Sarasota NAACP, Police Partner On Training For Recruits: Police

SARASOTA, FL — Sarasota police and the local NAACP chapter are partnering to offer innovative training to recruit officers, according to a Sarasota Police Department news release.

Newly hired Sarasota police officers who are in training “will have an opportunity to broaden their horizons in understanding the community’s expectations of enforcing laws,” the agency said.

“This type of training is essential for Sarasota police officers in the 21st century,” said Rex Troche, interim police chief. “This training assists with broadening an officer’s understanding of our community on a local level because they are learning firsthand from leaders in the local chapter of the NAACP. This collaborative effort between our agency and the NAACP to is to be transparent and to actively listen to input from stakeholders in our community.”

The first training session was held in January, when three police recruits met with the NAACP before being sworn in and starting their field training program. A second group of eight recruit officers worked with the NAACP this week.

The NAACP presented several topics to these recruits, including community expectations of police conduct and community perspectives concerning controversial national law enforcement incidents.

Trevor Harvey, Sarasota NAACP president, appreciates that the Sarasota Police Department recognizes “the importance of building relationship with the community, and deepening their understanding of community concerns about policing.”

He added, “The purpose of this training is to enhance the ability of these new officers to appreciate those concerns and increase their effectiveness in engaging with the community in a fashion that is respectful, that fosters trust, and that fully reflects their mission to keep all members of this community safe. And to realize that without community trust, they cannot fulfil that mission.”