MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Police in Rutherford County received specialized training to make sure their department doesn’t become one of the many law enforcement agencies under the microscope.
Ferguson, Baltimore, New York the list goes on of cities that have faced controversy and calls for change within local police departments.
Could it happen here? Murfreesboro police didn’t want to find out. The police chief arranged specialized training Thursday to improve the way his officers do their job.
"There's not a police chief who doesn't believe that the things we've seen can happen in their city at any time, any day, and any moment," said Murfreesboro Police Chief, Glenn Chrisman.
"We can't just address the problems that only we see," said Benjamin Brooks.
Brooks and Henry Moore were from NOBLE, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
"We chose NOBLE because of the unique perspective they brought," said Chief Chrisman.
Murfreesboro PD was among the first in the state to bring in NOBLE to help train officers.
"There is something out there we really need to be addressing," said Brooks.
Issues of race and police use of deadly force may have been at the heart of protests across the country, but NOBLE was brought in to emphasize the importance of true community policing.
"This class is about engaging the community before there is any use of force related issues out there," said Moore.
"A lot of this job is how you talk to people," said officer Allen Slater who works the Parkside Precinct on a bike.
It was a friendly, non-confrontation approach, one NOBLE encouraged as the key to avoiding the problems seen in other cities.
"I think that training gave me a platform to improve our community trust and community relations," said Slater.
Chief Chrisman first brought NOBLE in to train officers back in the late 90s.
He decided it was time to bring them back for the next generation of officers, and because of the recent incidents of controversy involving police actions across the country.
