Community Groups

In June 2017, CRS provided consultation and facilitated dialogue services to help reduce tension and maintain peace in response to a jury retrial in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The retrial involved a white university campus police officer accused of fatally shooting an unarmed African American motorist. The first jury trial resulted in a hung jury and mistrial.

CRS met with the Office of Cincinnati’s Mayor, the Cincinnati Police Department, and community advocates to assist with contingency planning around community safety and security. CRS facilitated dialogues with key officials and community leaders to ensure lines of communication remained open during the trial. CRS also facilitated an on-campus community forum on understanding the pretrial process, including a dialogue on the voir dire process for the retrial. CRS was present during the pretrial period to assist in reducing campus and broader community tension.

A hung jury and mistrial was again declared on the second jury trial resulting in several demonstrations to protest the mistrial. The protests however were peaceful, and no arrests were made.

The neighborhood of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, California, was experiencing heightened tensions due to recent police shootings of Latino community members and allegations from some residents of racial bias and excessive use of force by law enforcement. To help the city address these concerns, CRS facilitated a series of dialogues and provided technical assistance to help improve relations between the police and the community.

In February 2018, CRS facilitated the first in a series of working group meetings with city law enforcement and housing officials and representatives from local community organizations. The meeting focused on building trust and capacity for dialogue between law enforcement and the community in the aftermath of protests and demonstrations regarding local police treatment of Latinos. CRS helped the group identify its mission, audience, partners, facilitators, and next steps.

In May 2018, CRS co-facilitated with city officials a dialogue with a group of young men and women from a public housing complex in Boyle Heights known to experience gang-related activity. Residents raised concerns about alleged routine stops by police due to the residents’ proximity to gang members in the same complex. Based on these discussions, CRS helped create a working group with city officials, law enforcement, and representatives from the public housing complex with the goal of improving police-community relations in the area.

CRS worked with the city to create a model for building trust between the police and the Latino community through engagement and dialogue. The model implemented through the dialogue process continues to address community concerns and prevent future conflicts.