When dozens of community members sat down with law enforcement to talk about creating a better bond between officers and residents, one sentiment was expressed from nearly every person in attendance: We need to improve communication.
Hillsborough Speaks, presented by Safe and Sound Hillsborough, is the second of four interactive workshops that encourages the creation of a dialogue between residents and law enforcement.
Residents age 15 and above and officers discussed some of the events that shaped their views on law enforcement, shared moments they had felt stereotyped against and brainstormed ways to open the line of communication between police departments and their community in hopes of creating a safe environment for all those who call Plant City home.
“The event absolutely succeeded in its aim,” William Thomas, president of the Improvement League of Plant City, said. “I think it was a really good relationship forming platform for the community and law enforcement to get together and make sure we’re all in accord. Everyone wants to be safe, everyone wants to be protected and the officers I think feel the same way.”
The Improvement League of Plant City aims to “foster equitable opportunities for residents, regardless of age, sex, race or religion throughout Plant City.” Many of its members were in attendance, though Thomas said the driving force behind the success of the event came from a dedicated group of residents outside of his group that had made it a goal to meet with police for nearly a year.
“When Safe and Sound came up with Hillsborough Speaks we told them there was already an effort going on. Rather than starting a brand new deal, let’s plug in because you don’t want to disconnect from something we’ve already started,” Thomas said. “I think that’s the reason why this Hillsborough Speaks turned out so well because there was already an underground effort underway.”
Sgt. Al Van Duyne, spokesman for the Plant City Police Department, said he thought the event had a decent turnout and was looking forward to seeing it gain momentum for future events. Van Duyne shared a story of some of the biases he faced growing up in New York in the mid 80s as a young African-American man.
“People may have had preconceived notions about me as a person or as a police officer but I hope my actions and demeanor helped to change that and that was kind of what I shared with the group and I told them that the officers that I work with and that work with me, I try to get them to adopt that same mindset,” Van Duyne said. “We want to do the best we can to change those perceptions.”
He said it was interesting to hear the experiences of other people, like a woman at his table who shared a negative encounter she had with a highway patrolman. She told him about how she was made to feel degraded and that her rights were violated. However, as the years went by she realized that not every officer was the same.
Van Duyne said one of the major sentiments he heard across the board that evening was that communicative efforts had to improve between officers and citizens.
Residents told the law enforcement at their table stories of growing up with a police officer who took time out of his day to throw a football with them during lunch and stories of being stopped for a random check and feeling as if they were being treated as “less than” because of their skin color.
Officers shared the struggle they face of fixing the damage caused by those select few who wear a badge and abuse their power. They shared stories of getting to know members in their community and how forming those relationships has made their job worthwhile.
As the evening progressed the mood shifted. Laughter softly rang out from multiple tables while others
cheered or clapped at the memories being shared across the room. Reggie Anderson, a student from Plant City High School, stood up and pointed at the officer sitting at his table, saying he felt like he truly had gotten to know him and that he had “real love for this man and loves what he does.”
The officer followed suit and said he has always had a goal to engage with the citizens he comes into contact with to get to know them and learn their needs, a mindset he hopes others in the force hold as well. Another officer in attendance, Mark Dunnam, said his goal was to break down officer biases. Dunnam said police were human too and were there to help.
“Everyone at this table I told that I’m just a guy doing his job,” Dunnam said. “They have no reason to fear me at all and I told them that when I’m driving in my personal vehicle and I see an officer behind me I get anxiety too, it’s normal.”
PCPD has plans to continue to engage in a collaborative effort with Safe and Sound Hillsborough and when the events have finished the department will take a look at the entire experience and decide from there how best to continue actively communicating with the residents of Plant City.
“I think that officers have an obligation to help to strengthen the lines of communications in their respective jurisdictions,” Van Duyne said. “There are things that have happened all over the country involving police use of force, alleged corruption and things of that nature, even here in Plant City, obviously. The communication helps to ensure that whatever is going on in other areas of the country is not going to affect us to a negative extent.”