Members of Erie's community-police relations group hope more such conversations will happen in the future.
Jennings, the mother of homicide victim Rondale Jennings Sr., was present at the public forum via a videotaped address. She described the wrenching experience, in 2009, of hearing her son's death mocked by an Erie patrolman who was caught on video at a tavern.
"I never blamed the entire police force for the actions of that one officer," she said in the address.
Jennings has also shared her experiences as a member of the community-police relations group. The group of about 20 people, roughly half members of law enforcement and half members of Erie's African-American community, has met since August in an effort to build trust between both parts of the group.
"It let us get to know each other," Jennings said. "(The police) have families just like we do, they have issues just like we do. The only difference is the job that they have."
The community-police relations group is considering ways to expand the relationships formed there to bring in more members of the community.
The group made its first foray into meeting with the public at the Feb. 20 forum at Pfeiffer-Burleigh Elementary School, and Jennings said the members have committed to holding more public forums.
The community-police relations group had its start in a different controversy — the announcement in July of a U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation into the Erie Bureau Police following a highly publicized June 27 arrest in which an Erie man, Montrice Bolden, suffered broken facial bones and a concussion.
"This group ... had a catalyst in the Montrice Bolden case," said Soo Song, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, who has come to Erie from Pittsburgh to attend two of the group's monthly meetings. Song said in a March 24 interview that investigation remains under consideration by the Department of Justice.
With that investigation as a backdrop, the U.S. attorney's office in Erie convened the first meeting of the community-police relations group.
"We tried to pick a group of folks ... who were willing to talk about these topics and who had a different kind of a background or experience," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall Piccinini, who has facilitated the group's meetings at the federal courthouse on Perry Square.
"I think there was some apprehension on both sides," Erie Police Chief Donald Dacus said.
But as the meetings progressed, the two segments of the group — community members and law enforcement — said they began to notice what they had in common.
"We began to realize that we were more alike in our train of thought, as far as what the expectations from the community should be," Dacus said.
Group members hope to take that message to more members of the community, although the specifics of how that will be accomplished remain under consideration.
"I think what we want to do is take the agenda that we used ... and replicate the conversation that we started with this primary group," Piccinini said.
The group has held monthly meetings to discuss topics of importance to both halves, such as implicit bias, witness cooperation, police hiring and youth engagement, Piccinini said.
Song said the group was based on a similar group that has met in Pittsburgh since 2011.
Building a relationship between the two parts of Erie's group required conversations about grievances on both sides: a lack of cooperation with law enforcement investigations, and the feeling there is a disconnect between law enforcement and the community.
"A lot of it has to do with mutual respect," Dacus said. "Often times that doesn't translate well when an officer is in his official capacity trying to be completely all business."
Dacus said he has taken steps to use what he's learned from the meetings with community members.
"I'm trying to expand the conversation by going out with the command staff to each of the Neighborhood Watch groups and trying to open up that dialogue, sort of leading it off by example from what I've learned from that group," he said. "Ultimately the goal would be to expand the communication enough that people would be more willing to help out law enforcement when trying to solve crime."
David Johnson, a group member and security program manager at Saint Vincent Hospital, said the group should be expanded in a way that maintains the personal conversations group members were able to hold.
"You can't do what we we're doing with 100 people," Johnson said. "If we go out to different communities, then that group mingles with another community group, we can expand and expand from there."
Dacus also expressed interest in spreading the group's message to more members of the community.
"I think at some point it should either be expanded to include more members or we should revolve the membership to influence others," he said. "I think we've proven it's been a good experience, but there needs to be another direction, it needs to grow."
Song said the group's decision to hold a public forum after meeting for less than a year showed the group was moving from "discussion to action very quickly."
"I feel like this group has done more in a short period of time than I would have expected," she said. "This group realized early on that they have a strong desire to influence other people."
Song said the U.S. attorney's office will continue convening the meetings "as long as the group collectively values that."
Piccinini said the group is in the early stages of coordinating with the Department of Justice's community-relations service to hold a police and community trust-building conference in the fall.
Reaching out to young people is another key goal that has emerged from the meetings. Piccinini said the group is developing a plan to hold similar meetings between young people and members of law enforcement.
"People's perceptions of law enforcement form at a very early age," Song said. "You have to engage kids really young."
Jennings said reaching out to young people could help mend relationships between the community and law enforcement in a number of ways, including increasing diversity in the police force by reducing the stigma in minority communities that can be associated with becoming a police officer.
"The issue is that if you want to be a part of the solution, apply and try to make a difference," Jennings said. "That wall needs to be broken down so that they get a better understanding of what law enforcement really is."
Madeleine O'Neill can be reached at 870-1728 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNoneill.
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