CALL FOR UNITY
Teamwork: NAACP joins with law enforcement in advocating collaboration between the local police and communities of color
“I stood here behind the (NAACP) president knowing what he was going to say. You know, was it the most comfortable thing? No. But it’s the right thing to do, to be here. If we’re going to collaborate, it’s got to start now.” — Mark Talbot, Norristown police chief
NORRISTOWN >> In the face of what many see as a growing division between minorities and law enforcement, representatives of the NAACP and police departments in Montgomery County stood side by side Monday morning on the steps of the courthouse.
A press conference called by a coalition of all six Montgomery County branches of the NA ACP stressed that the two groups needed to work together to bridge the divide.
“There remains a vast difference in perception between minority and police communities,” said John Milligan, president of the Norristown branch of the NAACP. “We believe that much of this difference is due to the fact that in many communities the majority of the police departments are racially, economically and culturally different from the communities that they are policing.”
Milligan called on local police departments and county and state law enforcement officials to consider recommendations set forth in a report by an Obama administration task force on 21st Century Policing. Those recommendations were outlined during the conference and included both clear-cut and intangible goals for law enforcement.
Developing trust and promoting dignity in communities is vital towards improving relationships, Milligan said, but the group also outlined substantial steps that could be taken. Creating “clear and comprehensive policies” on use of force, racial profiling and consent before searches was high on the list.
The outline also included establishing civilian oversight committees, consideration of body cameras and
increased trainings crisis intervention, implicit bias and cultural responsiveness, addiction and tactical skills.
Norristown Chief of Police Mark Talbot said that his department had already adopted many of the task
force’s recommendations.
“By every objective measure, we’ve been successful. Complaints are down; use of force is down. Things are going extremely well,” Talbot said. “Of course, that’s not to say there’s not a tremendous amount of work to be done, because there absolutely is a lot of work to do.”
The NAACP statement and Talbot both recognized
that there are not any dramatic examples of clashes between the two groups in Montgomery County, but Milligan said that the county is not without fault on an institutional level.
“Although Montgomery County may not have recent publicized incidents similar to what that have occurred in other areas, it has been accused of its fair share of racial injustices,” Milligan
said. “In fact, many members of our NAACP branches can testify to encounters that they have had with local police in which they were unjustly disrespected, stopped or cited.”
The group used its platform Monday morning to request a meeting with Montgomery County police chiefs. Milligan also requested that officers within the departments consider becoming
more active in the communities in which they work.
“We also recognize that a true partnership between police departments and communities can only be obtained if there is a desire and commitment from the rankand-file police officers,” Milligan said.
Both Milligan and Talbot emphasized that working together and increasing communication between police
and communities was the first step. Talbot said that continuing to face the harsh realities of the divide will be an ongoing process.
“I stood here behind the (NAACP) president knowing what he was going to say. You know, was it the most comfortable thing? No,” Talbot said. “But it’s the right thing to do, to be here. If we’re going to collaborate, it’s got to start now.”