Due to multiple controversial incidents between African-American males and police officers nationwide, Illinois State’s My Brotha’s Keeper and the NAACP will host an open panel with local chiefs of police at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 26, in Schroeder Hall, room 130.
The panel discussion, 411 on the Five-O, is free and open to the public, and will include police encounter scenarios.
The campus-based organizations are partnering with local police agencies to provide an avenue to dissolve stereotypes and speak with police in a non-threatening environment. Representatives from Normal, Bloomington and ISU police, including ISU Chief Aaron Woodruff and Bloomington Chief Brendan Heffner, will participate in the panel.
Officers and trained facilitators will simulate instances where an officer stops a party or performs a traffic stop, then audience members will have to choose an appropriate response. After the role-playing, the officers will participate in a Q-and-A panel.
The 411 on the Five-O is a national NAACP program used to inform citizens of the rights and appropriate behavior in a police encounter.
The event is part of the Minority and Police Partnership initiative established to create a space where minority community members can express their concerns to police. For more information please contact naacpisu1909@gmail.com or mbkisu2015@gmail.com
