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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us January 12, 2006 Police forum veers off from intended path Vast array of topics, at times clashing, offered during meeting By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings For the first time in the long-running discussion over how the Ashland Police Department handles its duties, all sides met in a single place to continue the debate. The Wednesday night forum was facilitated by the Washington, D.C.-based Police Executive Research Forum. “[The forum] was enough to hear the disparate voices,” Ralph Temple, the co-chair of the Ashland Committee on Policing and Public Safety, said after the meeting. According to forum facilitator Tony Narr, director of management education at PERF, the purpose of the forum was to discuss what locals want from their local police department. But ancillary topics brought up by the 50 people attending quickly took the conversation in many directions. Tempers flared, one person left in disgust after being attacked personally and an older woman shushed a woman who used foul language. “You try to set the parameters, but this is an emotional topic for people,” Narr said afterward. Several people wanted to show their support for Ashland Police Chief Mike Bianca. Others criticized rank-and-file officers, although Narr steered people away from attacking individual members of the force. “To me, everything boils down to respect,” said Taylor Gimbel. “They can enforce the law, but do it with respect. ... But if they can’t model what they expect from us, then why would they think I would ever respect them in a situation?” Some asked for compassion and understanding from officers and better First Amendment protection for demonstrators. “I would like to see the Ashland police take a low-key response,” Paul Copeland said. Grady Boyd of Peace House suggested officers examine how they approach people who are homeless or mentally ill and recommended anti-oppression training. Molly Wetzel lobbied for an end to random preventive patrols and the release of data that shows “crimes taking place up in the hills are being actively enforced as much as in the flat lands.” Others sought more enforcement to eliminate loitering in the downtown area. “It’s becoming a very serious problem,” said local business owner Howie Wilcox, who reported he regularly sees crime downtown “in plain sight.” Dealing with underage drug and alcohol use, better funding for the police department and reaching adequate staffing levels also came up. The forum ends PERF’s tour in Ashland. Earlier in the week, they interviewed city officials and met with four focus groups. Three represented specific interests in the city — youth, the business community and service providers, such as the schools, the hospital and the fire department. The fourth group was composed of other residents. Bianca greeted people coming into the forum, but left before the event started. The consultants visited Ashland in November to collect documents and statistics from the department and interview APD employees. That research looked into the number of calls for service, the types of crimes dealt with and the workload of officers, according to Bianca. The Ashland City Council hired PERF in October to review department policies and protocols. A July letter about problems within the police department from the Ashland Police Association, which represents the department’s rank-and-file employees, motivated the council to bring in an outside group to help resolve those issues. PERF will evaluate the information collected and compare it to industry best practices. A final report will be delivered to the city in late March or early April. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams