This issue is very personal to me. In 2001, as a private citizen, I read the original articles in the Dayton Daily News as described by Mr. Jacobs and Dr. Hurley in their report.
I was very impressed by the way our former City Manager, Michael Kelly, dealt with this issue. He addressed the matter in a very professional manner, with total transparency. Because of his example, Michael Kelly is the reason I decided to commit to public service.
A primary outcome of the 2001 event was that Oakwood began collecting and reporting detailed data on policing activity, particularly focused on race. For the past 17 years, as a member of City Council, I have read the monthly reports from the Public Safety Department to the City Manager. The reports list the law enforcement, fire, EMS, training, and officer activity in categories including traffic violations cited, warnings, field investigations and arrests. This data is sorted by race/ethnicity.
I see nothing in the reports to suggest any explicit or implicit bias against any race or ethnicity. As City Manager Klopsch reported to the Dayton Daily News, “In my nearly 18 years as city manager, I struggle to recall a single instance when a person, of any race, contacted me to express concern about any matter related to a traffic stop or other traffic enforcement incident.”
Nor have I.
Nonetheless, City Council has an obligation along with city staff to analyze the findings of this report. I commit to be as transparent as we were 18 years ago in addressing this matter. To that end, we seek the cooperation of the authors of the report to review their data and methodologies in order to complete a proper assessment. This will enable us to determine if any changes to our policies and procedures are warranted. As with all public services that we provide, we continuously look for opportunities to improve. While we are already conducting regular training on implicit bias and related topics, we are open to considering additional training as may be warranted. We are also open to discussions about the use of random license plate checks to determine how our policies and procedures compare to law enforcement best practices.”
VISITORS
Dr. Derrick Foward, Dayton Unit NAACP President, shared that Oakwood is a beautiful city, but racial profiling is real and does occur. He shared that it is disturbing to compare the percentage of African Americans that reside in Oakwood to the percentage of traffic stops that occur in Oakwood. It is concerning to him that public safety officers are using their discretion to run license plates and pull people over when the law is not being broken. Dr. Foward suggested that City Council consider: 1) partnering with the NAACP to enhance implicit bias training for public safety officers; 2) stop the practice of running license plates when a moving violation does not occur; and 3) put a commission in place to gain a deeper understanding of the issue at hand, and implement a tracking system for traffic stops. Dr. Foward concluded his comments by sharing that people base their feelings on past experiences. People with a valid driver’s license should not have a fear of being pulled over when driving through Oakwood.
Sam Dorf, 101 Oak Knoll Drive, explained that he was not surprised by the information in the ABLE report. All of the issues relating to traffic stops are important, but he feels that the real issue is the culture and perception of Oakwood. He shared that he has African American friends that are afraid to drive in Oakwood, or visit parks in Oakwood, because the City is unwelcoming. Mr. Dorf urged City Council to put together a citizen group to discuss diversity in Oakwood and to address the current perceptions.
Myrna Gabbe, 345 Peach Orchard Avenue, agreed with Mr. Dorf’s comments. She shared that one of her colleagues moved out of Oakwood because of being stopped too often by public safety officers. She explained that she feels safer in a diverse community and children do better in a diverse school. She is dismayed that City Council’s response to this report is defensiveness when there is a known perception of how unwelcoming Oakwood is. Ms. Gabbe closed her comments by stating that if no one is bringing these concerns to City Council, to her, this is evidence that there is a problem.