SUNO discussion focuses on police violence against young Black males

By Charmaine Jackson
Contributing Writer

“Oftentimes we ask anyone these days why is there a disjointed relationship between police who are sworn to uphold the law and to protect and to serve and young Black males today and most will tell you in a round-about way that there is a perception problem.”

– Dr. John Penny
Criminologist

While there have been several deaths resulting from confrontations between unarmed Black males and white police officers in the nation’s history, the recent grand jury’s decision to not indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown ignited much debate and many protests, along with a myriad of emotions in the African American community and beyond.

Hours before at Southern Univer­sity New Orleans (SUNO) presented its community forum to discuss interactions between Black males and police officers, breaking news reports informed of Staten Island’s grand jury’s decision to not indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the choke-hold death of Eric Garner.

According to SUNO Chancellor Victor Ukpolo, the university wanted to get the dialogue started to talk about the issues. He stated, “We as a community must come together to understand why these incidents happen and discuss what could be done to minimize them.” Concerned members of the community filled the seats of SUNO’s University Center to hear presentations, share their experiences and pose questions to the panelists.

The Criminal Justice Depart­ment and Student Government Association (SGA) of Southern University at New Orleans, along with the Urban League of Greater New Orleans and the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus organized the discussion, in which presentations were given by panelists: Criminologist Dr. John Penny, New Orleans Superintendent Michael Harrison, SGA President Dylen Johnson and SUNO student Terrell Walker, Criminologist Dr. Evaristus Obinyan, and Louisiana State Representative, District 97 Dr. Joe Bouie.

According to Dr. Penny, the issue of negative interactions between Black males and white police officers, in particular, stems from a perception problem. “Oftentimes we ask anyone these days why is there a disjointed relationship between police who are sworn to uphold the law and to protect and to serve and young Black males today and most will tell you in a round-about way that there is a perception problem.” He added that education, economics, safe communities and activities, racism, and profiling all play a big part in the disparity between young Black males and the police department. As for how each group sees the other, Dr. Penny stated that young Black males perceive that they are not respected by the police and view them with fear, distrust and disdain and feel that if they were to have a need for police protection or service, that they will become a target for asking. “Where is ‘Officer Friendly’ when it comes down to the Black male?” questioned Dr. Penny. “When it comes down to the Black male, he sees the officer as authoritative and abusive and the police officer perceives the young Black male as an enemy and deserves to be treated sometimes with disdain,” he added. Dr. Penny’s suggestion to remedy what he called “unhealthy encounters” with police: a new paradigm that will allow us to look at one another as not enemies but in the same vein as needing one another.

SUNO student and panelist, Terrell Walker, revealed he has had positive and negative encounters with police officers. He recalled times when officers have been friendly towards him and says it is really based on the person. Contrarily, he gave an account of a negative encounter with two police officers at a club. Although Terrell described this negative encounter, he insisted that young Black males take responsibility for what they do and advised to comply with the police. “If they ask you to step outside the vehicle, do so and stay relaxed.” Additionally he stated, “If they are in an area that’s dark, use your phone to record, if possible, because you have the right to record all actions during a stop and if wrongfully treated, report it immediately.”

During the panel, potential solutions to help alleviate, if not eradicate the problem were discussed, including training. Dr. Bouie suggested “training to provide cultural sensitivity modules to help recruits appreciate and respect culture of citizens beyond their own.” “It would counteract the socialization of the “old value and behavior” with a new perspective and behavior,” he stated. He also advised the United States Justice Department play a role in all investigations of police killings to enhance transparency.

While the incidents in Ferguson and Staten Island are not isolated events, but permeate throughout the country, Supt. Harrison seized the opportunity to address how he intends to work with his staff to improve relations between young Black males and police officers. “With this administration, it is my goal to bridge the gap between community and police and the only way we can do that is to engage in the conversations.”

Joined by fellow assistant police chiefs and commanders in the meeting, Harrison stated he wanted to embrace every member of the community, and build trust so that they can get to know how genuine and sincere the police department is about serving their needs, which will in turn, help the police in the city bring down murder and crime rates and ultimately provide a good feeling about being a citizen or visitor of New Orleans.

This article originally published in the December 8, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.