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Officials looking for ways to diversify local law enforcement [Columbus Ledger-Enquirer](Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (GA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 19--Columbus is now a majority minority city, with non-white residents accounting for more than 50 percent of the population. But the city's two largest law enforcement agencies remain predominantly white. In the wake of the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., such demographics are getting more public scrutiny as the nation focuses on the racial imbalance between many police forces and the communities they serve. In response to rioting in Ferguson -- where 94 percent of the officers are white in a town that is nearly 70 percent black -- Attorney General Eric Holder expressed concern about that city's lack of black police officers. "Police forces should reflect the diversity of the communities they serve," he said, while launching a Justice Department investigation into the practices of the city's police department. Holder said the Justice Department had received numerous complaints about police practices, a history of "deep mistrust" and a lack of diversity on the Ferguson police force. The Associated Press compared Census Bureau demographic numbers with Justice Department staffing surveys for more than 1,400 police departments from 1987 to 2007. Though a racial imbalance existed between many departments and their communities, the study found that the gap had narrowed over the past generation, particularly in departments that once were the least diverse. There was, however, a larger disparity among Hispanic officers in police departments nationally, the AP reported. In Columbus, black officers were the least represented compared to their demographic group. Although blacks make up 45.5 percent of the Columbus population, according to 2013 Census estimates, they account for only 25 percent of officers in the Columbus Police Department and 36 percent in the Sheriff's Office, according to statistics provided by officials. Hispanics make up 7.3 percent of the population, and about 3 percent of officers in the police department and 4 percent of deputies at the sheriff's office. Of the nearly 460 sworn officers in the Columbus Police Department, 70 percent are white. And at the Muscogee Sheriff's Office, white officers account for 60 percent of the 321 deputies and correctional officers. The statistics were provided by the police department's personnel director, Capt. Freddie Blackmon, and Sheriff John Darr. Michael Bailey, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Columbus State University, worked at the Muscogee County Sheriff's Department for more than 28 years before retiring in 2004 as a training officer. Speaking anecdotally, he said, "Agencies want to hire the best people they can hire, and part of the problem in the past was the educational requirement," he said. "If you set the educational requirement too high, you're probably going to lose some good applicants. If you set it too low, you don't get the best applicants." But it's important that law enforcement agencies reflect the demographics of their communities, he said. "You're not going to be able to respond to the community you're working with in a good and proper way if you don't have an understanding of that community," he said. "It doesn't start with people who have their boots on the ground. It starts with administration, supervisory positions. They have to buy into the need." Marshal's office In the Muscogee County Marshal's Office, the demographics are more reflective of the community, according to statistics provided by Marshal Gregory Countryman. Of 16 deputies, eight are black, six are white, one is Hispanic and one is Asian. Countryman said he made it a point to diversify the staff when elected to office in 2005. At that time, the department was primarily black, so he hired people of other races. "I wanted to make sure our office represented Columbus," he said. "Because often times we go out and we serve court orders, giving people notice that they're going to be evicted from their homes. But I don't think it's fair to any culture or any race if you can't communicate with them. The Hispanic community is probably the fastest-growing community in Columbus, Georgia. So, when you're telling somebody they're going to be evicted, I want to make sure that we have a qualified Hispanic deputy fluent in the language." Countryman said his department is seeking funding for a talking box that allows people to communicate in 101 different languages. It has a live operator and would allow deputies to talk in the box in English and have their words translated in the other person's language. He said sometimes there's a disconnect between the community and police. So it's important for officers to step out of their comfort zones and try to bridge the divide. He said he requires his deputies to talk to four residents every day and list it on their daily sheets. "We build relationships with people, and they start calling because they feel comfortable with us," he said. "And I think if we do that, not only as a community, but if we do that as a state, if we do that as a nation, it makes it a lot easier to deal with things like Ferguson." Columbus Police Department Blackmon, the Columbus Police Department's personnel director, said sworn officers in the department include 278 white males, 45 white females, 93 black males, 22 black females, 11 Hispanic males, four Hispanic females, two Asian males, and one male and two females who identified as "other." He said the department aims for a demographic make-up close to that of the city, and he doesn't really know why the percentage of white officers is so high. "The numbers are that way, but as to the reason they are that way, I don't know," he said. "It's just based upon when applicants submit applications. We do background checks and that's what turns up after you do the background checks. That's how it plays out. "In our recruitment efforts we try to recruit the best qualified officers," he added. "At the same time, we are aware of what our demographics represent, and we do have a recruitment plan to address the difference in on our demographics." The recruitment plan includes going to job fairs and historically black colleges and universities to increase the minority applicant pool, he said. According to the police department's website, eligible applicants must be at least 21 years old and U.S.-born citizens or naturalized. They must have a high school diploma or GED, no felony convictions, no convictions involving family violence, no history involving the sale and/or distribution of an illegal substance and no marijuana within two years of the date of application. They must also pass a COMPASS placement exam and meet physical fitness requirements. The Sheriff's and Marshal's offices have similar qualifications. So far for 2014, 92 white males have submitted applications to become officers with the police department, and 17 were hired: 23 white females applied, and six were hired; 55 black males applied, and seven were hired; 28 black females applied, and two were hired; nine Hispanic males applied, and four were hired; three Hispanic females applied, one was hired; one Asian male applied and one was hired, and one American Indian male applied but wasn't hired. Blackmon said some applications are still being processed. But the demographics don't necessarily have to match the population for the community to receive good police service, he said. "Police officers are going to enforce the law regardless of their race, or the race of the citizens," he said. "They're going to enforce the law