New police chiefs should drive a new approach to policing across NC
As the nation learned the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial Tuesday, the focus was on how the public, particularly people of color, reacted. But the longer term issue is how will police respond to the death of George Floyd, the mass protests that followed and the courtroom scrutiny of Chauvin’s behavior.
In North Carolina that response is coming into view as Raleigh and Durham search for new police chiefs amid pressure to change the police culture and stem the use of excessive force. How the candidates are evaluated, what qualities and perspectives are valued and who ultimately is selected should help towns and cities across North Carolina assess how to improve their approaches to policing.
In Raleigh, Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown will retire at the end of June after serving in the top spot since 2013. In Durham, city officials announced Monday that Police Chief Cerelyn ‘C.J.’ Davis will leave in June to lead the police department in Memphis. She has been Durham’s police chief since 2016.
Both of the departing chiefs are Black women, a fact that speaks to efforts nationwide to diversify police departments to better reflect the communities they serve. But opening the upper ranks of police forces to those long left out is only a part of addressing inequities, bias and blind spots in policing. There also needs to be an openness to change across all levels regardless of officers’ race and gender.
Fortunately city officials evaluating what to look for in their next police chief can draw on the national conversation and recommendations that arose out of the Floyd case and the protests that followed. In North Carolina, the Task Force on Racial Equity in Criminal Justice did a searching review that produced a host of recommendations for changes in laws, the courts and police conduct. The recommendations include bias training for officers, an emphasis on community policing and limiting the use of force.
State Rep Marcia Morey, D-Durham, served on the task force and hopes its findings will guide the selection of chiefs in Raleigh, Durham and other North Carolina cities. Morey, a former chief district court judge, said filling the vacancies is an opportunity for “taking a thoughtful approach to de-escalating the tensions we have in our communities on policing.”
In Durham, Davis exemplified the new approach. By stressing communication over confrontation she built links with the community and stressed the role of officers as public servants and protectors rather than only law enforcers. That approach showed in the relatively peaceful protests in Durham after Floyd’s death. In Raleigh and other cities where police in riot gear confronted protesters, there were clashes with officers and more arrests and property damage.
“Durham has done so much better with this nonconfrontational style of dealing with demonstrations,” Durham Mayor Steve Schewel said during a news conference about the chief’s departure. “I give Chief Davis tremendous credit for that leadership. That was a real change in our police culture and I think in that way Durham is really leading the nation.”
Durham, like many cities, has experienced a rise in shootings during the pandemic. But it has also seen a rise in trust between the police and the public. That was the reason why Memphis – a city that saw a record 332 homicides last year – turned to Davis. “She has a strategic vision for reducing violent crime. And she has a record of building relationships with the communities she serves,” said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.
The time has come for a change in policing across North Carolina. Durham began that change under Davis and the results should point other departments in the same direction: Engage the community, reduce confrontations, improve police training and recruitment and spare police officers cases that are more matters of mental health and substance abuse than criminal behavior.
In the Raleigh and Durham police departments, such changes can come and can continue by starting at the top.
