TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Between now and August, officers with the Tallahassee Police Department will visit four different neighborhoods with the goal of opening communication between cops and community members.
"We've talked about relationships since day one and how important they are," said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.
Revell says he wants people living in the city to feel confident that they can communicate with the people sworn to protect and serve at any time.
"TPD is not just here in a crisis," Revell adds, "but we're here for summer events like we're going to have now with the Here for You Summer Cooldown with a cop that's going to start this Thursday."
Revell says each is stop is an opportunity for people to have a little fun, to have a free snowball while supplies last, but also to address any concerns they may have about they way police interact with members of the community.
"Cause it's not a lot of trust going on," says Demietric Desue who lives in Tallahassee.
"That's why I say if I ever get arrested or one gets behind me, I'ma keep driving until I get to a place where it's a lot of people at, then I'll get out the car and say what's the problem," explains Tallahassee resident Cecil Smith.
Revell says their wariness is worth discussing.
"I want us to have the difficult conversations. We can have niceties all day long, but we're not solving any problems with those types of conversations, so come out and ask us those tough questions," Revell says.
Thursday, police will visit the Walker ford Community Center, then head to the Boys and Girls Club in Joe Louis on July 22nd, and Sunrise Place apartments on July 29th.
They also plan to visit the Killearn Home Owners Association on July 15th, but the location is to be determined.
