Police Chaplaincy Academy
Tuesday 24 March 215
We are near the end. LTC Russell asked the senior chaplains to
bring in the uniforms which have been issued to them.
Mr. Paul Bannach, director of the Academy, gave a presentation on
the use of force. He talked about preception and blood
pressure under stress. You need to identify how stress affects
you, he told us. He also gave us a list of factors to
consider. This list is not all-inclusive. He ended with
two cases, namely Graham vs. Connor, 490U.S. 386, 109 S. Ct. 1865 in
1989 and the Garner Test from a Tennessee case.
Police Commissioner Anthony Batts then spoke to us. LTC Melvin
Russell told him that we have 12 different denominations here.
Some of them are Lutheran, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Baptist, and
United Methodist.
The commissioner said that he is trying to build a police department
based on service. When he goes into a city, he addresses very
tough problems. He is up front with saying that Baltimore has
a race problem and asking why aren't we talking about it. He
wants people to engage. He is asking us not just to heal our
Police Department, but to bring them closer to the community.
He also said something that I think that we all know, namely that
our faith based congregations are segregated. He did not say
why. I am often criticized by black Americans for being an
Orthodox Christian. The first question that many of them ask
me is, "How many blacks go to your church?" This is the wrong
question. A numerical answer tells you nothing.
The commissioner also said that the Baltimore City police officers
are the lowest paid in the State of Maryland. We were able to
get them a 19% pay raise. He also wants them to get out of
their cars for 30 minutes every shift. In addition, he is
pushing a literacy program and he is directing his command staff to
lead by example.
Sgt. Doug Dayton talked to us about suicide. The two charts
below tells us the story. Twice as many police officers die
because of suicide than for line of duty deaths which is twice the
rate of law enforcement homicide. Suicide is selfish and it is
a bad permanent solution to a temporary problem. "How do you
tell a seven-year old that he did not want to live any more?"
When he signs up, every police officer knows that his job is very
dangerous and it is important to have friends outside the police
department.
Presenting with Sgt. Dayton were three chaplains from the
Philadelphia Police Department. Chaplain Floyd Stedley III
said, "Do you know that African Americans have racial problems with
each other?"
Those who know me know that I detest the term "African American"
because I am proud to be an American and I am not a partial American
nor a hyphenated American. My friends who just became American
citizens within the last few years are referred to as Americans, not
some type of partial or hyphenated Americans. So why should I
be referred to as such when I'm at least fourth generation? I
know almost nothing about Africa and have very little interest in
the continent. Most of the foreigners whom I know are from
Eastern Europe.
When I worked in the warehouse at Comcast I felt very keenly what
Chaplain Stedley said. One woman told me, "You don't know who
you is." After admitting that I was the only black person at
my church, a man asked me, "Don't you feel out of place
there?" My reply was no and that this [work] was the only
place where this is an issue.
We have one more class of the abbreviated course and we are expected
to come back and finish all the classes that we will not have
now. I will miss next week's class since I have a Bishop's
Council meeting. But I am excited about finishing all the
classes and getting out on the streets.
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