David Jenkins: First step is taken to address police distrust

On Sunday morning, the City of Sikeston woke to the awful news of a shooting in Sikeston that left two young women dead and seven others wounded.

The shooting, the latest in a string of violence the area has seen in recent months, compounded by the protests across the country, shines a light on relations between the police and the African American community. In Sikeston, like across the country, that relationship is lacking.

This lack of relationship is causing major distrust issues between African Americans and police, having numerous negative impacts in the community. Take Sunday’s shooting as an example. Individuals opened fire into a large group of people, yet the amount of information coming to officers is very little due to the distrust of police.

It’s a problem not just in Sikeston, but across the country, and one that has been building for many, many years. Fortunately, Sikeston Department of Public Safety Director James McMillen, sees the problem and took the first steps toward fixing it by entering into a program, facilitated by the Department of Justice, that will put people from the community together with police and identify problem areas and then work to solve them.

While the program isn’t a magic fix for all that is wrong, it is at least a first step in a process that is going to take concessions on both sides. Because it will take more than just meetings to fix a relationship that has been decaying for years.

At Monday’s Sikeston City Council meeting, a good number of points were brought to the attention of leaders, including McMillen. And while they were well received, they also must be acted on.

One of the issues made was police officers needing to be more involved in the community. This is absolutely true. Some of the best, most respected police officers I have known, are constantly out in the community. People know them and feel comfortable around them. In the case of Sunday’s shooting, residents would be more likely to share information with them than with another officer they aren’t familiar with. However, many officers just don’t get out into the community like they used to.

Just how officers need to get more involved, so does the African American community. While frustrated with the police, they need to get involved with things like this program, and other city programs so their voice and concerns can be heard outside of their community.

A point made in the meeting is that both police and the African American community have a lot in common today. Both are being targeted and misunderstood, but because of the target on them and the misunderstandings, it puts both groups on edge, which only compounds the problem.

To solve that problem, both sides need to look a common ground they can agree on. I’m sure both the police and the African American community want a peaceful community, with less crime. And I’m sure both want less confrontations between each other while obtaining that peaceful community.

But both groups are going to have to also deal with some harsh criticism from one another as well. And they are going to have to take that criticism and not get angry and walk away from the table, instead learning from it.

The program is a great first step but it is going to take both the police and the African American community working together to fix the problem or we will just be having the same conversations next year and the many years to come.

David Jenkins is co-editor of the Standard Democrat.