Excerpt
SUMMARY: Hours after the chief of the embattled Ferguson Police Department resigned, two officers were shot from afar during a peaceful protest. For reaction to the events and how they affect law enforcement, Judy Woodruff talks to Chuck Wexler of the Police of Executive Research Forum, Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell and Darrel Stephens of Major Cities Chiefs.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): Late today, Saint Louis County police told the NewsHour that county and state police will take over security at any Ferguson protests tonight.
Now for a look at what this moment means for law enforcement officers in Ferguson and around the country, I’m joined by Cincinnati police chief Jeffrey Blackwell, who is in Atlanta for a law enforcement conference, by Chuck Wexler. He’s the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum. And Darrel Stephens, he’s the executive director of the Major Cities’ Chiefs Association.
Welcome to all three of you.
Darrel Stephens, let me start with you. You do represent tens of thousands of police officers across the country. What is your reaction to what happened last night in Ferguson?
DARREL STEPHENS, Executive Director, Major Cities Chiefs Association: Well, unfortunately, it’s another one of those tragic situations where police officers have been ambushed. Police officers that were at a peaceful protest that were completely unaware that someone was waiting in the background to take a shot at them.
So it’s — it puts the police officers not only in the Saint Louis County area in a situation of being fearful when they hit the streets. It has an impact throughout the country. It’s something that they’re used to, something that they’re trained to respond to, but, nevertheless, it’s an increasing challenge for them to go out, do their job, police, and police effectively when they have this on their mind all the time.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Chief Blackwell, what were your thoughts when you heard about what happened? And do you agree with Mr. Stephens that this kind of thing has an impact everywhere?
JEFFREY BLACKWELL, Chief, Cincinnati Police Department: It absolutely does. I agree with him wholeheartedly.
I think anything like this, what affects — I say it all the time — what affects us anywhere affects us everywhere in American policing. And so this act of cowardly injustice committed against these police officers has those officers more on edge now today, at a time when we’re trying to increase collaboration and mend the fracture that is existing in that community.
It makes it hard to move forward when you have these type of activities taking place.
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