Second in a series
Re “What Would Chef Bixby Do if He Were in Charge of Ferguson?”
[img]2705|right|Chief Scott Bixby||no_popup[/img]In the spirit of declaring how he would respond to the brewing racial/social justice breakout in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson over the Michael Brown incident if he were supervising law enforcements preparations, Police Chief Scott Bixby parried the following question:
Do you have a method for keeping the community of Ferguson bloodless under such explosive circumstances?
“That would be the ultimate goal,” said Mr. Bixby, calmly. “You would have to have a presence out there.
“The tricky part, though, is having a presence without looking intimidating. Or intimidating to the point where it keeps people from breaking the law but allowing them to exercise their rights.”
If you were police chief of Ferguson, how concerned are you about law enforcement image, given the avalanche of negative police coverage pouring out of Ferguson since Aug. 9?
“Very concerned,” said the low-key Mr. Bixby. “Obviously, working with the community is very important. You have to have that trust. From what I hear, that is an issue in Ferguson. Image is everything. Unfortunately, as we know, perception is reality in many cases. They have whole lot of work to do there with regard to outreach to the community.
“In Culver City,” Mr. Bixby said, “we try to be involved in the different civic clubs. We try to go to meetings and to be as visible as possible.”
While he is not entirely familiar with the breathing circumstances in Ferguson, “based on what I am hearing,” Mr. Bixby senses “a huge mistrust there” with law enforcement. This has been the tone of media coverage from the day Mr. Brown was killed.
(To be continued)
