Unity Coalition of GC plans ‘You & the Blue’ panel event
As part of its ongoing mission to unify the community and specifically to find common ground between citizens and law enforcement, the Unity Coalition of Garland County will host “That’s Law: You & The Blue” on Saturday, Sept. 18, as a “positive community and police experience.” “The goal is to bring us together in all aspects. Not just one facet or another, but an entire community, a city, a county, to be that
example for others to look at and say, ‘This group has come together,’” Garland County Under Sheriff Jason Lawrence, a coalition member, said Monday during a meeting of the coalition’s executive committee.
The free event will be held 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Lakepointe City Church, 1342 Albert Pike Road, featuring a Q&A panel to include Garland County Sheriff’s Office and Hot Springs Police Department representatives. North Little Rock Police Officer Tommy Norman will be a special guest at the event, which will also feature prizes, giveaways and lunch for those attending.
To register, visit https://youandtheblue.eventbrite.com or call 501-813-5457 or 501-4637765 for more information. Registration is not required to attend.
The idea that inspired the event is “the heartbeat of the Unity Coalition,” Lakepointe Pastor Greg Bearss, one of the founders of the coalition, said. “We really want to unify our city and one of the areas where we had some disunity was regarding law enforcement.”
The coalition was launched in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 25, 2020, which led to protests around the country.
“This coalition began because of the tragedy with Mr. Floyd,” Bearss said. “We started talking about things we could do in the city that would promote unity. We love our law enforcement and they’ve been here since day one of this coalition. It’s been really neat to see.”
Bearss said their goal is to reach “the next generation” with their message. “We want everybody to have unity but it’s hard to get the older generation. If we can get the younger kids, particularly, we’re really designing this (event) for like 13 to college-age, about 25,” he said.
“Trying to get the young people here for (the panelists) to explain how they do law enforcement, why they do it the way they are, for the kids to ask questions and really to build relationships. My heart’s desire is for these guys to get to know the kids and for the kids to know them so they don’t meet them on the streets from the back seat of their car from something they did that was wrong,” Bearss said.
“Here are the facts, here is the information. We don’t do those things,” Lawrence said. “It’s about trust. Trust for each other. Unity, trust, love, sharing and caring. All of that. We have an amazing community. There’s not a community anywhere in this world like Garland County and Hot Springs. We bring something that no one else can. That’s what is great about groups like (the coalition).”
“It’s also to dispel what they’re reading on Facebook, Twitter and other social media and the national dialogue,” Jean Lacefield, a coalition member, said. “To have them have an understanding of where they fit in all of that.”
“We want to be an exception to the rule. It’s about being an example and a light to the world. It starts with us,” Contrell Henderson, another coalition member, said at the meeting.
“We came up with idea of a four- to five-hour event, with the Unity Coalition working with law enforcement, to address some of the questions and concerns,” Bearss said. “That’s kind of how it went. Everybody has that voice. That’s how it all evolved. These are the topics we’d like to discuss.”
“Education is the key,” Henderson said. “The only way to gain understanding is through educating first. I mean, a lot of those issues we’re having between law enforcement and the community is that there was not enough understanding between the two groups to really know that they’re part of the same community.”
“One of the keys we said was missing is trust,” Bearss said. “Not just in the African American community, not just in the white community, or the Hispanic community, not just with law enforcement, but across the board. We’re having a difficult time trusting. We’ve got to be part of building trust. We want these kids not to be scared when they see these guys. It should be, ‘Hey, you guys are my protectors. These guys are serving. These guys are here to help, not to hurt and not to do something bad.’”
“What we’ve also found is there’s a lot of misunderstandings about law enforcement in regard to what the community knows and doesn’t know,” Hot Springs Assistant Police Chief Billy Hrvatin, a coalition member, said.
“How we do things procedurally, what the legalities of things are. There’s a lot of discussions about police reform but what a lot of people didn’t know is that collectively we’re already doing a lot of those things or have done those things,” Hrvatin said.
“We’re already ahead of a lot of that. We want our community to know that and we’re willing to have these open and honest discussions and conversations about things. That’s kind of what we want to accomplish with this,” he said.
Bearss said they plan to have a committee “vett the questions” and put the priority ones “that we see the most commonality in and push those forward,” noting people will be able to text in questions throughout the event.
Participants “can ask any questions they want. We’ll prioritize them and kind of lump them together. We’re going to address racism, brutal force. We’re going to address the tough stuff,” Bearss said.
After meeting first with Hrvatin and later with Police Chief Chris Chapmond after he was hired, Bearss said “one thing that stuck out” was they had explained how the Floyd situation “wouldn’t happen in our community” because of the way the HSPD handles things.
“He would list why it wouldn’t happen here. That’s the information we really want to get out. I can’t do anything about Minnesota, but we can do something about Hot Springs and Garland County and that’s what we’re really hoping to communicate and build trust,” Bearss said.