Ex-cop: Officers often too quick to pull trigger

Police today often are too quick to pull the trigger, former Cape Girardeau police officer Ike Hammonds said Thursday during a panel discussion on race and community policing.

"I don't know if it is training or lack of training," Hammonds told a crowd of about 70 people at the Cape Girardeau Public Library. He said instances of police shooting black men are "happening too frequently."

Hammonds, who served more than two decades on the local police force, said he has been in "shoot-don't shoot situations."

He recalled an incident in which he and another officer responded to a call in which it was reported a man had a gun. Hammonds said a black man was spotted in the crawl space of a structure.

"I felt myself putting pressure on the trigger," he said.

The man repeatedly refused orders to come out of the crawl space where he was partially hidden.

Hammonds said he chose not to shoot, and his partner managed to grab the suspect. But Hammonds said in today's environment, "That individual probably would have been shot."

Hammonds, who is black, said racism exists in communities and in law enforcement.

Before becoming a police officer, Hammonds worked as a Cape Girardeau firefighter.

He said one firefighter told him he "didn't like colored people."

But Hammonds said that firefighter once helped save him from a burning building.

Hammonds, who also has served as an instructor at the Law Enforcement Academy at Southeast Missouri State University, said it is important for officers to confront their inherent biases.

"You don't want to make a traffic stop based on race and then look for probable cause," he said.

The panel discussion, titled "Community Policing: The Intersection of Black & Blue Lives Matter," featured Hammonds and five other speakers, including Cape Girardeau police chief Wes Blair, Southeast Missouri State University faculty members Hamner Hill and Shonta Smith and two black students from the university.

Student Justin Robinson said he would hope police officers listen to those they encounter on the streets.

"My life matters, so don't pull out your gun," he said.

Robinson said the "Black Lives Matter" movement is portrayed wrongly as solely "protesting and looting."

The movement's real focus is "to let you know that black lives matter," he said.

Smith, an associate professor in elementary, early and special education, complained of a "structured system" of racism.

She said while some Americans view the police as protecting and serving their communities, others in the black community will say, "The police are here to kill."

Smith said many Americans don't understand the situation.

"You don't understand the pain. You don't understand racism," she said.

Smith told the crowd, "Racism is real."

She added, "if we don't address it and deal with the big elephant in the room, we can never heal."

Raleigh Blasdell, assistant professor in the criminal justice and sociology department at Southeast, moderated the panel discussion and offered her comments on the topic.

She said there are people who feel they are not protected by the police, a sentiment that has helped fuel the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

Blasdell said studies show everyone has implicit biases when it comes to race and crime.

People often associate black men with crime and are more willing to shoot black people, she said.

Hill, a philosophy professor, said police need more training to deal with situations, including those involving people with mental illnesses.

He said "black and blue lives" both are in danger in America today.

The public perception is police are under attack constantly, but "the numbers just don't bear that out," he said.

This year, 40 police officers have died in the line of duty, he said.

Hill acknowledged police have a difficult job to do. Officers have to act quickly.

"Unfortunately, the officer has to figure it out in a split second," he said.

Student Bennett Hendrix said he feels black police are criticized unfairly by some in the black community.

"I feel a lot of people put a lot of pressure on black cops," he said.

Some view minority cops as traitors, he said.

But Hendrix said he believes black officers "empathize more" with minority residents.

Blair said his officers "see people in the worst situations on their worst day every day.

"We are not encountering happy people."

For that reason, he said it is important for police officers to "hang out" with friends who are not working in law enforcement.

Blair said he understands black people in this country have been targets of racial slurs at times.

He said as a white police chief, he also has been on the receiving end of racist comments.

"I have had racial slurs hurled at me," he said.

Blair said his department has engaged in more diversity training.

"We are having these open conversations," he said.

Blasdell said she hopes to have more public discussions on the topic.

Thursday's event was sponsored by radio station KRCU, the university's office of institutional equity and diversity and the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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