Perspectives: Community
perspectives: police and community
What do members of the community think about relations with the police? Watch the following video, in which Jelani Cobb attends a neighborhood “block watch” meeting and learns about the perspective of concerned community members. As you watch, think about the perspective each community member brings to the conversation.
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JELANI COBB, Correspondent: Were you all surprised to find that the police department was under investigation by the Department of Justice?
RAY TIDWELL, Newark Resident: No, I wasn’t.
JELANI COBB: Why not?
RAY TIDWELL: Because I know the history of the Newark Police Department. I’m 65. So I’m probably a littler older or might be the oldest thing in this room. And the Newark Police Department—and we’re talking about the ‘70s and I guess the ‘60s. They treated African Americans very unfair, truly unfair.
There’s a culture, and particularly do to with white policemen. They see young black men or black men as thugs. For me, in order to survive, you have to know the system. There’s certain clothes I won’t wear. I will never fit the profile. I taught my son and my daughter that.
Rev. ERIC BECKHAM, Pastor, Clear View Baptist Church: It depends on the socioeconomic or the profile of the individuals in how you experience the police. I certainly believe that there is an expectation that the police are going to crack down on the level of murders, the violence, the robberies, that are taking place.
STACIE ALVAREZ, Elementary School Teacher: I teach 1st grade, so 7-year-olds. And so I have little boys in my classroom who are like, “Oh, no, I don’t like the police.” They’re saying to me that, you know, “Well, the police came in my house and they got my dad, or they stripped someone from my house,” and it’s like a violent encounter with the police. When 7-year-olds have a repulsive response to the police, you have a problem.
JELANI COBB: We’ve been out on patrol with some officers who are making a major initiative to get guns off the street. And you know, they’re kind of stopping people. They’re pulling over—frisking people, in some instances. And I have to say that what I saw was very disturbing. But this is what people have said is necessary in order to get guns off the street.
RYAN HAYGOOD: I don’t see an inconsistency with respecting people’s constitutional rights and protecting public safety. In our area, we do have neighbors who have been victimized in violent ways by crime. But it doesn’t mean that police officers can, in three out of four of the stops, violate people’s constitutional rights.
Take Notes
From what you heard in the video, what are the expectations of the community with respect to police? What frustrations do the residents express, and what changes would they like to see? You may refer to the transcript of the video to support your answers.
