The Connecticut Police Chiefs Association hopes an interactive presentation aimed at new drivers will make routine traffic stops go a lot smoother for both the driver and law enforcement. But members of Connecticut's Racial Profiling Prohibition Advisory Board object to one component of the presentation.
The program, called "Breaking Barriers," is a 30-minute program designed to promote positive interactions during a traffic stop.
"The intent is to have a better understanding of the mechanics of a traffic stop," Redding Police Chief Douglas Fuchs told the panel, "and to have a better understanding from the operators standpoint, to understand that the police officer, when they walk up to the car has absolutely no idea who you are."
Through slides and videos, a local police officer will instruct new drivers on what to expect when you are pulled over, things like where to pull over when you see the flashing lights in your rear view mirror, what to do if you are involved in a traffic accident, and what the police officer will expect of you when he approaches the vehicle.
But what comes next is more controversial: three videos intended to show new drivers what police officers have to deal with day in, day out.
One of the videos was a NBC News report of a white police officer killed in an ambush as he sat in his patrol car. The video explains that only minutes before the attack, the slain officer had paid for the meal of a poor black child.
Another video shows a Black Lives Matter protestor who was willing to put himself in a cop's shoes and be placed in three simulated situations to show how police only have a split second to decide whether lethal force is necessary. At the end of the news report, the activist concludes that people must comply with law enforcement.
The last video was by Washington Post reporter Jonathan Capehart. Capehart, who is black, offers his take on the Department of Justice's two investigations of the killing of Michael Brown by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson.
"They forced me to deal with two uncomfortable truths. Brown never surrendered with his hands up; Wilson was justified in shooting Brown," Capehart said in the video.
Several members of Connecticut's Racial Profiling Prohibition Advisory Board said the videos are racist and unacceptable.
"I really -- like as a parent -- would be very upset if someone is telling them that the 'hands up, don't shoot' mantra is based on a lie. That's not a conversation I'm not ok with a stranger having with my child," said Subira Gordon, Executive Director of Connecticut's Commission on Equality and Opportunity.
"I like the beginning, I think it's a good approach, but when we got to the videos, it gets very heavy on the law enforcement side," said Tamara Lanier, Chief Probation Officer for Norwich. "There's a lot of race in that video."
Fuchs assured the panel "Breaking Barriers" is a work in progress. The Connecticut Police Chiefs Association hopes to eventually offer the program, free of charge to anyone who takes driver's education classes in Connecticut.
