Officers from the NC State University Police Department gathered Thursday morning with students for coffee and conversation outside the Talley Student Union atrium. Many students and faculty brought concerns about campus police officers maintaining professional behavior toward minority students and staff amid racial tensions in North Carolina.
Approximately 50 students, staff and faculty engaged in active discussion with 11 officers to address concerns about police bias against racial minorities and to build edifying community relationships with campus police.
Kristen Weathersby, a sophomore studying communication and a member of the Society of Afrikan American Culture, attended the event to engage in discussions and learn more about the officers present.
“I heard about the event, and I wanted to see the cops’ faces and see who’s part of the community and show them that we see them, too, as people and know that they see us as people,” Weathersby said. “I know that the uniform is quite intimidating.”
Discussion centered on the use-of-force continuum, a police standard instituted by the National Institute of Justice; the continuum is an escalating series of actions implemented by police officers to resolve situations. Major David Kelly described the initial stages of the concept.
“If it comes down to a situation where people are not cooperating, we want that situation to be calm,” Kelly said. “If you’re up in D.H. Hill looking at stuff that you shouldn’t, we’re going to first have a conversation. We’re not going to start out being aggressive.”
In light of the recent fatal police shooting in Charlotte, students inquired as to why officers would act in such drastic ways. Major Kelly attempted to describe the psyche behind officers’ actions.
“We’re all taught to stop the threat,” Kelly said. “In a very dynamic situation, skills become diminished. [Police officers] have less accuracy in those types of situations.”
Lieutenant William Davis added to Major Kelly’s statement.
“There’s always anxiety,” Davis said. “I don’t mind saying ‘I’m scared.’ The question is, how do I contain this situation and go home at the end of the night?”
At the height of discussion, students asked officers to describe the differences between police behavior with students on campus and that displayed in recent media. Master Officer Randolph Dolliver, second in charge of his police team, answered.
“You see all of the scenarios that are occurring in the news; we try to go and use them as training tools and role play,” Dolliver said. “Although we were not there, we try to put ourselves in scenarios to see, ‘How would I respond?’ We’re in it to help. The goal is always for everyone to walk away from the situation. I’m not trying to treat anyone badly; I’m trying to be safe.”
Weathersby reacted to Dolliver’s account of the police department’s training methods.
“I know that the officers are not closed-minded, and I see where they are coming from where these situations occur and how they see and are trained to react to that,” Weathersby said. “I’ll never know how to react if there’s a threat to my life coming at me.”
According to Kelly, a majority of officers on campus have undergone Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), an officer education program designed to help officers to respond appropriately to situations involving mental illness and or developmental disability. He added that many officers have yet to take the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity’s course on unconscious bias, a course meant to address implicit bias in everyday decision-making.
Nearing the end of the conversation, Dolliver described proper behavior when one is pulled over by an officer. He was sure to point out the body camera attached to his torso, placing the students in his role.
“If you’re a police officer and you’re trying to give [someone] a ticket, you have to find out what’s going on,” Dolliver said. “Don’t move until I tell you to move. Show me your hands so that you don’t hurt me. I’m accountable for my actions.”
Weathersby responded after the event, describing the productivity of the officers’ dialogue with the NC State community.
“I’m going to contact the Lieutenant to hold [the campus police] liable,” Weathersby said. “I have enough free time to make sure that these things are said and done through. I know if there’s even an issue, I can say ‘I know this officer, Lieutenant Davis,’ and he would be able to help me from this personal relationship because of this event that we had today. I think that it’s a very likely possibility that we’re going to see their eyes opened a little more by us staying in contact with them.”