Sat 10/3 @ noon-3PM
There are serious trust issues in the relationship between the Cleveland Police Department and the community it’s pledged to “serve and protect.” To put it bluntly, many people in the black community don’t think the police are serving them, especially following the 2012 gunning down of Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell over an inconsequential matter with 137 shots fired and the 2014 instantaneous shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice over nothing.
That’s why the Justice Department and the city of Cleveland signed a consent decree late last year to make some changes. One of the changes was to try to recruit a police force that more closely resembles the demographics of the city. (The force is currently 67% white, 44% black, while the city is 37% white and 53% black).
That’s what will be going on the Public Safety Minority Recruit Fair being held at the Tri-C Metro campus at the Jerry Sue Thornton Bldg #194. Sponsored by the Black Shield Police Association — the black officers’ union — in conjunction with the office of Senator Sherrod Brown, the event will offer the chance for people to sign up for pre-civil service exam training for police, fire and EMS. These exams are often a stumbling block for people who are new to them and don’t have a family of police officers or firefighter to guide them through the process.
Here’s another tip: they’re also looking for women officers who currently comprise a paltry 17% of the force, and whose presence has been linked to more frequent de-escalation and mediation of tense situations. If you are a black woman who has thought about police work, you’re gold. Get on down there.
For more information, contact Lynn Hampton at the Black Shield Police Association at 216-323-6155.
Cuyahoga Community College Metro Campus, 2900 Community College Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115-3123