The officers involved have been charged with homicide, but both peaceful protests and riots ensued. Cries of "Defund the police!" and "Black Lives Matter!", accompanied by violence, eventually led to "Back the Blue" counter-protests. Donald Trump declared himself the "President of Law and Order." In the meantime, every questionable incident involving police with persons of color have led to more protests, from Allentown to Wisconsin. It is against this backdrop that a group of 74 people, 50 of whom are police officers, met yesterday at Steel Stacks for a wide-ranging discussion of police interactions with persons of color.

This three-hour meeting, called "Courageous Conversations," was sponsored by NorCo DA Terry Houck, NorCo Council member Kerry Myers, Pa Democratic Black Caucus member Harold Levy and Senior Pastor Philip Davis of Easton's Shiloh Church. This is the second time this group met.

Does Racism Exist?

There are people on both sides of this issue in the community. So it's no surprise that police officers have different views as well.

Roseto Police Chief Brandon Rader denied there's any racism on the part of the officers with whom he works. But he said there is such a thing as good people and bad people. He noted that at times, a black person will claim he is being stopped because of his color. "No, I'm not," he said. "If you're a good person, I'll buy you a meal. I'll put gas in your car."

In stark contrast to Rader, LU Police Chief Jason Schiffer (former Chief of Bethlehem's Police Department) said "[r]acism is alive at LU and in our community."I need to recognize those shortcomings in myself."

Dave Collins, the first black person to become a Captain at Northampton County's jail, relayed his own experience. When he's driving, even if he is in uniform, he immediately gets nervous if he sees a police cruiser. In his mind, he goes over what he'll do if stopped. He noted that at one time, there were no police departments.

There were slave patrols.

False Loyalty

Collins also condemned what he called the "false loyalty" among some police and corrections officers who will back each other when there's a misconduct complaint. "What side of history do you want to be on?" he asked. "I want to be on the right side." This concern was also raised by community member Nicole Cooper, who said there needs to be more accountability. "We need officers who will say, 'That was wrong.'" Shje lamented that 48% of police discipline cases are overturned (I am unable to corroborate that assertion) nut former Easton Police CPT Scott Casterline said that is because those matters are reviewed by an independent arbitrator.

Harold Levy (Black Caucus) and DA Terry Houck

Defund the Police?

Almost all agreed that the "Defund the police" mantra is a misnomer. Kerry Myers, NorCo County Council's sole black member, said he prefers to see some funding reallocated to training officers. But Chief Schiffer countered that most police departments are hampered by very tight budgets. He said that when he was Chief in Bethlehem, he at one time had barely enough money to fuel his cruisers.

Terry Houck, who spent a decade as a Philly cop before becoming a prosecutor, echoed Schiffer. Houck said that when he started as a patrolman, Philly had 8,000 officers. When he left the force 10 years later, there were just 6,000. "Defunding the police has been going on for years," he lamented. He said it really hurts the ability of his office to prepare cases for trial.

Do We Need School Resource Officers? (SRO)

John Remaley and Scott Casterline, school resource officers at Easton Area School District, think so. In the wake of the Parkland shootings, they are needed to protect children from a seeming increase in mass shootings. "Most of the time, we are mentors or counselors," he said. He noted that a good SRO is adept at de-escalation, something he learned as a police officer.

Bethlehem Police Chief Mark DiLuzio said the Lehigh Valley is putting the finishing touches on a new program called "Handle With Care," in which a school is provided with a "heads up" when a child has been subjected to a traumatic event so he can be provided with counseling.

Don't Jump to Conclusions

Chief DiLuzio also recommended that people should refrain from jumping to conclusions when they see only a brief video clip, as happened recentkly in Allentown. "Let's deal with facts," he said.

Fear

Captain Collins expressed the fear he feels when he is driving and sees an officer. But that's a two-way street. Detective Andre Stevens noted that officers are "not punching bags," but should avoid feeling fearful when dealing with someone. "If you got fear in your heart, you should not wear the badge."

Good Trouble

The meeting ended with a video clip of civil rights icon John Lewis, who liked to say "Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." Though officers were told they could leave before the video played, they stayed.