In celebration of Black History Month, students and faculty gathered at Lewis Hall on Wednesday to hear a discussion between current and former African American chief police officers about race relations in law enforcement.
The event panel, called “The Thin Line Between Black & Blue: Black Law Enforcement Chiefs Panel,” consisted of Inglewood Mayor James Butts, Richmond Chief Bisa French, USC DPS Chief John Thomas and former Charlottesville Chief RaShall Brackney.
The four held a discussion on the issues officers of color face, the future of racism in policing and solutions to fix racial tensions between the public and police officers.
Brackney shared her experiences as a female officer of color and the particular obstacles she had to overcome. She was police chief in Charlottesville after the violent outbreaks between white supremacists and anti-racists in 2017. During her time there, she said her position as an officer was often questioned based on her race and gender, including being targeted by groups such as The Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer.
“[They] hate me because I’m a black female and they’re calling me a quota hire, affirmative action, forgetting that I, at that point, had 32 to 33 years of policing experience,” Brackney said. She believed it was important for the community to see a black woman in a position of authority.
The officers also shared their experiences of entering law enforcement, what drove their decision to join and how race has impacted the profession.
“Going through the ranks has been a challenge in itself. I was the youngest captain ever promoted in our agency, the first female at those ranks, the first African American and Latina female at those ranks. So, there were a lot of firsts and through that I think the one thing that helped me out was my consistency” French said.
Chief Thomas shared his motivation to become a police officer and the role his race has played. “As a young, young kid when my grandparents would see a black police officer they would say ‘that’s progress’ and that always stuck with me,” he said.
French believes that it requires humanity to fix race relations between police and communities of color. “I make them understand that I’m looking at them as a person,” he said.
Organizers of the event dedicated the panel discussion to Mr. Earl Paysinger, the USC vice president of civic engagement who was also a 41-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department. Mr. Paysinger passed away on Dec. 16, 2019 at the age of 64.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Chief Brackney served during the riots in Charlottesville. She was chief after the riots occurred.