Police, city to unveil path forward for community relations effort

The Tacoma Police Department is preparing to unveil a slate of proposed changes to improve relationships between police and residents.

Last August, in the wake of protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere last year, city officials announced a two-month series of conversations across Tacoma.

The city held five meetings in September and October. The effort, named Project Peace, drew 573 people to meetings and 197 responses to a survey.

Many who commented said they wanted to see greater interaction between the police and residents, including youth mentorship opportunities.

Residents noted the “us vs. them” attitude could be reduced if more police officers lived in Tacoma. A more diverse police force also could build more trust with residents, some respondents said.

The city, on its website, said the community responses showed people of color have different experiences with law enforcement than white people do.

Based on the feedback, the Police Department created a list of action items. The city will reveal the changes in a meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center.

City Manager T.C. Broadnax said that at the meeting, the city will ask audience members how they feel about the proposed action items and ask them to prioritize them.

“None of this is going to happen overnight,” he said of the action items.

The Project Peace culminating event was originally scheduled for November, but Broadnax said it moved to give the police chief time to examine citizen input and write a thoughtful response.

People who plan to attend can pre-register for the event at cityoftacoma.org/projectpeace. Parking at the convention center is free with a code. For more information, call 253-591-5000.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 6:44 AM with the headline "Police, city to unveil path forward for community relations effort."