by: Michelle Barnhart
Parkland College held its annual You and The Police lecture in U-140 on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
The event, a collaboration between the Black Students Success Project and Parkland Police, was led by Chief Bill Colbrook, Sergeant Matt Kopmann and College Relations Officer Sam Penland.
Kopmann highlighted several services offered by Parkland Public Safety, from vehicular assistance to orders of protection. Parkland Police can jumpstart cars, provide enough fuel to get to a gas station and can help if people get locked out of their cars. Students who do not feel comfortable walking alone can request someone walk them to class or through parking lots.
“Whatever makes you feel comfortable and safe, that’s why we’re here,” Kopmann said.
Kopmann highlighted ways for students to keep themselves safe, on and off campus. Taking steps such as reporting suspicious activity, staying in groups, and informing others of one’s whereabouts can help to ensure safety.
The presentation also addressed the issue of police brutality. A YouTube video titled, “Police Brutality Motiongraphic,” was shown at the event. The video showed statistics of police brutality in the United States according to the 2012 Census. In that year, 670,439 cops had some sort of contact with 53,050,790 citizens. 26,000 complaints were made due to excessive force, though only 2,080 were sustained. This means about 0.0039% of all law enforcement contact in 2012 was found to be corrupt.
Penland discussed how the percentage has gone up in recent years, and how police brutality has sparked social movements such as Black Lives Matter. She also said she has seen corruption in previous work environments, and that although statistics show that most police encounters are nonviolent, there is still a very real problem.
“The percentage is small, but it’s still too much,” she said.
“A vast majority of police officers are good, good people,” Colbrook said. “It’s the ones that should find different jobs that you see in stories on social media.”
A second video, which was created by Urbana High School students and Urbana police, showed effective and ineffective ways for officers and citizens to communicate with one another. The first half of the video depicted students being pulled over for running a stop sign. During the effective communication portion of the video, the students cooperated with the officer and followed all his instructions. The officer noticed the driver reaching under the seat when he approached and questioned it. The driver calmly explained that he had dropped his phone after stopping the car and had bent down to pick it up. Both parties showed each other respect, and although the student got ticketed, the interaction was constructive.
The second half of the video showed the same students being pulled over, only this time they did not cooperate with the officer. They laughed, ignored what the officer was saying and argued about being stopped. The officer tried yelling over them and accused the driver of hiding something when he reached down under the seat, angering the driver even more. Neither party was effective in communicating with the other.
“A lot of people aren’t sure how to approach police officers, because when they see one, they think something bad is going to happen or they’re in trouble”
The presentation informed students how and when to interact with cops, addressed issues within law enforcement, and, ultimately, reminded students that police officers are people too and that they are there to help.
Colbrook enjoys this event because of the diverse audience it brings every year. Penland, who attended for the first time this year, also enjoyed it and found it beneficial for students and officers alike.
“It’s the perfect forum for students to ask questions,” she said. “A lot of people aren’t sure how to approach police officers, because when they see one, they think something bad is going to happen or they’re in trouble.”
Penland believes this event will help students feel more comfortable interacting with cops. As she stated during the presentation, “We want all contact with police to be positive.”
