Building trust

Church deacon Terry Mayes had his teenage granddaughter in the car a while back when a North Charleston police officer pulled him over for a traffic violation. Frosty and curt, the officer demanded Mayes' driver's license and registration without so much as a hello.

Though decades younger than Mayes, the officer insisted on calling him "Terry," even when Mayes referred to the officer as "sir." Mayes, a 60-year-old black man, felt humiliated in front of his granddaughter, denied the simplest of courtesies by a white officer young enough to be his son.

Last week, Mayes relayed this story to a group of North Charleston police rookies as part of a novel new program aimed at helping officers become more understanding and sensitive to diversity in the community. His message to them was simple: Treat others as you expect to be treated.

"Our children are not afraid of you," Mayes told them. "But a lot of them learn to disrespect you as you disrespect us."

Police Chief Jon Zumalt launched the Community Immersion Program in an effort to bridge the racial, cultural and ethnic divides that have fed misperceptions and mistrust between the police department and the community it serves.

The department struggled with racial enmity in past years after a series of police-involved shootings sparked protests and marches by the black community. Police have worked to mend those fences and build trust while forging ties with a growing Hispanic population that can be insular and reluctant to report crimes. The immersion program grew from those efforts and is thought to be the first program of its kind in the region.

"We have a very diverse community and our officers have to have an understanding of that diversity so they can be more effective," Zumalt said. "The bottom line is: To communicate with someone, you have to understand them and have that mutual respect."

To that end, about a dozen police and community service officers spent the past week meeting with minority leaders, attending citizen forums, serving meals to the homeless and visiting schools, businesses and homes in troubled neighborhoods. They listened to people's concerns about safety and crime. And they got an earful from several people who offered blunt assessments about the police department's past practices and tactics.

During a forum at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, the Rev. Augustus D. Robinson Jr. and state Rep. David Mack shared frustrations with perceived racial profiling by police. Some officers, they said, seem to use any excuse to stop young black men. Robinson said one man in his church has been pulled over 14 times.

Robinson said past police-involved shootings created the perception that North Charleston police were "mean and inhumane." Like many black parents, he and Mack said, they warned their sons to stay calm, follow orders and make no sudden movements should they ever be stopped by police.

Both men said they have been impressed with strides the police department has made under Zumalt and they have come to realize the city has many good officers. But they urged the rookies to be mindful of their actions and take steps to get to know people in the communities on their beats.

"The community is going to be your best friend," Robinson said. "The community will have your back and help you solve crimes if you build rapport with the right people."

The immersion program is aimed at jump-starting that process. On one afternoon, for example, the new officers visited apartment complexes and mobile home parks along Stall Road and Midland Park, two areas with large concentrations of Hispanic residents. Accompanied by Spanish-speaking interpreters, they knocked on doors and asked residents to tell them about the neighborhood, what past encounters with police have been like and what police could differently to make things better.

Thionna Hightower burst into tears when she opened her door and saw an officer there. Not used to encountering police, she assumed officer Allen Cooke was there to tell her some harm had come to someone in her family. Once she learned that Cooke just wanted to talk, Hightower gladly shared concerns about the lack of street lighting and the potential dangers she saw in young children walking unescorted to school bus stops.

Other residents told police they would welcome more patrols to deal with late-night drunkards and speeders. Still others explained how Spanish-language signs are needed to help them understand the laws they must obey in this country. Officers, in turn, assured residents they will help all citizens, regardless of immigration status.

Lydia Cotton, a liaison between police and the Hispanic community, called the diversity sessions "historic."

"The community has really been waiting for this," Cotton said.

Cooke said he also found the sessions valuable. Growing up in Summerville, he didn't have much exposure to the Hispanic community. The visits helped him understand their culture and concerns and gave him a deeper appreciation of what it must be like to build a new life in a foreign country.

Fellow rookie Abraham Montes-Altamirano knows all about that. His family moved 12 years ago from Mexico to Manning, where he became one of only four Hispanics in his school. He understands the struggles new arrivals face and thinks it can only help other officers gain that insight as well. "Sometimes, we can be a little ignorant of people's cultures, and that can lead to problems."

Zumalt has been working to recruit more minority officers like Montes-Altamirano so the police department will more closely mirror the community it protects. But he acknowledges that will take time. North Charleston's population is about 49 percent black, 44 percent white and 7 percent Hispanic. The police department's 319 sworn officers, however, are 78 percent white, 17 percent black and 4 percent Hispanic.

While recruitment efforts continue, Zumalt said he hopes the immersion program will provide valuable lessons that can be shared throughout the police department.

"There are good police and good people in the community," Mack said. "If we can get the good people on both sides together on the same page, I think the community will be better off for it."

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.