that they've been given the responsibility to do. Each officer is going to go out and do their job according to the authority that has been given to them." Iris Jessie, the city's assistant director of affirmative action and human resources, said the city has a strong affirmative action program that publishes an annual report. She said the Department of Human Resources doesn't recruit for the police department because of the specialized skills required and the necessary background checks. "They do their own recruitment," she said. "And I know that they make every attempt to recruit using some of the same things we state in the affirmative action plan, and that is to advertise everywhere you think you may find women and minorities. So, that would be your historically black colleges; the military people who are exiting the military; people who are enrolled, even though it's not a black college or university, in public safety-oriented disciplines. "Sometimes there are so many entities drawing from the same applicant pool that you're competing for individuals and individuals will go where they feel they can earn the most or have the most advantageous work hours, etc.," she said. "So it's going to continue to be a concerted effort on all of our part to go to those sources where we think we'll be able to find good minority applicants." Mayor Teresa Tomlinson, the city's public safety director, said Columbus is doing better than many police departments across the country when it comes to diversity. The percentage of minorities in the average police department is 25 percent, she said, and it's 30 percent in Columbus. "We don't try to hire people to reflect an exact percentage of the population," she said. "What we do is look at the community and make sure that we're reflective of that. And, of course, what we also try to do is get the best candidates for the job." Sheriff's office Darr, who manages his budget and hiring independently, said the Sheriff's office is making a lot of progress with diversity. He said the department has 321 deputies and correctional officers. Of that number, 74.5 percent are males; 25.5 percent are females; 47 percent are white males; 24 percent are black males; 12 percent are black females; 12 percent are white female; three percent are Hispanic males; one percent are Hispanic females; and one percent are Pacific Islanders and others. "Is it a concern? I don't know. I would have to compare the numbers to when I first came into office to now, and I think that number has gone down," Darr said. "So for me, it's not so much a concern as the quality of applicants. That's what I'm concerned about. "But I can tell you this: I find it more interesting that when you look at the percentage of females when I came into office compared to now, that number has gone up," he added. But when Darr, who was sued for gender discrimination and lost the case in 2013, provided numbers from 2009, the year he was elected, they were practically the same as they are today. Sixty percent of the deputies and correctional officers were white, 35 percent were black, 4 percent were Hispanic and one percent was Pacific Islander, he said. The percent of female officers has increased from 25 to 25.5. Still, he remained confident that his department was becoming more reflective of the community. "We've made headway, but in somebody's opinion maybe not enough," he said. He couldn't say why there was such a low percentage of minority officers. "I would probably be remiss in stating why those numbers are like that," he said. "I don't know who's applying for the job, the retention of individuals in the agency. There could be a lot of factors that go into that." When asked if the Ledger-Enquirer could interview the personnel director, he said. "No, I'm the person you would talk to about something like this." Not as important Nate Sanderson, president of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he doesn't think the racial make-up of law enforcement agencies is as important as the lack of accountability. "I think the greater issue is the outcome," he said. "I don't think race necessarily gets you better service. I think the blue wall of silence is what we as the community have to be concerned with. If our law enforcement and elected officials can honestly say we have an honest police force, I don't think race should be a major factor." He said that's not currently the case. "I think we have great concerns about our police force, but I'm not going to hinge it on race." He mentioned the death of Tony Carr as an example. In 2011, Carr, a Fort Benning fire inspector, was shot and killed by a Columbus police officer. The officer, Vincent Lockhart Jr., was chasing a suspect who had apparently carjacked Carr. Lockhart, who is black, opened fire, killing both men, and was place on administrative leave. "I don't necessarily buy into the theory that because you have a police officer of your ethnicity you're going to get better service," Sanderson said. "I think sensitivity training and being familiar with your constituents and the community that you serve is paramount to good policing." Harry Franklin, a former Ledger-Enquirer reporter and state editor who retired in 2008, said Columbus has had a long history of distrust between the black community and local law enforcement. He remembers covering racial unrest in 1971. That summer a 20-year-old black man, Willie Joe Osborne Jr., was shot and killed by police after a store robbery. It was also the year that black police officers protested against alleged discrimination in the police department. They were fired after pulling the U.S. flag off their uniforms. Both incidents angered black residents, who rioted in the streets and fire-bombed businesses. Franklin, who is white, said he was attacked by a group of protestors while on his way to cover a speech given by civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy. "A group of them surrounded me and a black girl said, 'White boy, you better get out of here,'" said Franklin, who was a young, fledgling reporter at the time. "I wasn't hurt, but my emotions were hurt. They did slap me and knocked me into the street. My glasses went flying and they ripped my tie off." In another incident, white police officers stood on one side of the street and black men stood on the other, Franklin recalled. The police taunted the black men and dared them to try something. "It eventually died down and nothing happened," Franklin said. "But I was very, very concerned that it was going to erupt into a battle right there at Sixth Avenue and Sixth Street because they just didn't trust the police at that point. That was a time when things were just not good here in Columbus, racially speaking." The black community has had other flare-ups with police since then. In 2003, protests erupted after the death of Kenneth Walker. In that case, Walker and three friends were stopped by the Metro Narcotics Task Force. The agents and officers swarmed their vehicle, and sheriff's deputy David Glisson shot Walker twice in the head. No drugs or guns were found in the vehicle. Nearly a year later, Glisson was allowed to make an emotional statement to a grand jury without first being sworn to tell the truth. He was not indicted. Yet, the community has made a lot of progress since the turbulent 1970s, Franklin said. "I think there's been a lot of effort to work with all groups of people and address their needs," he said. "I think today things are considerably better than they were back at that time." ___ (c)2014 Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, Ga.) Visit the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, Ga.) at www.ledger-enquirer.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |