Police chief says it's all about 'respect'

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James Beaty, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·3 min read
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May 24—When several hundred people gathered nearly a year ago in McAlester for a peaceful demonstration following the death of George Floyd on a Minneapolis Street, the marchers included then-interim McAlester Police Chief Kevin Hearod.

On April 20, a jury convicted Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death after Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes.

In the months since the McAlester demonstration held last June, Hearod has gone from interim chief to full-time police chief of the McAlester Police Department.

Have there been any changes at the McAlester Police Department over the past year that were influenced by what's transpired in Minneapolis and around the nation following the death of Floyd and other Black men by police?

"The things that have been going on since then is we have become more aware of implicit bias," Hearod said, a reference to having bias or coming to stereotypical conclusions without consciously being aware of doing so.

"Most of our officers have been through implicit bias training," Hearod said.

Speaking of implicit bias, Hearod said "We all have our biases we carry around." As an example, he said someone may see a smoker and automatically assume that individual is unhealthy, without being consciously aware of the assumption.

"Obviously, race and gender are in there," he said, saying such biases can be under the radar.

Hearod said he opposes racism, not only as police chief but personally as well.

"That's important to me and my family," said Hearod, who said he has a biracial family. "Obviously, that makes it more important," he said.

McAlester police have also undergone deescalation training on how to deal with people with mental issues or with people who are extremely upset. It can occur in situations resulting in everything from getting a traffic ticket to domestic violence cases, to mention a couple of examples. Deescalation training can help stabilize a situation, he said.

"That helps sometime just by being the calm voice in the room," said Hearod.

How has the McAlester Police Department reacted to what is going on nationally?

"We're more aware of our own presence," Hearod said. When the national media does a story about police, most police assume it's bad, he said.

"One thing about this community, we've had an outpouring of support from our community," said Hearod. He said families have brought up bottles of water to give to police, who, in turn, often hand them out to others.

"Our officers have water to pass out," he said. Hearod said police may offer to give somebody a lift, but the trust issue may not be there. The police chief said he's spoken to groups, including groups of ministers, but he says there are other ways to build community trust.

"The best way to do that is not me going out and making speeches," Hearod said. Instead, it's the day-to-day interaction police have with others; it's a matter of respect.

"We need to be professional and respectful," Hearod said. If one police officer acts like a jerk, then the individual that officer interacted with is likely to assume all police are jerks, he said.

"We have to prove to them that we're not," said Hearod.

"If the law says you need to go to jail because the law says there is probable cause, so be it," Hearod said. "You will be treated with respect."

"We're all human beings," Hearod said. "It has nothing to do with what color our skin is; whether we're short or tall. We have to look at things with an unbiased eye."

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.

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