Police relations with minorities has become a national issue that's increasing tension between cops and the communities they serve. However, in Green Bay, police and community leaders are opening lines of communication by meeting once a month.
On Thursday, they met at Divine Temple Church of God in Christ with groups representing minorities from the Green Bay area. The focus of the meeting was to discuss police relations with minorities, and how both sides can work together to improve those relations.
The newly organized group Black Lives United in Green Bay primarily asked police how they plan to combat inherent judgment officers have towards minorities.
The Green Bay Police Department is actively recruiting officers of all ethnicities to have a more diverse force, according to Chief Andrew Smith.
"We're never going to solve all these problems at a meeting like this, this is just one more step, and it's a small step," said Chief Smith. "It's one more step in building a better relationship, in building that better sense of community, and working together with everybody to solve these problems."
Community groups said they're hoping these kinds of meetings will open up more opportunities for collaboration and dialogue.
"I think that we as a group just need to figure out, how can we talk more about this? Or how can we have more dialogue? Or how can we have more spaces so that we can be heard or understood?" said Stephanie Ortiz, member of Black Lives United. "Also, build some spaces so that we can understand where other people are coming from."
Police will meet with the community again next month.
