The event was created in conjunction with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incoporated, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated, Iota Phi Theta Aplha Fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and was sponsored by Union Board and the Residence Hall Association to get students talking.
“There were a lot of unfortunate events this summer and students were eager to talk about it, so we wanted to create a forum from all angles while it was still fresh in students’ minds,” Alpha Phi Alpha chair of the event Ronald Gilbert said.
The event brought together the IU Police Department, Bloomington Police Department and IU’s black community to create communication among all groups and discuss the problems between police and people of color.
To do this, questions were posed and discussed by a panel composed of IU criminal justice professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, IU instructor Carl Darnell, IUPD Chief Laury Flint and BPD Chief Michael Diekhoff.
“I’m just really thrilled they asked us to come and participate in this event,” Flint said. “Communication is huge. We want to assist in any ways we can to work things out and get questions answered.”
Communication was one of the main focuses of the night’s conversation.
“There is too much hate and distrust and hopefully having these types and meet and greets and discussions we can move past that,” Diekhoff said. “We’re all human beings and living together and getting along is so important.”
Throughout the night Diekhoff also encouraged people to communicate by filing complaints to hold officers accountable.
When the audience questioned if there were third parties involved in monitoring police complaints, Diekhoff admitted there are not.
“You’re right, there is no third party monitoring complaints,” Diekhoff said.
“But I can’t do anything if I don’t know about it. If you report it, it will be looked into.”
Several audience members also wanted to see the police forces in Bloomington reach out to them with seminars and educational events, but Owusu-Bempah refuted this saying it was on the citizen to inform themselves and vote to change policies.
Also, issues of minority representation on the police forces were addressed.
Currently the Bloomington Police Force has four African American officers, 12 female officers, no Hispanic officers and no Asian American officers.
“We try to recruit more diversity, but it’s very difficult,” Diekhoff said. “We work with NAACP and try to be a reflection of the community we police, but since minority officers are in such high demand it’s hard to keep them in Bloomington.”
Aside from the forum, a short candle light vigil was held to commemorate young black males who have died from police brutality in the past decade including, most recently, Michael Brown.
Following this, police officers and the audience were encouraged to mingle in order to build relationships and talk further.
IU junior Drew McKenzie came out to the event because he doesn’t normally hear about events dealing with police officers and the black community.
“I came to see how it goes,” McKenzie said. “They put two forces in one room together that typically don’t mingle. Some tension, but we’re all civilized people and adults so it turned out really really well.”
One point made at the event was that police officers are humans and can be treated as such.
“They put their lives on the line every day,” McKenzie said. “Police officers are being shot to protect us, too, and we can’t forget that.”
However, McKenzie said he hopes the discussions continue and that we don’t believe this can’t happen here in Bloomington.
“We need to understand this is a home-based issue,” McKenzie said. “We can think about it in Florida or Missouri, but it can happen here, too, and it’s best we prevent those feelings from traveling up this way. We can all do something about it.”
