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Kral assumes official control at a time when law enforcement
and the criminal justice system are in the spotlight as a
result of high-profile police use of lethal force against
unarmed African Americans around the country.
The recent police-related shootings of Michael Brown in
Ferguson, Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black child playing with
a toy pistol in Cleveland and John Crawford examining a
pellet rifle at a WalMart in a Dayton suburb, along with the
choking death of Eric Garner in New York for allegedly
selling “loose cigarettes,” have blacks and others giving
police the “side eye” of scorn and disdain in communities
from coast to coast.
While there have been continuing protests and marches around
the country and a national Black Lives Matter celebration
protesting police violence in African-American churches,
regular weekly meetings and protests are also taking place
throughout the city of Toledo by a group called The
Community Solidarity Response Network of Toledo.
Kral’s greatest challenge will be to win respect from and
earn “street cred” with Toledo’s black community. Many
African Americans, still loyal to former Chief Derrick
Diggs, believe that the new chief has been pulling the
strings behind the scenes for outgoing figurehead William
Moton all along and that his formal appointment was merely
delayed until the heat was off Mayor Collins for forcing
Diggs’ retirement.
What can Kral do to reestablish a positive relationship
between TPD and the black community, one that is frosty at
best, having been eroded by the departure of Diggs and the
events of Ferguson, Cleveland and New York?
A
good place to start is by acknowledging the realities of the
21st Century.
Toledo has a history of racial and cultural bias in its
public safety forces. In 1985, black police personnel
reached a peak of 133, only as a result of a lawsuit filed
against the city of Toledo alleging discriminatory
employment and promotional practices. A consent decree
required TPD’s personnel data to reflect the community’s
demographics.
However, the decree was dismissed in the fall of 2010 and at
a time when the number of black male officers had dropped
nearly a third from a high of 98 to 68. Total black officers
also dramatically declined and new police classes are few
and far between with African-American recruits a rare sight
even when classes do take place.
Sergeant Anita Madison and others are involved in an
aggressive recruitment initiative at a time when young black
males view the police as an enemy rather than potential
employer. Yet, the greater challenge to bringing more
officers of color onto the force may be the City’s hiring
process and TPD’s traditional, status quo organizational
mindset and policing model.
Kral will first have to acknowledge and then figure out how
to overcome this history of bias, one which doesn’t easily
go away and has permeated the soul of not only the
department, but also the community.
In addition, many point to the department’s refusal to
acknowledge the over policing and racial profiling of the
black community as the main source of black mistrust. This
policy has led to the “condemnation,” criminalization and
victimization of poverty, youth and blackness. Putting an
end to the surveillance of and selective crime enforcement
in the inner city must be a priority for the incoming chief.
Also, increasing the supervision and discipline of officers
as well as placing more emphasis on “how to evaluate and
approach different scenarios,” should take place. Currently
much more time is spent training officers on the technical
aspects of using their weapons rather than handling
situations from various cultural perspectives. In some
police departments the cultural training period can take up
to three or four years and even before the officers hit the
streets.
Finally, Kral will need to prove that the department is
transparent, timely and honest in their communications with
the black community. The department must establish
partnerships with the community and/or faith leaders that
are real and not superficial, even if uncomfortable.
Community input should consist of true oversight with
investigatory and disciplinary authority when police
misconduct or excessive force occurs.
These steps will provide a foundation where real trust
between the community and police can take place. For in
Kral’s own words, “Toledo will not realize its full
potential if that trust does not
exist.”
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org
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