Warren officials seek to build trust between police, public

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

Mayor Doug Franklin and officials from law enforcement, clergy and Warren City Schools unveiled an initiative Thursday called “Bridging the Gap” that aims to build trust between the police and the public.

Franklin pointed to what can happen in communities such as Ferguson, Mo., and New York City when “poor relations between community members and police can lead to distrust.”

The initiative will kick off Thursday at Warren G. Harding High School, where students in the 11th and 12th grades will come together with law enforcement and others, Franklin said.

Pastor Todd Johnson, a 2000 graduate of Warren G. Harding High School who became pastor of Agape Assembly Church in 2012, said some young people would benefit from better understanding some of the protocols and procedures police officers follow during traffic stops.

That way, they will be less likely to perceive officers’ actions as an abuse of power. They also will better understand when an officer is abusing his power, he added.

“We want to teach them how to engage so they have the best possible outcome,” he said.

The group working on the project has met Saturdays for several weeks to organize it, Franklin said.

It includes Steve Chiaro, superintendent of Warren City Schools, Dante Capers, principal of Warren G. Harding High School; Ohio State Highway Patrol commanders Brian Holt and Nakiya Hendricks; Pastor Julia Wike of Basement Outreach Ministries; Trumbull County Probation Officer Vince Peterson; Jim Graham, Warren City Council president; Warren Law Director Greg Hicks; and Chief Eric Merkel, Lt. Jeff Cole and Sgt. Joe Kistler of the Warren Police Department.

“Any river can be crossed with trust and understanding,” Merkel said. Without trust, there won’t be any cooperation, he said.

The initiative borrows some concepts from a workshop that was conducted in 2007 after Deryck Toles, founder of the organization Inspiring Minds, was pulled over for a traffic stop by a trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Franklin said. The trooper involved was later disciplined for his actions.