COPS HD event brings police, citizens together for discussion (photo by Kim Hilsenbeck)
By Kim Hilsenbeck
In the spirit of Martin Luther King Day, about a dozen Kyle citizens and several officers from the Kyle Police Department sat together Monday morning to have an open dialogue.
Called COPS HD — Citizens Organizations Policing Salutary Honest Dialogue — the meeting aimed to bring the two groups together to talk in an informal setting.
Spearheaded by Kyle resident Dallas Lee in concert with Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett, there was no agenda or script. Lee said COPS HD is a unique opportunity to start a dialogue between the community and first responders. He wants to avoid situations like those that happened in Ferguson, MO, and New York City between citizens and police.
He also believes law enforcement officers need training to give them the tools required to deal with situations that may involve race relations or to diffuse confrontations and misunderstandings.
Barnett addressed the group, saying everyone knows Kyle is growing quickly, and he said with that growth comes change.
“We’re adapting to that change,” he said. “This dialogue is one way to accomplish that.”
Community members asked questions, raised issues and discussed concerns. Four members of the Kyle Police Department — Barnett along with Officer James Plant, Sgt. Tracy Vrana and Officer Walt Tallant — directly answered citizen’s questions.
One woman told Barnett about a potential narcotics situation in her downtown Kyle neighborhood where cars come and go throughout the evening, stopping for a few minutes at a nearby house then leaving. She said she is especially concerned for the safety of her young son.
She filled out the narcotics information form dispatch told her to, but she said she did not get a call back from any officers. In a way, she felt she was being brushed off.
“In the meantime, what can citizens…do?” she asked.
Barnett said being the eyes and ears in the community is a huge help. He recommended citizens call the non-emergency dispatch number.
“Tell 911 operators what you see. Then sit back and keep an eye on the situation and see if anything changes,” he said. “For example, if you see them reach into a car and pull out guns, it would be nice if you’d call us back and go ‘Hey, by the way, they’ve got guns now.’”
The audience chuckled but the point was taken.
Barnett said he has one officer who spends about half of his time working narcotics, though he is not undercover.
Other citizens asked questions about a variety of topics, including how to interact with officers during a traffic stop, how the coming of Wal-Mart will impact the police — Barnett estimates 600 to 1,000 calls for service per year — what the department is doing about gang-related activity and how to address an apparent lack of respect for authority by today’s youth.
“We need to tell our children about respect,” Plant said.
He told the group as a youth growing up in Los Angeles in the 1990s, he avoided contact with police officers — there was some distrust in an era of corruption within the LAPD. Yet he knew he wanted to become an officer, which he did after high school.
Plant added that he would like parents to educate their children about police officers and teach them about respect for authority, which he believes is declining.
“The respect [for authority] has gone down the crapper,” he said.
The officers also addressed how best to cooperate if they are stopped or have any other interactions with police. Pulling off the roadway safely and putting your hands on the steering wheel are good tips, according to Tallant and Plant. But occasionally, situations escalate quickly.
“We sometimes stop people because they or their car match a description for something else,” Tallant said. “I may ask you to get out of the car, put you in handcuffs and tell you to get down on the ground until I sort it all out.”
His advice was to cooperate, do what needs to be done and they will, as he said, sort it out.
Tallant said people sometimes want to argue rather than comply with an officer’s request. He said officers ask citizens to do certain things to keep everyone safe and control the situation. He said he wants to go home at the end of his shift.
“My life is important to me,” he said, “just like your life is important to you.”
Kyle resident Lila Knight countered that police should take an extra 30 seconds and explain why they ask someone to do a specific task, such as get down on the ground.
“I may not have 30 seconds,” Tallant said.
Barnett agreed with Knight that communication is the key to improving relations between officers and the community.
Of the first meeting, Barnett said, "It went very well and we look forward to continuing the conversation throughout the community."
Lee said he was pleased with the turnout for the first meeting.
"Every building begins with one brick," he said.
Lee and Barnett said the next step is to hold COPS HD at HOA meetings, community centers and other venues around Kyle.
