- Originally published in THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS September 19, 2004
Copyright 2004 THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Justice Department steps in on tensions Official: 'We'll be here as long as we need' to address concerns on race and police
By: PAUL MEYER, Collin County Bureau
McKINNEY
- An official with the U.S. Department of Justice said Saturday that
her agency will spend "as long as we need" in McKinney to help calm
escalating racial tensions between police and residents in an east-side neighborhood.
Carmelita
Pope Freeman, regional director of the department's Community Relations
Service, said she hopes to bring money, time and dialogue to the
neighborhood surrounding Manor House Apartments.
Since March, residents and civil rights leaders there have complained
of racial profiling and harassment by police when four people were
killed nearby.
"We'll be here as long as we need to be here," Ms. Freeman said.
Her
remarks came at a public forum where about 90 residents, police
officials, city officials, church leaders and Dallas civil rights
leaders gathered in a small, white-framed church to air concerns and
begin working toward solutions.
Police
believe residents around the apartments have information about who
committed the four execution-style slayings that remain unsolved. The
answers, they say, are tied up in a deepening drug trade in the area
that, along with death threats against officers, has led to increased
patrols.
Residents and some civil rights
activists, however, say police tactics have caused the unnecessary
targeting of law-abiding residents, including children.
"I'd
like to see a reframing of the discussion," said Police Chief Doug
Kowalski, who welcomed Justice Department involvement but hoped to
reduce the number of civil rights leaders coming from outside the city.
"If you look in the media, it looks like the Police Department is
against the community. Nothing could be further from the truth."
Chief
Kowalski said the department plans to increase community policing while
working with residents through mediation to reduce animosity.
The
area around Manor House apartments, police say, is responsible for more
calls for service than any other residential beat in the city,
including having the most drug-related arrests. The area is also the
poorest in Collin County, according to census data.
Saturday's
forum included former Dallas NAACP president Lee Alcorn, veteran Dallas
civil rights leader Peter Johnson and the Rev. Ronald Wright of Dallas,
among others.
Mr. Alcorn led a rally outside police headquarters after the forum.
"I'm
sick of the police saying it's so bad over there that people are afraid
to come out of their houses. I am sick of all the lies going into the
newspaper. I am sick of you all stereotyping young black men," resident
Deidra Nobles said. "My kids are scared of the police now."
Most
who attended the forum pledged to work together to remove drugs from
the neighborhood and continue talking with the department.
"The
east side of McKinney is policed differently from the west side of
McKinney," said Mr. Johnson, calling the number of black officers an
indication of a history of racism in the area.
Between
7 percent and 8 percent of McKinney officers are black, according to
police statistics. That matches with city's population as a whole,
which is about 7.2 percent black. But the east-side neighborhood is
about 21 percent black, according to census data.
"We've
been on this road since 1978. We've had to have too many meetings with
you all," resident Martha Nelson said. "I'm not a criminal. I work hard
every day. But I come out of my house and see an officer give a young
boy a ticket for not having a light on his bicycle."
Others, however, praised the department for years of improvement on the city's east side.
They also credited Chief Kowalski with maintaining an open door for residents and community leaders to voice concerns.
City officials say additional meetings would be scheduled with the Justice Department.
Ms.
Freeman said the Justice Department can devote full resources to two
Texas cities each year. She pledged to make McKinney one of those
cities, promising to help the community secure grants and mediation
services.
"It would appear that this is a
city that allows racially motivated incidents," Mr. Wright said. "On
the other hand, this is a community that has allowed drugs into their
neighborhood. These things need to be stopped."