"It's not an us vs. them:" Discussion in Milwaukee focuses on bridging the gap between police, community



MILWAUKEE -- The combined goal of several organizations in Milwaukee is improving your safety. The public was invited on Monday evening, December 19th to listen and speak out during a discussion at City Hall.

Marynell Regan



It was an important discussion about bringing police and the community together. Members of both groups met at City Hall to brainstorm solutions to the divisions that have plagued the city.

"It`s largely in response to the fact that we are in crisis in this city," Marynell Regan, a member of Milwaukee's Fire and Police Commission said.



It's a crisis multiple groups are working to tackle.

On Monday evening, members of the FPC, the NAACP and the League of Martin talked about improving police/community relations.

"It`s hard to talk about race. It`s hard to talk about police misconduct," Tracey Dent with the Peace for Change Alliance said.

The group addressed tough topics -- everything from how police patrol, to the difficulties of working at the Milwaukee Police Department during a time of unrest.



"Everybody should have the right to be treated equally. That`s all we saying. We need to change the mentality from a warrior to a guardian," Fred Royal, president of the Milwaukee branch of the NAACP said.

"It`s a little bit challenging to be out there because any time an officer does something, whether it`s here or in another state, it is something that we all pay for," Regina Howard said.



The group ultimately decided Monday evening the community and police need one another.

"It`s not an us vs. them," Royal said.

"To hear what people are thinking and talking about -- I think that`s the way you really build strong community relationships is you have sessions where people can just talk," Regan said.



These meetings are part of a continuous effort to bridge the gap between the community and police.

Leaders who took part in the discussion said they're also working to increase diversity on the police force, and they plan to hold a recruitment in 2017.