Building trust with the community – that’s the goal for a new training program with the St. Petersburg Police Department and the community.
Spectrum Bay News 9’s Saundra Weathers got a chance to sit in on some of that training and hear from the experts along with the officers.
Doug Dilla is the police department’s field training officer. But in this class, he’s studying alongside the same people he trains.
He told us what he has learned so far in the department’s community engagement training from Bethune-Cookman University Center for Law and Social Justice.
“I definitely like it. It definitely provides good perspective on community and also in law enforcement and what’s needed and what is missing,” Dilla said.
Dilla has been a police officer for the last 18 years. This class reminded him – he’s a father first.
That’s the kind of connection he says he tries to make every time he hops in his patrol car – and hits the streets – streets that aren’t always welcoming.
Use the video link above to watch the report by Saundra Weathers.