Police officers and officials to participate in forum to stregthen community

Published Nov 28, 2016

Dallas Police Sr. Corp. Kimberly Howard wears a cross given to her earlier in the day by a random well-wisher outside their headquarters in Dallas, Saturday, July 9, 2016. Security measures were heightened after a peaceful protest, over the recent shootings of black men by police, turned violent Thursday night when gunman Micah Johnson shot at officers, killing several and injuring others. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The TCU Department of Criminal Justice wants to find a resolution to the heated tensions among police officers and the community.

“Building Public Trust in A Time of Turmoil: Policing in the 21st Century“, a forum with police officers and officials, will take place on Nov. 29 as a way to inform people and start a conversation about police and the Fort Worth community.

Ronald Burns, a criminal justice professor at TCU, said the idea for the forum came about after the department joined together when tensions were high between the police and the community. Burns said the forum is an attempt to find a resolution to the issues at hand.

“The faculty got together during one of our meetings during the height of all the tension, and we decided we wanted to do something,” Burns said. “What we do best is share knowledge, so we thought, ‘Let’s bring together professional people who are in the field and can share different viewpoints.’”

While the AddRan College of Liberal Arts has hosted discussions in the past, this one is the first of its kind.

The forum will focus on four topics: leveraging project partnerships, the challenges of building community relations and diversifying the police, officer involved shootings and deaths in police custody and police and their decision to use force.

Open to all TCU faculty, staff and students, the forum has invited a panel of professionals to speak about the prominent issues that law enforcement is facing today.

Speakers include Lt. J.K. Driver, a special assignments coordinator with the Fort Worth Police Department, and Dr. Stephen Bishopp, associate director for research with the Caruth Police Institute and a sergeant from the Dallas Police Department.

The panel will also consist of Sgt. Chris Gorrie, Officer Chad Scroggins, Officer Tracey Knight and Thomas Le Noir from the FWPD and chief civil rights prosecutor George Lewis.

Burns said he thinks the panel is well-equipped to discuss this problem.

“A lot of brilliant minds are speaking, and we hope in sharing information and putting minds together, we can contribute in our own way,” he said.

The discussion will be held in the Kelly Center from 1-5 p.m.