Know Your Rights event shepherded by Cape's black community, police

Organizers hope the Know Your Rights event at 9 a.m. Saturday will foster a dialogue between the black community in Cape Girardeau and its police department.

Community members and police can’t remember a similar event ever taking place.

“Anytime we can inform the community, it’s a win-win,” Cape Girardeau Police Lt. Brad Smith said. “I’ve never given a presentation like this.”

Smith’s presentation will talk about what people should expect when they are pulled over or have other interactions with the police.

He said he may talk about example scenarios to illustrate some of the do’s and don’ts in working with police. The event will be at The Concourse, 429 N. Broadview St.

Smith also will give the police perspective on these situations, something police chief Wes Blair said most people never think about.

“Most people live in a world where the average person they deal with is a good person,” Blair said, adding police are interacting with people who knowingly break the law daily.

When police officers pull someone over, they are considering a bevy of negative scenarios and have to be prepared to act.

Generally speaking, Blair said, there have been instances in which officers have misinterpreted the words and actions of a person as being a potential danger, and citizens have misinterpreted police actions as portraying a bias that does not exist.

“We all have the same goal: We all want everyone to leave an encounter without any harm,” Blair said. “Your average citizen doesn’t enter into an encounter hoping this goes really bad, and neither do we. Your average citizen is not prepared for things to go bad.”

St. James AME Church pastor Renita Lamkin, who is putting on the event, wants residents to be empowered to share their experiences with the police.

“This is a session for people to tell their stories and find out what to do next,” Lamkin said.

While Lamkin has not been a pastor long, she is familiar with police encounters that illustrate why people in the black community are frustrated.

She came to the aid of a woman who was advocating for her 7-year-old son over a discipline matter.

The mother arrived at the school and asked a principal why her son was suspended, Lamkin said. When a principal could not give her an explanation, she said she would wait at the school, Lamkin said.

The principal called the school-resource officer, who threatened to detain the woman, Lamkin said. The mother called Lamkin, asking for her help.

Lamkin arrived to support the woman, told the officer she was a pastor and immediately was told to return to her vehicle.

The officer threatened seven times to arrest Lamkin, she said. She said at no point did the officer tell the mother what she had done wrong and why he wanted to detain her.

“He was so determined,” Lamkin said. “That demonstration of power, how he behaved with that power was questionable. ... I have heard so many stories that are almost identical.”

Another one of those stories involved a son who was trying to figure out whether his father had been shot, and he was questioned for 15 minutes by police, Lamkin said.

“If you look a particular way or you’re in a particular part of town, you’re guilty,” Lamkin said.

Lamkin believes events such as Know Your Rights are important to trying to improve the quality of life for Cape Girardeau residents. She said Blair has expressed a desire to work with the community to try to improve the relationship on both ends.

“His idea of community policing is very helpful,” Lamkin said. “The chief is very interested in reducing crime. I’m very interested in increasing quality of life. When quality of life increases, crime decreases.”

Representatives from the NAACP and American Civil Liberties Union also will be involved.

The ACLU will give a presentation on citizens’ rights when dealing with police.

Local NAACP president Bill Colon said he does not plan to speak at the event but will be available to field questions.

“I have had a meetings with the police chief, and it’s been very positive,” Colon said. “It’s going to be an in-depth effort to get residents and police on the same page.”

Colon is a former police officer in Chicago and understands both sides of the interaction.

“There is a blue wall,” Colon said. “The police protect the police.”

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

429 N. Broadview St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.