FALL RIVER — A dialogue between officers from the Fall River Police Department and community members at Government Center on Thursday allowed the participants to share their stories of racism and exchange ideas on how to improve police conduct when dealing with people of color they encounter.
The forum was hosted by a newly formed group, Fall River Unified, and Mayor Paul Coogan, who invited the panel of police officers of color from the FRPD.
Fall River Police Officer Steven Washington, who is Black, said over his more than two-decade career he's had many instances when he wanted to quit the job because of racism.
“But I didn’t do it. I kept trucking on, because I figured that by me being here, it would change — but it’s almost impossible to change at the end of it,” Washington said.
What needs to change in policing, said Washington, is that officers’ work is reactive when it should be proactive.
“It’s almost impossible to do when it’s implanted in people's heads,” said Washington, adding that police and the community need to be allies. “Right now, we need to talk about what we need to do to get together, to be a partner.”
Amber Burns said police officers need to be held accountable for bad behaviors and treatment of people of color. Burns said she had a negative encounter with a Fall River police officer that was “the worst day of my life.”
“So at this point, I just want to make sure that everyone that’s on this panel, also whoever is working for the police force in Fall River, holds each other accountable. All the things that are happening right now with George Floyd, who would be alive if those officers would've stepped in,” said Burns, referencing the 46-year-old Black man who died at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer in May. His death sparked protests and riots across the country.
Fall River Police Chief Jeffrey Cardoza said his department is reviewing its use of force policies. He said chokeholds, like the one that killed Floyd, are already prohibited, but that policy will now be in writing.
“Another thing that we’re doing is that officers are trained to intervene" if fellow officers are using excessive force, Cardoza said. "There’s a case in Massachusetts that goes way back to the early ’90s that talks about [how] police are required to intervene if something is going on. We talk about that as part of our training, as well. In fact, after George Floyd we put out a training memo reminding them that they have to intervene,” said Cardoza.
When the department's 56-page use of force policy is revamped, Cardoza said, he plans to share it with the public, and it will include policy regarding written accountability.
One young Black man said he felt there was a misconception that people of color are not racially profiled by Fall River police officers, and that as a teenager he was often stopped because of his race.
Immigration attorney and Fall River native Karina Valencia said systemic racism is embedded in the laws and policing. She expressed dismay to learn that there are only eight Black police officers on the FRPD.
“We don’t see that much racism that is overt here because a lot of it is really covert. Overwhelmingly, Bristol County is white, but we have a real high proportion of arrests of Black and brown people, which doesn’t make sense if race isn’t an element there,” said Valencia.
“I feel that the number eight is so sad that it’s heartbreaking,” said Valencia.
Sgt. Kelly Furtado, who was one of only three female officers when she started her career 30 years ago, said that while the FRPD still has a long way to go, “we’ve come a long way, also.”
Cardoza said one of the department’s issues is that hiring is largely based on civil service.
“How do I get those potential candidates to have an interest in taking the exam?” said Cardoza.
Police Officer Sak Uon asked the question, “How do we do better?”
“Do we start right from the hiring process, how we weed that out?” said Uon.
Trott Lee, the city’s first Black city councilor, said he’s working with Cardoza to revamp the Police Commission to make it more involved with hiring and police policy.
“I think the hiring process is very important for the purpose of diversity, but also for the purpose of demeanor, and how a person carries themselves, and their background, and how they’re going to solve a problem and how they are going to handle a problem,” said Lee.
The councilor also asked if any officers believe that police should handle every 911 call, or if they thought someone with a different level or type of training could respond.
Furtado, who supervises the School Resource Officers for the department, agreed.
“But the truth of the matter is, trying to get those people to come help. I’ve been working at the School Department. Try and get the mobile crisis to come out — three, four, five hours,” said Furtado, referring to the Office of Health and Human Services Mobile Crisis Intervention which provides intervention services for youth.
“So the resources need to be better, correct?” asked Lee.
Furtado added that police even need translation services.
“You’re trying to help someone, and it’s frustrating for us too when someone you know needs help and you can’t communicate with them,” said Furtado.
Coogan said that Thursday’s forum is one in a series of forums regarding the Fall River Police Department, diversity and other conversations in the community.
Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com.