Police head says proactive policing is needed to repair relations

(Harrisburg) — In the past month, decisions in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City have re-focused attention on law enforcement.

Grand juries chose not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown, nor Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the use of a chokehold that contributed to the death of Eric Garner.

Dane Merryman, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, says officers in the commonwealth should learn from the responses by the N-Y-P-D and Ferguson police in the aftermath.

“It doesn’t start when a problem occurs, it starts every day, from day one, in terms of getting to know the community and the community knowing their police officers. Building those relationships in the good times, so in the bad times, there’s already an established relationship, and an understanding of each other and their expectations,” says Merryman.

Merryman didn’t address the cases in Ferguson and New York City, but says officers are human and susceptible to emotional reactions like everyone else.

Both Wilson and Pantaleo could face federal prosecution for alleged civil right violations, but experts say convictions in both cases could be hard to obtain because of higher standards of proof.