Church hosts police, community gathering
Hispanic/police interactions are main focus at `Faith & Blue Weekend' event
Maria Milagros aid her 6-year-old daughter dreams of being a police officer when she grows up.
After watching television news reports full of negativity surrounding policing, the child asked a question that surprised her mother: Are police bad?
Milagro shared the family conversation with Oklahoma City police leaders at a forum Saturday at St. James the Greater Catholic Church, 4201 S McKinley.
What, she asked in Spanish, were police doing to change that negative image?
Police Chief Wade Gourley and Deputy Chief Pa co Balder ram a said they and other officers were combating misconceptions by participating in activities like
Saturday's gathering, where they could speak to community members directly about policing and issues affecting city neighborhoods.
"I have little kids, too, who watch the same programs that her child is watching," Balderrama said.
"That's why we're here right now. This is not just an issue for the police department. It is an issue for our community. It is issue for our city. It is an issue for our church. That's why we're partnering with a church," Balderrama said. Gourley agreed.
"I truly believe that events like this that are not only community based but church and faith based, are how we improve the narrative ," he said.
The discussion was part of the "Question and Answers with the OCPD" forum at St. James. The event, which drew about 100 people, was part of "Faith & Blue Weekend," a national initiative designed to bring police together with faith communities for dialogue and community service.
Most of the questions came from members of the Hispanic community and that came as no surprise because St. James has many Hispanic parishioners and is in south Oklahoma City, which is heavily populated by Hispanics. Forum organizers anticipated this and speakers like Balderrama and the Rev. Cristobal De Loera, St. James' associate pastor, spoke in both English and Spanish.
Several questions from community members revolved around undocumented individuals' interactions with police. If they are stopped by law enforcement, are they obligated to share their immigration status? Will police share a person's immigration status with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)? How can not having a driver's license affect an individual if they get pulled over by police and get ticketed?
Meanwhile, a local landlord man brought up an issue that police said t hey have been trying to combat for years.
The man said his Hispanic tenants refuse to call police when the law is broken at his apartment complex. He said many are afraid that ICE will become i nvolved and even though they are in the country legally, they know friends and family who are undocumented and somehow think involving police will get them all "tangled up" with ICE.
"They are almost universally good tenants, but they are afraid to call the police because of fear of immigration (officials). I don't know how to address the problem. I don't know how to get my tenants to overcome that fear," the landlord said.
Balderrama wasn't surprised by the question.
"I agree it's a huge problem," he said.
Balderrama said the police department does not ask about a person's immigration status when that person reaches out for help.
"The message we want to get out today is call 911," he said. "It's a message that we constantly have to reinforce."
Gourley also spoke on the issue.
"I'm glad you brought that up because that's our worst f ear — t hat people are not reporting violent crimes," he said. "We do not put crime victims in jail; people that call and need our help get that help."
Gourley said criminals often prey on people and communities that fear repercussions from ICE and "persist and victimize them because of this."
The chief suggested that a meeting between the landlord's tenants and police be set up to address some of the concerns.
`Faith & Blue' activities continue
Metro activities kicked off on Friday with police and members of metro churches coming together to help frame a Habitat for Humanity house.
A south Oklahoma City church invited local police to a "Faith & Blue Barbecue" on Sunday.
Also, the OK Justice Circle has planned a virtual town hall from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at City Presbyterian in Midtown. The Oklahoma City Police Department will live stream the discussion on its Facebook page.
Oklahoma City Police Capt. Susan Kennedy, one of the coordinators of the local effort, said she was pleased with Saturday's forum. She noted that the police department was well represented in terms of attendees and she thought more community residents would have come out if not for concerns about COVID-19.
Kennedy said the police department joined the national initiative because leaders agreed with its goal of building bridges between police and the communities they serve.
According to the in it iative's website, national "Faith & Blue Weekend" is an extension of the One Congregation One Precinct initiative (One COP ), a program of Movement Forward Inc .,
which is a bridge-building, solutions-focused human and civil rights organization based in Atlanta.
De Loera at St. James and the Rev. Bill Pruett, the church's senior pastor, said Saturday's gathering was a way to bring the community together in an informal setting to discuss issues of importance with police.
De Loera told the crowd to remember that" the police department, the church and society — we gather as one family."