by Tony Ganzer, ideastream
Today we have another piece in 鈥淥ur Land鈥�: a conversation on community policing in Cleveland. This series is featuring many diverse Cleveland perspectives beginning always with the same questions: What should community policing look like, and how far are we from it? Today we hear from Pastor Stephen Rowan of in Cleveland鈥檚 Glenville neighborhood.
ROWAN: 鈥淚 think community policing should mean that police have an on-going presence. I think it should be walking out among the residents. I think visiting the businesses, the churches, the enterprises that are open and receptive to the police鈥檚 presence in the neighborhood. And it鈥檚 gotta be something you don鈥檛 see once a week, I think every day.鈥�
GANZER: 鈥淗ow far are we from that reality do you think?鈥�
ROWAN: 鈥淎s far as light is from darkness, probably. Now I do know that our police chief believes in community policing, I鈥檝e been in several meetings with him, and situations where he鈥檚 talked about it. I know there are officers that believe in this, and our mayor as well. So I鈥檓 hopeful for all that, but I think we鈥檙e far from it because I don鈥檛 see the police. But I will say some of our staff have told me鈥攁nd I鈥檓 in and out going to meetings and back and forth鈥攂ut some of our staff have told me that they鈥檝e seen some police walking up and down 105 th street in recent weeks. But here鈥檚 what happened on one occasion, they suggested, they said, 鈥榃ell Pastor鈥檚 in there, why don鈥檛 you go meet our pastor?鈥� And they wouldn鈥檛 do it.鈥�
GANZER: 鈥淲hy not?鈥�
ROWAN: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. I don鈥檛 understand why, why they wouldn鈥檛. He said, 鈥榃hy don鈥檛 you come and meet our pastor,鈥� and he told me that the officers just kind of blew him off.鈥�
GANZER: 鈥淥ver the course of this series I鈥檝e talked to many different kinds of people, and they鈥檝e pointed to a number of things trying to explain the rift between the police and the public. They鈥檝e pointed to race, they鈥檝e pointed to class鈥攚here do you think this rift comes from?鈥�
ROWAN: 鈥淥h, I would say both of those are true, but I think it also comes from the fact that I think there is a belief鈥攁 stereotypical belief鈥攖hat people in the community allow criminals to fester and that they approve of the behavior of some of the people that commit criminal acts, and I just don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 true. But I鈥檝e been a victim myself of police criticizing me saying that I get along with the drug dealers, or that I harbor them and all these kinds of things. Do I know people who deal drugs? Of course I do. And I know mothers, and fathers, and grandparents and others, who don鈥檛 approve of that behavior that their children or sons and daughters might be engaged in, but I still have to show them the love of Christ, and so I cannot judge them for what they do, what I can do is try to redirect them.鈥�
GANZER: 鈥淚t seems like there鈥檚 plenty of criticism for everybody to go around: some folks criticize the police, some folks criticize churches, some folks criticize non-profits. Are we all on the same page when it comes to an ideal of community policing, do you think? Or are we moving toward the same page?鈥�
ROWAN: 鈥淚 think so. I think most people would agree that it鈥檚 important鈥攖here was a day when you would know the police officers in the community. Now this is what has been said to me, and I鈥檝e heard it from more than a couple of sources, that the police are told not to really engage residents, and that they shouldn鈥檛 get out of their cars and all those kinds of 鈥� because it鈥檚 too dangerous. And it鈥檚 unfortunate that we live in a climate now where police feel under siege. And there are people that are very angry toward the police, but I think that your average person would not justify anyone attacking the police or disrespecting the police, and I think that because there is this element of people that do those things that everybody gets painted with a broad brush, and I think that鈥檚 very unfair. I respect the police, I鈥檝e got a brother who鈥檚 a police officer鈥︹��
GANZER: 鈥淏ut incidents like the shooting of Tamir Rice, the case with Tanisha Anderson, these have exacerbated maybe the trust issue that we have between the public and the police鈥︹��
ROWAN: 鈥淚 would agree, absolutely, because you cannot justify certain behavior when it鈥檚 clearly wrong. Police are human like anyone else, just like pastors, and mailmen, teachers, politicians, there are always people in a group that are gonna be good, and there are some that are going to be bad.鈥�
GANZER: 鈥淚s there something you think people are not talking about in this discussion?鈥�
ROWAN: 鈥淚 went to those listening meetings, I went to several of those, and people pretty much got out everything they wanted to say, and council sat back and listened鈥︹��
GANZER: 鈥淏ut converting that to action. I鈥檝e heard some skepticism from people.鈥�
ROWAN: 鈥淥h, yeah, there鈥檚 plenty of skepticism. But again, I鈥檓 in the business of hope. I鈥檓 in the business of hope, and I鈥檓 not changing my business. See sometimes you鈥檝e got to act people into a new way of thinking. See instead of trying to get them to change their minds about a thing, show us through action.鈥�
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