Door of the Foothill-De Anza police department clearly visible from a window of the Wellness Center Lounge on Foothill Campus.
Dear Ms. Mason, Your article dated June 15, 2017, had two aims in my opinion. One was to highlight a very unpleasant encounter that you suffered via a CSO – Community Service Officer who seemed intent on making you feel very uncomfortable.
The other aim was a call out for improved Police-Student Community Relations, a challenge relevant to this day, but I must admit that I am unclear what you envisioned as an end result of an introductory meeting which you tried to initiate with the help of Thom Shepard (Interim Dean of Student Affairs and Activities) acting as a liaison.
You stated that the police department was a department “supposedly” existing to support students on campus which suggests that you did not see much evidence of this support. You referenced the police as “those” in positions of power and stated that “they” have a greater responsibility for their:
- Interactions in society
- For the ramifications of criminalizing a woman of color
- And the conclusions of youth living in a country with an epidemic of police brutality
On number 1, I say absolutely. I also adamantly agree that each police representative needs to be sensitive to the long-lasting scars and pain of racism which exists to this day.
Where I don’t agree with you is statement number 3, that the police are responsible for the conclusions of young people in our country rather than the youth themselves being accountable for their own thoughts. We can encounter each day countless horrific stories and tragedies caused by other human beings. Yet we don’t conclude that the entire human race is destined to do bad.
We don’t need another scape goat in our society paying for the woes and ills of humanity. What we do need is self-empowerment, fairness and to look at all of the facts rather than focusing on information which supports contempt, distrust and hatred towards those in a police uniform for all conceivable time.
Ms. Mason, I believe you sincerely wanted to improve police-student relations. Yet your article began and ended on a largely pessimistic note towards those relations. You emphasized that your initial outreach was met reluctantly and that you waited for almost three weeks for a response to your idea of adding students to the annual Foothill-De Anza Police Association’s Burger Bash and Weenie Roast. Relaying this waiting period, reaffirmed a narrative of the police department being an unknowable and not very good natured “other”, not a fellow human being sharing similar feelings and experiences.
The extended lack of response to your suggestion was likely due to the police department feeling uncomfortable saying no to your idea of a shared barbecue with students as an introductory event. Perhaps they felt it wouldn’t work well with the honorable goal of their annual fund raiser supporting EOPS https://foothill.edu/eops/
Ms. Mason: To avoid the feeling of rejection after waiting nearly three weeks, it would have been best to check in on a weekly basis and acknowledge your impression that the invitations were not working. You might have then asked what would work for them and continued to find ways to bridge the gap between police and student community relations.
Copy of Burger Bash image, taken from Jazzi Mason’s June 15, 2017 article.
It is quite likely though that your efforts to promote good will would have been inadvertently hampered by a skepticism of the good intentions of police or as they are more commonly called “the police” in general.
If you cannot see a police person as an individual, responsible for the merits of their own actions not the actions of all others in their field, how can you hold out the olive branch and have the time and patience necessary to establish a good relationship based on knowledge of each other and working on areas of improvement which could happen on both sides?
I have had both good and bad relations with police. When they have been bad, I see it as the individual choices of that officer. When they have been good interactions, I consider myself lucky to experience the sincere aims of a service profession to help citizens be safe, feel supported, and to provide kindness in a world which can be uncaring and cruel.
State of the Current Foothill Community and Police Relations:
Since Chief Danny (Daniel) Acosta began his role in late 2018, he has initiated regular community outreach to students and has improved the complaint process to make it easier for students to communicate when their expectations have not been met. He has also hired Ms. Joy Garza to work on community outreach on a regular basis.
He has strived to improve Foothill-De Anza Community relations but all of his time, good works and efforts as an experienced police professional can’t counter match the repetitive negative opinions and condemnations of “the police” in general, which in comparison are conveyed effortlessly via the internet.
The following sticker image is one I encountered in Santa Cruz, clearly visible on a planter. The sentiment and statement garnished with cheerful smiles are not admirable.
Anti-police sticker, removed on a rainy day on Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA.
I took the sticker above into custody and wondered to myself how people can take such pride in communicating a general misguided hate of a community support organization.
Let’s be part of the solution not part of the problem. In embracing fairness and seeking full information and understanding before finalizing and projecting negative conclusions, we will promote a healthier society which we can truly feel proud of.
