FWB police to be trained to recognize bias
FORT WALTON BEACH — City Manager Michael Beedie assured members of Progressives Northwest Florida on Tuesday that all Police Department employees will be trained to recognize and addressing implicit bias.
Several members of the Progressives, a nonpartisan activist group, attended Tuesday’s special Fort Walton Beach City Council meeting on the city's proposed fiscal 2019 budget.
After an incident involving two black customers at a local Waffle House in May, the activists wanted to make sure the city is budgeting money for implicit bias training for all police personnel.
“We are fully committed to making that training happen, sooner rather than later,” Beedie said.
He said he is trying to arrange training dates with Lorie Fridell, who is a national expert on biased policing. After the meeting, Beedie said he doesn’t know the cost of the training yet.
On May 2, two employees at the Waffle House at 318 Miracle Strip Parkway S.W. called the police about customers Donald Copeland and Tamera Sheffield reportedly refusing to pay their bill and being “aggressive.”
Sheffield recorded a several-minute video of her and Copeland’s confrontation with two police officers outside of the diner. On June 12, former Police Chief Ed Ryan released a 22-minute police body camera video of the incident.
The police video showed the officers repeatedly asking the couple to go inside the eatery and pay for their food. Words were exchanged, a Taser was pointed at Copeland, and he and Sheffield were detained in handcuffs.
About halfway into the police video, the officers learned the couple had not received their takeout order and were disputing an extra $1.50 charge for a large orange juice.
Ryan later said he counseled the officers on what they did wrong. And at a June 28 meeting organized by the Okaloosa County Branch of the NAACP, Ryan joined other city officials and a Waffle House representative to apologize for the officers’ actions.
Two days later, Ryan resigned instead of being placed on administrative leave while an inquiry was made into 12 complaints filed against him and Capt. Tracy Hart by city Police Officer Don Hall.
Hall’s complaints against Ryan and Hart include alleged violations such as gender and racial discrimination and theft of taxpayer dollars.
Hart was placed on paid administrative leave. Capt. Bill Royal was designated acting police chief.
Tracey Tapp, the Progressives' activism chairwoman, said at Tuesday's meeting that implicit bias training for all city police personnel would be “a good start to ensure that officers and other employees who interact with the public are able to recognize both conscious and unconscious or implicit bias, and implement unbiased behavioral responses.”
She cited a study published last week in the American Journal of Public Health that found that black men are three times more likely than white men to be killed by police.
“This is the result of bias, which we all have,” said Tapp, who is a corporate trainer and lives in Destin. “It’s the result of growing up in a culture that tells us black men are more likely to be violent, dangerous or criminals. This is not true. Doing this training is a first step that could help prevent injustice and possibly save lives.”
Fort Walton Beach resident Jennifer Conroy said she hopes the council focuses on having a more diverse police force.
“I had to explain to my children what happened (at Waffle House) and I don’t want them to be afraid in our community or afraid for their friends in our community,” Conroy said.