Washington D.C., Oct 7, 2020 / 14:00 pm
Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington called for police reform in a virtual town hall event on Tuesday, saying that fear of law enforcement officers among African-American and other minority communities is an indication of the need for ongoing conversation about policing.
The leader of the Washington archdiocese, which includes much of Southern Maryland, said that social media posts allow negative interactions with police officers to garner widespread attention, even while most law enforcement officers are committed servants of their communities.
"The image is often skewed," said Gregory, "that the police community is dominated by rouge officers, and that's not true." The archbishop noted that the vast majority of officers are "wonderful, generous, and dedicated guardians of public safety."
Nevertheless, Gregory said, real reform of police policy is needed, as other participants in the town hall emphasized the need for police training and resources to address mental health crisis response.