Letters: Reader explains support for civilian review board

Dear Editor,

In reading your report on the most recent Board of Supervisors meeting, it occurred to me that the most helpful framing of the advocacy for establishing the proposed board might be this:

Quality control is embedded in any good process or product. Not after the fact. As the designer or manufacturer of an item, you don't wait for a customer to report the failure of that product she was relying upon to get a job done before you "take a look" at what "might" have gone wrong.

Instead, a responsible (and ultimately successful) business or service utilizes quality control steps throughout the process. AND incorporates feedback on an ongoing basis to ensure continued good quality and reliability.

External certifications, requirements for verified continuing education, consumer protection laws and regulations all exist because even the best business, organization, or profession cannot be expected to "police" itself. Given human nature and our Western culture, self-policing is simply not a viable model.

Our Henrico County law enforcement culture is one of the best I've seen. But here, in 2020, legitimate fear lives in the hearts of every single one of my black friends, former co-workers, and acquaintances: they know the risks of "living while black" in our county. That fear is something that white individuals like me, no matter how many other worries I may have, will never feel.

I will never be stopped by a police officer for "looking suspicious", have a gun pointed at my face as I reach for my driver's license and registration, be addressed in the derogatory tone used on my friend who had helped me with a home repair and was loading his tools back into his late model vehicle parked in front of my house when a cruiser pulled up and started questioning him. No reason for that to happen. There had been no nearby crime that brought police to my suburban street. But my friend is black. My subdivision is lily white. I was addressed as ma'am. There was no "sir" for my friend.

We also have a long way to go before mental health crises are handled effectively, by professionals specifically educated, trained, and experienced to do so. Until/unless those crises are referred to these appropriate personnel, police officers find themselves too often called upon to deal with these situations. They need much more help and training in this role than even the best officers currently have in their toolboxes. Do we have a subgroup of officers who have advanced training re mental health? A group from which such officers could be dispatched to handle these types of calls? A number of jurisdictions around the country, and many in the eastern provinces in Canada, do have such teams.

Your concise and clear ongoing coverage of this developing news is greatly appreciated. I forwarded your article to several local groups I belong to.

Sincerely,
A. Matheson