Our Protectors • May 2022– Page 7
CHANGING INDUSTRY
Police chief says law enforcement has changed since the death of George Floyd By Christopher Braunschweig Newton News Although the murder of George Floyd occurred almost two years ago and more than 260 miles away from Newton, it had a profound impact on many local police departments and the industry of law enforcement as a whole, police chief Rob Burdess said, and at the very least provided opportunities to reevaluate. Specifically, law enforcement officials took a closer look at their policies and procedures, as well as how police engage with their community. Burdess said officers were given a chance to earn a greater understanding of the needs of their communities while also provide context into officers’ actions. It’s not like the Newton Po-
lice Department — or any police station in the United States — had a choice in the matter. The public demanded answers, and it showed in the amount of demonstrations, protests and riots condemning police brutality, particularly against people of color. Newton experienced its own demonstration on June 1, 2020, in the town square. People were watching from rooftops, from the front door of their local business, from their passing cars. Burdess was there, standing and kneeling alongside the protestors. The chief condemned the reckless use of force against Floyd. Other cities across the country did not have the same experience as Newton, which ended peacefully. Rumors of “busloads of protestors” from outside of
the state mysteriously did not show up. Burdess had many frank conversations with citizens and demonstrators that night. Those same conversations persisted throughout the next year. Burdess said the national narrative pushed those discussions in Newton, but the police department itself was never targeted to correct any unjust behavior. Officers were able to learn a lot from the community through those conversations, and vice versa. “It’s easy to take what’s said at the national level and try to do a broad brushstroke that all law enforcement agencies do something in a certain manner, and I think that was being done to a certain extent,” Burdess said. “In fact, every law enforcement agency operates a little bit differ-
ently.” Newton Police Department was able to answer those questions and explain how officers are expected to handle or react to certain situations, or why they are different than perhaps other agencies or individuals. Floyd’s murder opened up broader dialogue, more challenging dialogue. It goes beyond Black or White, Burdess said. Oftentimes it is about citizens not feeling heard, or they have not developed a sense of trust with their local law enforcement. That is a problem. Officers want and need the community to trust them in order to do the best job possible and keep people safe, Burdess said. “If there’s some trust missing there, how do we bridge that gap? That mutual under-
standing of issues and concerns is pretty important,” he said. “Those in-depth conversations don’t happen often in our world. And you have to be intentional about it. We took some of those steps to have conversations.” Newton officers would frequently have one-on-one conversations or small group talks with neighborhoods. Some people in the community have had bad experiences with law enforcement, or they sympathize with those did. Burdess said it is the police department’s responsibility to be a part of those talks. “It’s not Black versus White or law enforcement versus minority groups,” he said. “I think the opportunity was there to open up a conversation bigger than just race. Again, there’s CHANGING • 8
