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YOUNGSTOWN -- New Youngstown police Chief Carl Davis said that rebuilding greater trust and better relations between police and those in minority communities begins with what can be a painful admission.
"We should acknowledge the history of racism in this country regarding how minorities have faced injustices from police," said Davis, whom Mayor Jamael Tito Brown hired earlier this month as the city's top law enforcement officer.
Davis was among several Mahoning Valley police chiefs who shared their views on policing during Tuesday's Next Steps Coalition's fourth town hall meeting.
About 30 law enforcement personnel, community activists, religious leaders and others attended the one-hour virtual session. Jaladah Aslam, the Youngstown / Warren Black Caucus president, served as moderator.
Specifically, the gathering delved into topics such as conducting internal investigations and outside prosecutions regarding police misconduct, using body cameras and requiring mandatory training before and after hiring. Many offered various departmental updates. Also discussed was the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Davis said that systemic racism too often is found in police departments across the country, but that the YPD continues to work toward promoting greater diversity in the ranks, as well as furthering public confidence in the department.
Davis, a 34-year YPD veteran who also worked about five years in the department's internal affairs division, added he has no problem collaborating with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the FBI or other outside agencies on certain investigations -- in part to avoid the appearance of impropriety -- a view echoed by the other area police chiefs.
In addition, the YPD plans to meet within a week or two with several vendors regarding buying body cameras for its officers. Implementing that process also will entail input from the department and the community in a transparent manner, Davis continued.
Many checks and balances exist within the system for law enforcement, but another large component that dictates much of police-community relations and trust is perception.
"Perception in the community is very important to law enforcement," Boardman police Chief Todd Werth said, adding it's vital that police departments avoid the appearance of impropriety during investigations and the public sees "it's not a 'good old boys' network."
"If the public can't trust us, there's a serious, serious, serious problem," Charles J. VanDyke, Milton Township's police chief, added in response to a question about investigations of police departments.
VanDyke praised the example of former Mahoning County Sheriff Randall A. Wellington, who, among other things, created a Senior Watch Program and the Day Reporting Program that allowed nonviolent inmates to perform community service, as part of his effort to run a transparent and trustworthy department. It's "a horrible feeling" for officers to wear their uniforms and have some people automatically assume they're corrupt, VanDyke continued.
Austintown police Chief Robert Gavalier noted that his department has adopted certain standards from the Ohio Collaborative, a 12-member panel of law enforcement personnel and community leaders from throughout the state. In August 2015 -- for the first time in Ohio's history -- the collaborative established state standards on use of force, including deadly force, as well as agency employee recruitment and hiring to help guide law enforcement agencies, increase accountability and instill greater confidence with the public.
Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene and several of the police chiefs said they have maintained close contact with state and federal officials after the Jan. 6 insurrection and storming of the U.S. Capitol. Departments throughout the Valley also have kept in touch with one another to protect local government buildings after the attack in Washington, D.C., he explained.
On Monday, the FBI arrested Stephen M. Ayres, 30, of Warren, on preliminary charges of violent and disorderly conduct at the Capitol, as well as obstructing justice for his alleged role in the attack.
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