A veteran police officer says both the shooting of Michael Brown and the aftermath in Ferguson point to the need for conversation about police and community in the U.S.
Jim Bueermann is president of the Police Foundation, a nonpartisan and nonprofit group that supports innovation and improvement in policing. Bueerman worked for the police department in Redlands, California, for 33 years, serving in every position, including as chief of police.
Bueermann tells Here & Now’s Sacha Pfeiffer that policing is a joint activity in which the community is a necessary partner, and police departments need to reflect the communities they serve.
He warns against prejudging in the Michael Brown case, saying that even unarmed civilians can be dangerous and that the public should wait for a full investigation of what happened.
But, Bueermann says once the shooting happened, officials should have been much more transparent about the case.
Guest
- Jim Bueermann, president of the Police Foundation, a nonpartisan and nonprofit group that supports innovation and improvement in policing.
A Police Officer On Lessons From Ferguson
Categories: The Blue Blitz, The Cultural Revolution
I so appreciate a reasoned perspective and I guess it’s less difficult to have one given time and distance from an issue. Mr. Bueermann made several excellent points for improving the situation and alluded to the fact that the community reacted not merely to an occurrence, but to a history of occurrences. He also rightly mentioned that the reporting was awful and the transparency was nil. I think a huge part of the problem in Ferguson was a culture of action without accountability. Co-policing is the only way communities can be safe. Everyone has to buy in and everyone has to be counted. Thanks for posting this.
Thank you and Jim is on point. I’m proud to work with Mr. Buerrmann as an Executive Fellow for the Police Foundation. Love the term Co-policing.