Thursday night's online
community forum on policing and partnerships drew hundreds of attendees and evolved into a larger discussion on race in Manhattan Beach. Organizers say they hope this is just the first of many such conversations.
The panel included Manhattan Beach Police Chief Derrick Abell, mental health workers, student activists, community members, and local community, education, and religious leaders. It was moderated by longtime community leader Kathleen Terry.
While the event focused on policing policies and culture, it drew a range of public comments on issues such as arrest statistics,
Bruce's Beach, the "
8 Can't Wait" recommendations, police presence in schools, and implicit bias.
As the event wrapped up, Abell said that he was "very proud" of the dialogue that occurred during the forum. People all across the country are grappling with these issue, he noted, and Manhattan Beach is leading the way by taking on difficult topics.
"As a community, we are the role model," said Abell. "And if we are taking steps in an uncomfortable conversation that others want to have, let us lead the way."
City council members also expressed appreciation for the conversation.
"What we are seeing here tonight is just a remarkable coming together of people from so many walks...We heard from young and old, and we heard from Black and brown and white, and so many different groups of our home here in Manhattan Beach," said Manhattan Beach city council member Hildy Stern, who was one of the organizers of the event. "What we’re learning tonight is that we have to care, and we need to be open to hearing people’s stories. I’m very encouraged by the continual comments that this is just the beginning."
Policing in Manhattan Beach
Abell began the conversation by acknowledging that the George Floyd incident had thrown a new spotlight on police practices, both nationally and locally.
He emphasized that the key tenets in his department included honesty and integrity; empathy and understanding; good communication skills; partnerships; and a resolve to treat others the way one would want to be treated.
One of Abell's famous litmus tests of future hires is this question: If you had a chance to be seen on a video camera during one 24-hour period, would you be proud of your actions? Would your family be proud?
"What I expect is that honesty and integrity goes beyond the confines of this police department," he said.
That's also why the culture of the department is so important, said Abell.
"You can have policies in place, but if your culture is such that does not lead to following those guidelines, then that’s the problem," he said. "You can have all the policies in the world, but if the culture is not right, all of those policies can fall on deaf ears."
Abell added, "If I thought there was a problem in this organization, I would be the first to say something do something about it. Is there a problem across the country? Yes. Should we have these discussions? Of course we should. This is a time to listen, and to learn from each other. In Manhattan Beach, can we do better in terms of how we interact with others? Yes, we always can...We should all be open to this discussion. At the very least we should be listening and paying attention to what is said."
Abell also disputed statistics brought forward by a TV station showing a disparity in arrests made in Manhattan Beach with a disproportionate number of arrests made of Black individuals. He said that those statistics were extrapolated incorrectly, and cited information reported to the FBI to counteract those claims - namely that in 2018 in Manhattan Beach there were 236 arrests for people of color and 822 arrests of white people.
In ten years, the Manhattan Beach Police have had 500,000 interactions with people, and in those ten years there have only been 35 complaints, Abell noted.
Yet Jemal Williams, a Mira Costa High School graduate and one of the organizers of a Black Lives Matter rally in Manhattan Beach, recalled an incident where he had been pulled over in Manhattan Beach for seemingly no reason and felt intimidated by the officer. Williams added that once when his father picked him up from Mira Costa, his father was pulled over and police asked for I.D. to prove that he was a student there. Williams said he was left to feel that he might always be viewed as suspicious in Manhattan Beach, and that there was always the fear that he might not come home from such an encounter.
"It breaks my heart when I hear that. Jemal could be my son," said Abell, who knows Williams both from working on the rally and from coaching him in football at Mira Costa. "Whether it's a legitimate stop or not, the fact that you were left feeling that way, that’s what we need to work on. We take this to heart, and we will continue to do better."
Racism and Implicit Bias In Manhattan Beach
The discussion then shifted to talk about racism and implicit bias in Manhattan Beach. Dalia Feliciano, another Mira Costa alum who worked with Williams to organize the Black Lives Matter rally in Manhattan Beach, said that while there was an "inspiring" outpouring of support for the rally, "many believe that what we were protesting exists elsewhere but not in Manhattan Beach."
Noting that she was only seven years old when she realized that her neighbors thought that her family "didn't belong in the neighborhood," Feliciano added, "Racism exists in Manhattan Beach in an especially nefarious way. It is hidden under the rug."
Yet Lee Philips, another Black Manhattan Beach resident who has spoken widely about race and policing, said that she has been welcomed by the community. "A difference in numbers is not necessarily racism," she said.
"The allegation of racism is a very serious one. It cannot be based on
subjective perceptions, it must be based on fact. If our community is
called racist, we must know the facts: who, what, where, when."
Malissia Clinton, a Manhattan Beach resident, has
spoken poignantly about the race-related
firebombing of her family's house in 2015 and the reaction of the community thereafter. "I am saddened that I still have to engage in this discussion in my 50s," she said. "Those of you who are my age, our job was to make sure that Jemal and Dalia could read about these problems in the history books, not experience them."
Clinton continued: "The reason black lives matter is because we’ve been treated for so long like they don’t. Racism matters in Manhattan Beach. If you are not prominently part of the solution, you have to take credit for being part of the problem. No one gets to deny it. It’s that denial that allows these problems to persist. It takes active listening, but it’s not actually Black and brown people who need to listen. I hope this is just the start of the dialogue."
Continuing the Conversation
Following the panel, more than 20 residents and non-residents called, both in support of police and citing instances of subtle or overt racism in Manhattan Beach.
Judy Peng, who has organized the printing of
"Thank You MBPD & MBFD" signs, said that she did a ride-along with officers and learned just how much pressure is on them in every encounter.
"For those who bash them, get to know them before you make the comments," she said.
Debbie Van Ness, a Manhattan Beach resident, said, "Clearly we need to have these conversations with each other. You can be a supporter of our police and also of the people who are telling us their stories. These things are not mutually exclusive."
Council member Steve Napolitano summed up: "For a conversation like this, you start very broadly, with the good, bad, and ugly. Then you take it from there and see what actions you can take. It’s not mutually exclusive to support officers, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement for policies and practices, and I think [Chief Abell] would agree. Even if [racial bias] isn’t reality - if it's a perception - if we can change that perception, everyone is better served, and that’s a step in the right direction. This is a good start, and let’s keep it going."
