EAST PROVIDENCE — At the same time as Baltimore literarily combusted following the latest tragic incident involving police and an African American male, local law enforcement and community leaders engaged in a composed, comprehensive discussion pertaining to minority relations Monday night, April 27, at City Hall.
The City of East Providence Affirmative Action / EEO Office, represented by Elmer Pina, hosted the event which also featured East Providence Police Department Chief Chris Parella, Rhode Island State Police Colonel Steven O’Donnell, Project: Night Vision director Kobi Dennis and the NAACP Providence Branch president Jim Vincent Te forum touched upon numerous issues pertaining to cops and the community they are charged with protecting.
Mr. Vincent said police departments “need to be open, honest and fair.” He added law enforcement must communicate in a “clear, frank and very direct” manner with its constituents, especially minorities.
Chief Parella said one his department’s top priorities is its relationship with the entire community. He said, “If the perception the East Providence Police Department isn’t working for you, then I need to know about it.”
Col. O’Donnell said the State Police and most police departments are “very conscious of what’s happening in the community, be it East Providence, Baltimore or Staten Island.”
Mr. Dennis noted many of the forums his group take part in are “low attended.” He said that “has a lot to do with the lack of a relationship” between the police and the public. “Building relationships are what these forums are all about,” he continued.
He added, those in attendance shouldn’t attend these forums “because of what’s happening in the news. You should be here because of what’s happening on your front steps, because of what’s happening on your streets.”
He concluded his opening remarks by saying, “A majority of what they (the police) do is good, but every once in a while they don’t and they need to be held accountable.”
At times, the discussion turned pointed and poignant. One audience member, an adult African American woman, told of her experiences of being pulled over by police and released without any issue or explanation on at least six occasions.
Becoming emotional, she said the last time occurred with her young daughter in the car. She welled up telling how she had to explain to her daughter what had just happened and loss of esteem it created.
Mr. Pina, of Cape Verdean descent, sympathized with the woman’s plight, vividly describing a similar event that happened to him as a teenager. He was pulled over near his home, taken to ground, had his body and car searched before police admitted to misidentifying him as matching the description of a robbery suspect. They did so, however, without a hint of remorse and without an apology.
Mr. Pina said “to this day I carry that fear” of being targeted without cause. Even as he drives to work each day, dressed in a suit and tie, he wonders if or when it will happen again.
Col. O’Donnell said officers need to do a better job interacting with subjects. He said “training methods have and will improve” and that officers “must do a better job of communicating” why someone is being stopped.
When posed with the notion minorities, in this case African Americans, dread coming into East Providence for any reason, even for a visit to a friend’s home, Chief Parella said so-called “racial profiling” is “absolutely not tolerated” in the EPPD.
He added “it is very difficult to change perceptions” but upon review of the city’s statistics the numbers were not “askew.” He did admit minorities do often have their person or car searched more by police, and “that’s something we need to work on.”
Mr. Dennis countered saying the “reality” of the matter is officers do tend to target African Americans, black males, more than their white counterparts and “that we need to understand that and speak about it honestly.”
The chief and the colonel urged anyone who felt they’ve been racially profiled to file a complaint and vigorously follow up on the matter.
Chief Parella said it’s also important for police department’s to reflect the communities they serve. In that regard, he said his organization is made up of 17 percent minorities (including women) while the city’s population percentage is 16. He noted he and East Providence Fire Chief Oscar Elmasian continue to work with Mr. Pina to further diversify their ranks.
Also in attendance Monday were members of the latest Municipal Police Training Academy, which included seven EPPD prospects, one being a female of African-American descent.
Another question pertained to how officers can report wrong doing from within without being labeled a “snitch” or a “rat.”
Col. O’Donnell said it comes down to a policeman’s “intestinal fortitude” and that it is his or her “duty to report up” the chain of command. He added, “no policeman I’ve ever known wants bad apples” in the department.
Chief Parella said if an officer is considered a “rat” then the department is “doomed to fail.” Answering rhetorically, the chief said, “Will we protect him? Absolutely.”
Speaking to the children in the audience, Mr. Dennis said, “What we’re saying here is it’s O.K. to tell the truth.”
Among the other highlights of the evening was a performance of the combined Orlo and Whiteknact Elementary Schools chorus, which opened the proceedings with a rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” and the 1980s hit song “Eye of the Tiger” from the movie “Rocky III.”
Getting involved in the discussion, an elementary student asked why there isn’t a police presence is all city schools. Chief Parella noted the three SROs (Student Resource Officers) that are on duty, one each at East Providence High School, Martin and Riveriside middle schools.
“We don’t have officers at every school, but it’s coming,” the chief explained. He said the officers on patrol in the vicinity of schools will soon be required to stop in the buildings on a regular basis to talk to and get to know the students. And that when situation occurs, they are to “help and protect” them.
