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Feature
Pastors Meet With City Councilman And Police To Discuss Police/Community Relations
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Local ministers and law enforcement came together on Tuesday at City Hall to discuss how police can develop a bet- ter relationship with Tampa’s Black community.
In a telephone interview,
Councilman Frank Red- dick said the killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile in Fal- con Heights, Minn., at the hands of police officers and the shooting of five Dallas po- lice officers by a sniper – all of which took place last week – prompted the pastors to con- tact him and request the meet- ing.
The meeting is an attempt to be proactive and foster good relations between police and residents, he said.
“We don’t want to see this tension escalate in the City of Tampa,” he said. “When you keep having these incidents take place, tensions continue to build. There is a lot of ten- sion in the African American community right now.”
At the meeting, Council- man Reddick introduced several speakers which in- cluded pastors, elected offi- cials, and a few law enforcement officers.
Each briefly addressed the audience of about 50 people seated in the City Council’s chambers.
The time is now for “a real dialogue,” said state Rep. Ed Narain, D-Tampa.
“There is an institutional problem that we as a nation have to address,” he said. “Now is the time for us to work
Among those who attended the press conference with Councilman Frank Reddick (center) on Tues- day were: from left, Atty. Andrew Warren, Pastor Darrick Fullwood, Major Rocky Ratliffe and State Rep. Ed Narain. (Photo by BRUNSON)
veloping substantial relation- ships between residents and the police.
“Rules without relation- ships equal rebellion,” he said. Assistant Chief Brian Dugan echoed Councilman Reddick in his remarks, stat- ing that discussing problems
before they explode is key. “Talking about this on the front end will help us if we have a crisis in the city,” he
said.
But those who need to be
part of the conversation – res- idents – were absent from the room on Tuesday, said Rev. J. C. Sanders.
Reddick said Tuesday’s meeting will do much to move the conversation forward.
“Each of the pastors who was there today will go back to their pulpits on Sunday and send out a message,” he said. “We want to see this commu- nity come together because we can do better.”
Additionally, the commu- nity at large will have the op- portunity to participate in discussions at a community forum Thursday night at Beu- lah Baptist Institutional Church, Councilman Red- dick said.
together.”
Bishop Michelle B. Patty said she supports and appreciates the police “with all of my heart,” but noted that Black residents are profiled unfairly by police.
She shared her own experi- ence as an example.
Bishop Patty said she and her husband recently were pulled over after leaving a fast food restaurant, because her car fit the description of one
seen at a stabbing.
Bishop Patty, who said
her car is one-of-a-kind, called the stop, “bogus.”
“These types of things do happen and we must stop act- ing like they don’t,” she said.
She also called on her fel- low clergymen to “stop sitting in our pulpits and edifices and acting like there’s nothing going on.”
Improving relations be- tween police and Black resi-
dents will require a change of attitudes and the “transforma- tion of a person’s heart and mind,” said Pastor Craig Altman, lead pastor at Grace Family Church.
“We need to be praying and we also need to take ac- tion,” he said. “Faith without works is dead.”
Rev. Dr. W. James Fa- vorite, pastor of Beulah Bap- tist Institutional Church, said resolving issues requires de-
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