Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting about Community Conscious Policing (created by Brandon Lee at Training4Transformation). It was extremely eye-opening and a breath of fresh air.
The 20 people there from all walks of life included correctional officers, Families First employees, racial justice activists, politicians, victims of police brutality, Brattleboro Police Department officers, Windham County Sheriffs, etc. You get the idea.
I had no idea how this was going to go. I was pleasantly surprised.
People shared their personal experiences. Some talked about what it is to be black in Brattleboro; some talked about their encounters and their friends' encounters with the police; some shared what it's like to work as police in this community.
As we all know, a violent act took place on Elliott Street recently. Local news agencies and social/racial justice activists have reported it as a “hate crime.” The charge of a hate crime is a pretty significant charge and shouldn't be taken lightly. But the question that keeps coming...