The discussion of a proposal for how to further train Columbia police officers in community policing strategies will be extended to another day.
The Columbia City Council considered a training program from the Citizens Police Review Board that was designed by members Carley Gomez and Heather Heckman-McKenna on Monday night.
According to previous Missourian reporting, the program is based on three initiatives: New Orleans’ Ethical Policing is Courageous, or EPIC; the Georgetown University Innovative Policing Program’s Project ABLE; and the Police for Tomorrow program developed for the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C.
The initiative would begin as a one-year, competitive program for new police officers with less than two years of experience. Eighteen officers would be selected based on interviews and their interest in community policing and in leadership positions.
It would feature monthly workshops focusing on topics related to community-oriented policing, including trauma-informed policing, systemic racism, LGBTQIA+ safe spaces, overcoming implicit bias, Columbia history, juvenile brain development, over-criminalization and mass incarceration.
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