Police, Race Relations to Be Topic of Montgomery County Forums

Silver Spring, MD — Montgomery County residents can discuss police and race relations at two forums organized for next week, officials said.

The Montgomery County Office of Human Rights, in coalition with the Montgomery County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Faith Community Working Group and the Police Department, will be hosting two Town Halls in Germantown and Silver Spring to discuss police and race relations.

According to a statement released by the organizations, residents will have the opportunity to discuss concerns they have following the recent events in Dallas, St. Anthony, and Baton Rouge.

“We encourage everyone who is interested to participate and share their thoughts, feelings and ideas. Our collective goal is a Montgomery County free of violence, with enhanced safety of everyone in our community. This goal is only achievable when the entire community gets involved. Please make every effort to attend and have your voice heard,” the statement said.

The first Town Hall will take place at the Silver Spring Civic Building at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 19. The second will take place at the Upcounty Regional Service Center in Germantown at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20.

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Organizers said it is important to have these conversations, and to reaffirm the sanctity of every life, the protection of everyone’s Constitutional rights, and the importance of a respectful and trusting relationship between the police department and the community.

“The recent events in St. Anthony, Minnesota and Baton Rouge, Louisiana and now Dallas, Texas have reignited passionate conversations throughout our nation. In Montgomery County, our diversity is reflected not only in our race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion; it is reflected in our life experiences as well," organizers said. "These life experiences shape our points of view and opinions on the tragic events that occurred in these three cities. Our hearts go out to the families of all of those killed and injured."

In response to the police-involved shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota, along with the ambush of five Dallas police officers last week, County Executive Ike Leggett said, in part:

“We are all outraged by recent incidents involving deaths of African American men in Minnesota and in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. All people of good will, regardless of color, grieve their loss and want answers as to why they died. … Violence is the problem, not the solution. It wasn’t in Ferguson. It wasn’t in Baltimore. It isn’t anywhere else, either," Leggett said. “We count on our men and women in uniform to protect us and we also hold them to the highest standards of conduct."