Mansfield agrees on goals for police- public contact

MANSFIELD — City leaders and a coalition of local groups are to sign a "Code of Conduct" for the police and community members in a ceremony at noon Monday

The code, inspired by one adopted three years ago in Toledo, outlines standards of behavior that officers and the public should aspire to when interacting with one another.

The Black/brown Coalition of Mansfield, which consists of We Act, Latino Mansfield, Voices of Change, Activism and Leadership (VOCAL), and the North End Community Improvement Collaborative (NECIC), formed last year and began talking with police department leaders and Safety-service Director Lori Cope last fall.

An accord between the coalition and the city was reached in July.

The code comes as police and community relations are strained in many U.S. cities.

Cope said in an email that she, Mayor Tim Theaker, Police Chief Keith Porch, Assistant Chief Joe Petrycki and a representative of local police unions are to attend Monday's ceremony.

Wayne Mcdowell, founder and director of the Black/brown Coalition of Mansfield and a longtime member of the NAACP, has said that Mansfield should be proactive "in dealing with relations between police and the community."

Mcdowell, for about two weeks, encouraged community members to weigh in on the code. It asks that members of the community conduct themselves in a respectful manner toward officers, ensure that their hands are always in plain sight, and refrain from "excessive movement" during interactions.

As for officers, the code says that they will remain as calm as possible at all times, use de-escalation techniques when possible before resorting to force, and not use force when someone is handcuffed or restrained unless it is "objectively reasonable and necessary."

Porch, in a statement issued in July, said the final proposal of the code is an appropriate agreement.

"While the Code of Conduct is aspirational only, it represents a majority of our policies, procedures, and the matter of law as a standard for how the Mansfield Division of Police currently operates," Porch said.

"This Code of Conduct will supplement our current diversity training, which is completed on an annual basis, and will be reviewed and signed by all officers of the Division of Police," he added.