5 . What has been your biggest obstacle as you have gone through the ranks of law enforcement with the NYPD ?
As previously stated , the biggest obstacle for me while going through the ranks was working for superiors who did not understand how to police in a black community . Most police executives think that by racking up a bunch of arrests they are successful . One of my mottos has always been “ you can ’ t arrest your way out of crime ”. Reducing crime entails much more than arrests . Arresting everyone and not doing the other things like , community policing , being transparent with the community and disciplining rogue officers play a major part in policing .
6 . With all the division going on around the country now as it pertains to police relations within the community , how do you propose that we fix this great divide ?
I believe the way to fix the great divide is quite simple . Police departments around the country need to be much more transparent with the communities in which they serve . With the advancement of social media and video , law enforcement can no longer control the narrative about incidents that are questionable . In the past the cops told us what happened and we gave them the benefit of the doubt and believed them . Now , too many incidents are occurring around the country and are on video but the police are still trying to control the narrative even though the video clearly implies police misconduct . All citizens want is the truth and when police departments start being more transparent with the truth then , they can begin to close the gap between the police and community .
In addition , police departments need to start disciplining cops who violate the oath that they are sworn to uphold . Consistantly , giving rogue officers a pass for misconduct tells the community that the “ good ole boy network ” is alive and well . That does not sit well with the community . Accountability in the form of serious reprimands ( from loss of pay to termination ) is the only way to gain the trust of the community . When the community always sees cops getting away with misconduct it paints a picture of us-vsthem .
7 . We have a lot of work to do to fix the issues within our minority communities , especially with crime . How can we all come together to help out in the communities of the minorities of this country ?
We can all come together by doing several things such as getting more involved in your local politics . What people must realize is that the Mayor of your town appoints the