Hammond pact called a new beginning
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hammond-pact-called-a-new-beginning/article_66b3b9b9-d3ba-52da-b4d9-b9f38d0e66ba.htmlHAMMOND — Black community leaders, Hammond police and other officials on Thursday signed an agreement described as a new beginning in police/community relations.
But the fanfare surrounding the signing of the five-year agreement, which calls for the establishment of a Hammond Police and Citizens Advisory Commission, quickly ended when several people — some with complaints alleging police have used excessive force and engaged in racial profiling — criticized officials for not including them in negotiations.
In addition to the advisory commission, the agreement calls for stronger community policing programs; increased use of social media by the Police Department; cultural competency and procedural justice training for all officers and community partners; body cameras; and collaboration on officer recruitment efforts. Many of the changes already have been made, police said.
The city, the Police Department, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Hammond Ministerial Alliance and the Hammond branch of the NAACP reached the deal after hundreds of hours of meetings and eight mediation sessions led by U.S. Justice Department Senior Conciliation Specialist Kenith Bergeron, officials said.
The groups began the talks last year following unrest over a controversial traffic stop that put Hammond in the national spotlight and complaints about police ticketing teenagers for jaywalking.
The FBI confirmed in October 2014 that it had opened an investigation into the traffic stop involving Jamal Jones and Lisa Mahone, who sued the city and officers Patrick Vicari and Charles Turner earlier that month in U.S. District Court.
Jones and Mahone alleged the officers used excessive force Sept. 24 when they smashed a passenger-side window on Mahone's vehicle, used a Taser on Jones and pulled him from the car.
LaPorte County officials issued a warrant for Jones shortly after his federal lawsuit was filed, alleging he failed to appear for a 2007 court hearing in a misdemeanor marijuana case. The federal lawsuit has been stayed pending the outcome of the criminal case.
The NAACP at an Oct. 10, 2014, news conference called for Vicari and Turner to be pulled from street duty and accused police of being too aggressive and escalating situations during minor arrests. Protesters blocked traffic outside City Hall in December 2014 as a way to call attention to the jaywalking complaints.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said the city was more on edge in the fall of 2014 than at any other time in his 12 years in office.
It was then that U.S. Attorney David Capp reached out to McDermott and offered to put him in touch with Bergeron, the mayor said.
The Police Department has made many changes during last 15 months, McDermott said. One of the most visible changes is that all of Hammond’s uniformed officers are now wearing body cameras, he said.
“Hammond is a diverse city. Hammond is proud to be a diverse city,†McDermott said. “Everyone is working well together, and those were tough times. We’ve come through that, and hopefully we’ll be stronger because of it.â€
Barbara Bolling-Williams, president of the Indiana NAACP, said the people involved in negotiations initially were unsure of each others' motives but eventually learned to trust they had the same goals.
Several residents became upset after the signing ceremony because they were not allowed to speak.
Kitten Gray, of Hammond, talked to Bergeron, the Justice Department official, about several of the complaints that have been lodged against Hammond police.
Gray said those complaints include several excessive force cases, allegations surrounding jaywalking tickets, and lack of transparency.
Gray said she felt encouraged because
Bergeron told her there is still an ongoing investigation into the complaints.“At this point I pray that the truth comes to light,†she said. “I will hold onto hope that this issue will be resolved in the very near future.â€
Hammond resident Carlotta Blake-King said she felt betrayed because she and other activists, who initially brought complaints about jaywalking to light, were not involved in the discussions that led to the agreement. She claimed she repeatedly asked the Hammond chapter of the NAACP if meetings were being held and was told just Monday that the matter was confidential.
“There’s no trust,†she said. “You can’t build trust on a lie.â€
The Rev. Homer Cobb, president of the Hammond NAACP, said the talks progressed much like a union negotiates a new contract. Not every union member can be present at the bargaining table, but the leaders eventually take the deal back to everyone.
“We would not be this far if we involved that many from the community,†he said. “It’s not a matter of shunning people. It was a matter of size and magnitude.â€
Cobb said he expected some people would be upset, but the process is not closed and the commission will be able to deal with issues.
Representatives from the groups that participated in mediation sessions will be considered founding members and make up the Hammond Police and Citizens Advisory Commission’s Central Advisory Committee. Other members of the commission will include at least five people nominated and elected from each of the city’s five policing districts.
Candidates for the commission must be able to document at least five years of community service and accomplishments and not currently have a complaint or lawsuit against a local or state law enforcement agency. Blake-King has a pending federal lawsuit against McDermott and other for her termination from United Neighborhoods Inc.