Community Policing East of the River
With the killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray, police-community relations have come under increasing scrutiny, particularly in disadvantaged neighborhoods such as those East of the River where trust has disintegrated between officers and residents. The Post recently profiled Lieutenant Teresa Brown, a District native and long-time D.C. police officer who's working to bring back community policing in Ward Seven. Brown is focusing on reaching out to community members to get to know her neighborhood and rebuild some of that trust. "We gotta build that trust on the front end. Treat everyone like humans, like they could be your mamma or your brother.” Our recent three-part Racial Justice Series addressed many of these same issues, focusing on how the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police has highlighted a growing need for lawyers to help eradicate discrimination and violence against people of color and build an inclusive society that enables everyone to succeed.