Community Led Conversations At The Phoenix Police Regional Academy

Press release from the City of Phoenix:

November 18, 2020

The Phoenix Police Department is consistently looking for opportunities to build trust with the community it serves. One place to start is with officers-in-training at the Phoenix Police Regional Academy. A couple of community leaders opened a dialogue with these new officers about what it is like to be persons of color interacting with police, and how to develop mutually beneficial relationships.

"We were here today to speak to new officers, and kind of giving them insight on what it's like to be a person of color, interacting with the police department, and basically hoping to help them develop relationships in the communities that they serve," Pastor Earl Newton said after the class.

Relationships that Phoenix Police staff know, firsthand, to be crucial in successful police work. That's why they invited Pastor Earl Newton and Frantz Beasley to speak to these officers-in-training.

These two men are community leaders, they both run non-profits, they also both have histories with law enforcement that didn't start so well.

"You know I'm a south Phoenix resident, have been all my life, and oftentimes, the relationship between law enforcement and our community is very abrasive," Beasley said.

But, both of these men agreed to show up and talk here because their relationships with police have completely turned around, and they believe these officers-in-training need to see that is possible, and understand how it happens.

"This is our city, and it takes all of us collectively to make it a better place to live for all of us," Beasley explained. "I believe in our Phoenix Police Department. I do. At the end of the day, these are the men and women that are out there, literally putting their lives on the line to make sure that we're safe."

Pastor Newton and Beasley echoed eachother's messages of communication and relationships. They finished their time in this class by opening the floor for dialogue, encouraging those conversations that they hope these officers will take with them out to the streets.

"The police aren't going anywhere, and we're going to need them," Pastor Newton said. "So, if we're going to need them and we have an opportunity to help, if it's not but just to help one, maybe that one can be the one that will make a world of a difference."

This press release was produced by the City of Phoenix. The views expressed here are the author’s own.