Dallas Shootings: Community Policing is Key to Trust, Says PG County Chief

Landover, MD — When reports of a sniper attack that killed five law enforcement officers and wounded seven others in Dallas began to come out Thursday night, Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski put on his uniform and hit the streets.

Stawinski drove around and talked to his officers about the dangers they face in doing their job. But how the police force operates won’t change, because his department has long practiced community policing and knows the people it serves and protects.

“They are cautious, but we are not changing how we deploy, we are not changing how we respond to needs of the community,” Stawinski told Patch Friday. “We’re going to continue to provide aggressive and effective policing.”

The Dallas officers were monitoring a peaceful march through downtown in response to two fatal officer-involved shootings of black men. The march was nearing completion when it is believed that snipers from two different locations opened fire on police.

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The events in Texas, Louisiana and Minnesota impact everyone, Stawinski said Friday afternoon.

"In this difficult time, it is more important than ever that our department serves as a model of progressive and effective policing. The vast majority of the community we proudly serve trusts us and relies on us to keep them safe," his statement said. "We value that trust and work every day to keep open the lines of communication. The entire Prince George’s County Police family mourns the loss of the five officers in Dallas."

Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown said in a Friday news conference that one shooting suspect told a police negotiator that he was upset about the recent police shootings. “The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers," Brown said.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan urged Maryland residents to observe a moment of silence at 1 p.m. ET Friday when the city of Dallas holds a moment of silence.

"Let us mourn the deaths of those who put their lives on the line to keep Dallas safe; let us pray for the safety of the men and women in blue all across the country; and let us take time today and every day to thank our brave officers for their service and reassure them that they do not stand alone," Hogan said in a statement.

Obvious tensions between communities and law enforcement in Maryland and across the country are real and cannot be ignored or swept under the rug, the governor said.

"But there is so much more that unites us than divides us. Now is clearly a time for profound sorrow, but also for reflection, understanding and above all, compassion," Hogan said.

More at Patch:

• Snipers Kill 5 Officers, Wound 7, During Protest
• 'Blue Lives Matter' Says LAPD Chief Charlie Beck
• Dallas Attacks 'Vicious, Calculated and Despicable,' Says President Obama
• Dallas Shootings: Hogan Calls for Moment of Silence, Anne Arundel Police Patrolling in Pairs

In the aftermath of police shootings of men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban Minneapolis, calls for more community policing — where an emphasis is placed on knowing residents, business leaders and church leaders in an area — have arisen nationwide.

That’s exactly what Prince George’s County officers, and their supervisors, have been doing long before the Dallas attacks. It’s why crime is down 7 percent so far this year, Stawinski said, and it’s a practice departments need to follow before they have a crisis.

Commenters forget that being a police officer is an inherently dangerous job, the chief said, one that requires grit.

The deaths in Dallas have not placed the department on a heightened state of alert, he said, as officers try to keep the national turmoil in perspective.

Community outreach and communication is a daily activity, Stawinski said, through personal interactions, social media and the Nextdoor app.

Last October, residents in Prince George County used Nextdoor during a terrifying home invasion to help police track the suspects who ran from the crime scene. Neighbors communicated about the location of the suspects, the capture of one suspect, and the continued hunt for the second suspect. Later that evening, neighbors used Nextdoor to spread the word after the second suspect was captured.

“We’ve built trust over a number of incidents, which provides the rank-and-file officer the trust to do their job,” said Stawinski. “You can’t trust someone you don’t know.”

The chief said he feels what’s lost in the national conversation about Dallas so far is that many countries would never have police put themselves in deadly danger to guard protesters.

“Police were protecting the right of fellow Americans to express dissenting opinions and in the process came under attack,” he said. “ Where in the world do professional police officers allow people to vociferously disagree with their profession?”