St. Pete Police Set to Talk Race Relations

St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway intends to sit down with area residents and talk race relations.

A meeting set for Tuesday, Jan. 27, is hoped to spark a “meaningful dialogue in an effort to improve trust between the police and the city’s diverse residents,” an email about the community forum stated.

The discussion takes place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Gibbs High School cafeteria, 850 34th St. S. Holloway held a similar forum on a smaller scale last month with leaders from the African-American community. The issues brought up then included “the perception of racial profiling, the need for diversity in recruitment, and officer training for dealing with diverse populations,” the email stated.

Holloway is using these sessions to help guide policy changes and drive new initiatives to address concerns.

Since we know not everyone interested in this topic can attend Tuesday’s meeting, we’d like to hear from you, St. Petersburg.

What do you think needs to be done, if anything, to improve race relations in St. Petersburg? Share your ideas by commenting below.

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