The guilty verdicts in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd brought a sigh of relief for many. Since then, the Justice Department has announced it will investigate policing practices in Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed last May, and in Louisville, Kentucky, where Breonna Taylor was killed by police in March 2020. These events send a much-needed signal that our country is trying, but still needs to do more, to fight systemic racism in law enforcement.
As a psychologist who specializes in treating the effects of trauma – whether stemming from combat, captivity, assault or terrorism – I try to inspire my patients to move forward in a positive direction. I often echo this quotation: “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.” I don’t say this to be shaming or to invalidate survivors’ reality of pain. I say it to help motivate them to change their behavior. I also want to scream this sentiment to every law enforcement agency across the country, because solutions exist to improve relations between law enforcement and communities of color. Why aren’t we using them?
Law enforcement used to predominately be about maintaining law and order. But around the 1970s, a new approach came to the forefront: community policing. Officers still responded to incidents, but they also were encouraged to get to know the people in the community, to ask for input on identifying problems and finding solutions.
In subsequent decades, community policing became increasingly popular, with the majority of departments across the U.S. reporting adoption. Research, however, notes that actual implementation was uneven, and indicates some officers doubted whether neighborhood residents could partner with police. And some community members were less willing to extend trust to law enforcement.
Despite efforts, police and community relations – particularly those in low-income urban areas – often remain tense, and at times, deadly. It’s well-known that men of color have disproportionately negative encounters with the police. In fact, data indicates that 1 in every 1,000 Black men and boys can expect to be killed by police.
In 2014, there seemed to be a series of killings of Black people by police. Among them: Michael Brown, an 18-year-old, was fatally shot in Ferguson, Missouri. Eric Garner, 43, died after a New York City police officer placed him in a prohibited chokehold. Twelve-year-old Tamir Rice was gunned down in Cleveland while carrying a toy gun. Though hearts were heavy, and protests took place, many were unsure how to take steps forward. As one man in Southern California, Sean Sheppard, shares: “It seemed everywhere I turned, there was violence toward people that looked like me. I knew I had to do something about it.”
A Georgetown University graduate, Sheppard studied psychology. He understood that to change people’s behaviors, we first need to help them change their perceptions. As a football player in high school and college, and a strength coach at Ohio State University, Sheppard also knew that sports can bring people together. Potential healing strategies swirled in his mind. He prayed for guidance.
Sheppard had previously met Shelley Zimmerman, a former assistant chief of the San Diego Police Department and an Ohio State alumnus, at a celebration for a local priest. They talked for hours, discovered they had Ohio State in common, and forged what might be thought of as an unlikely friendship. When Sheppard had his idea for a gap-bridging effort called Game Changer, Zimmerman had become chief of police. He called her, shared his idea and she responded, “Sean, I get it. Let’s do it.”
Game Changer is an experiential learning model that formally started in 2016. Through tremendous community outreach, Sheppard and his team met with schools, churches, nonprofits and probation departments. They cast a wide net by telling folks they’d have an opportunity to sit down with the police.
“I told them, ‘You can ask and say anything you want as long as it’s done respectfully,'” Sheppard says.
Zimmerman opened the doors to the police. Having served for more than three decades on the force – doing everything from foot patrol to undercover detective work – she had great relationships within local and national law enforcement.
“Most police officers are good and decent people who get into the profession for the right reasons,” Zimmerman told me. “They have compassion and integrity, and they want to make a positive difference. Every police officer, association, department that I called to ask if they would participate in Game Changer said they were all-in.”
Game Changer brings together community members, current and retired law enforcement, elected officials and judges to discuss problems and devise solutions. Conversations can be raw and passionate, but importantly, they’re truthful. They create an environment where folks listen to one another, develop compassion, find common ground, and then work to formulate ways of moving forward together. Some might call these experiences courageous conversations or difficult dialogues.
For sure, they’re not easy.
After the meeting concludes, everyone attends a collegiate or professional sporting event together. Watching the game and talking about life breaks down barriers even further.
“We bring in youth who believe the police are their mortal enemy. After spending three hours talking and then hanging out at a game, participants find themselves enjoying each other’s company – like friends would do.” Sheppard says. “Officers participate in plain clothes. If you can’t tell who’s law enforcement and who isn’t, it’s because we’re all human. We’re capable of treating each other far more humanely.”
Since 2016, Game Changer has hosted over 1,500 participants. Not even the pandemic has stopped it, with the organization holding virtual events. Police departments in California – in Fullerton, Chula Vista, Coronado, Long Beach – and a few places in Virginia, Maryland, Texas and Ohio have participated.
Of course, Game Changer isn’t the only approach to mitigating violence between police and community members. Yet data demonstrates the model is highly effective at changing perceptions and behaviors. Participants report a positive change in their opinion of law enforcement, and law enforcement’s understanding of members of communities of color improves as well. More than 8 in 10 participants from the general public reported they were moderately or extremely likely to return to a Game Changer event, with an even higher share of law enforcement respondents saying the same.
With Chauvin now convicted by a jury and the Department of Justice moving forward to examine police practices, our crucial next steps are to stop viewing one another with high levels of suspicion and distrust. We need to be courageous in creating safe environments to resolve problems. Efforts like Game Changer offer an appealing invitation to solve deep-seated problems.
This article originally appeared on https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-04-29/changing-the-game-to-improve-police-community-relations