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Four members of the UABPD and one Birmingham City Police officer [not pictured] answer questions about issues and finding solutions to the national tension between officers and African-Americans. Photo by Marika GrayDestiny Hosmer - Staff Writer
drhosmer@uab.edu


The UAB and Birmingham City Police answered questions from the community at a discussion panel on Tuesday, Nov. 1 in light of heightened tension between police and African-Americans across the U.S.


The Cops in the Community Discussion Panel was held to identify issues and find solutions amidst the ongoing national dialogue surrounding police and African-Americans. The event was hosted by the UAB National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Black Student Awareness Committee, UAB NAACP, Blazer Male Excellence Network and UAB’s Black Graduate Student Association.


The forum was moderated by Kathryn Morgan, Ph.D., associate professor of justice sciences and director of the African-American Studies program. Morgan said that the most significant problem is the lack of communication between police and the minority community.


“Over the years I’ve studied the interactions between the minority community, the college community and the police, and we know that there are problem areas,” Morgan said. “We know that there are concerns that our citizens have, but we also understand that those interactions are rooted in history. They go all the way back to slave patrols, so it is good now to see the dialogue.”


The first question the panel, which included four members of the UAB Police Department and one member of the Birmingham City Police Department, received was: “What are the present police officers’ perspectives on what is going on nationally with the police and black citizens?”


Valerie Jackson, commander of hospital police at UAB, said that her brother was killed by police while unarmed when she was five years old, and it is important to remember that police officers are just like everybody else.


“That happening to me at such a young age motivated me to go into law enforcement,” Jackson said. “A lot of times when we’re dealing with people on a daily basis they see us in one way, and that is somebody that’s trying to enforce the law. They don’t know our history, they don’t know our background. [...] We have families that we want to go home to.”


The panelists were also asked how students can ensure their safety when interacting with campus or Birmingham police, and the consensus of the panel was to be compliant.


“If you are out interacting with a campus officer, he’s going to ask you for basic information just comply with what they’re asking you to do,” said James Grenade, Control Division commander at UAB Police Department. “If at any time you feel that they’re asking you to do something you shouldn’t do, you have the right to request their name, their ID number, and request a supervisor to come out onto the scene.”


Grenade said that if you do not feel comfortable with asking these questions on the scene, you can report the incident after by contacting UAB Police.


Marvin Atmore, deputy chief of police at UAB’s Police Department, said that the UAB Police want to be easily accessible on campus and in the community.


“The old officers used to walk through the neighborhood, [and] at some point we got away from that,” Atmore said. “We want to get back into the public view. We call it community policing. We don’t want you to have to wave us down. Our aim and our goal is to become partners with our students, faculty, and staff.”


Branden Joshua Pace, a senior medical social work major and first vice president of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, said that the panelists presented themselves professionally during the forum and he liked that they admitted their problem areas.


“Moving forward, experience will dictate a lot of things, but coming away from this tonight I feel more comfortable with who it is that I’ll be expecting to deal with as a student and civilian in the city,” Pace said.


If you wish to make a comment, whether positive or negative, about any UAB Police interaction, visit uab.edu/police/about-us/professional-conduct--complaints/comment-on-an-officer-form.


drhosmer@uab.edu