Cobb Commissioner Lisa Cupid Hosts Public Forum On Policing
Michell Eloy / WABE News
Cobb County Commissioner Lisa Cupid brought together government, court and police officials Wednesday to meet with the community about policing and criminal justice issues.
Cupid said the three-hour public forum was necessary in the wake of recent police shootings in Dallas and Baton Rouge, and the shooting deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in Minnesota and Baton Rouge, respectively, at the hands of police. She said she hopes this is the first of more meetings to come.
“We heard some things that were tough to hear,” Cupid said, “but I think that needed to be said so we can better understand the context of policing and the application of justice in our communities.”
Cupid herself has called for changes to police protocols, and last year accused the Cobb Police Department of tailing her car and racially profiling her.
About 60 people turned out for the forum, held at the Board of Commissioners in Marietta.
John Williams, a Cobb resident, said there’s a mutual fear between police and the African-American community.
“When something like what happened in Baton Rouge or Minnesota, black people as a community, we’re saying, ‘That could be me,’” Williams said. “And with what happened in Dallas, you’re saying, ‘That could be you.’ We understand that.”
Some of the major themes residents touched on were the perception that the criminal justice system treats African Americans more harshly, from police stops to sentencing.
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