The disconnect – and cultural mistrust – between Blacks and the police could be a public health crisis. It was the subject of a University of Illinois Springfield webinar.
“It’s hard to view the police as one who protects and serves, because they feel the officers view them as a target; first responders who might not make the right decisions,” said Derrick Stapleton, a longtime mentor to Black boys in central Illinois through Frontiers International. “Secondly, do the youth view law enforcement as a potential career choice? They now view law enforcement as a tainted and dangerous career in America today.”
“The Black community is trying to tell themselves that, yes, we have had a negative interaction before, but that doesn’t mean that we should be distrustful moving forward,” said Sara Anderson, a manager with Memorial Behavioral Health in Springfield. “We are asking a traumatized community to trust in a system that’s been failing them.”
Anderson vouched for the point that when you call 9-1-1, you may need a mental health professional instead of or in addition to a police officer.