By Patrick McCreless
The Anniston Star
ANNISTON, Ala. — Anniston police officers will attend federal training on civil rights and community service this month to address recent racial tension with residents.
The training follows the departure of two police officers in June for their ties to a Southern secessionist organization. City officials say the class could be the first of several training courses police will take to improve race relations in the community.
“I think that’s great,” said Anniston resident Victor Williams after hearing about the training while attending the city’s Citizen Police Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday. “You’ve got to have skin in the game, you got to do something with the community to make a difference.”
The eight-hour class will be held Aug. 27 at the Trussville Civic Center and is being offered by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service. According to an FBI email, the course will emphasize the importance of understanding and addressing civil rights issues. The training will also address the value of investing in and improving community trust and preventing divisive incidents from occurring in communities.
“Obviously we can’t send everyone at once, but I want to send everybody we can,” said City Manager Brian Johnson. “I want to send everybody we can possibly spare.”
Chief Shane Denham said he’d be able to spare 40 of his 85 officers for the training. Denham said he planned to send as many supervisors as possible, who could then return and share what they learned with their subordinates.
“We’re trying to get a couple of transport vans,” Denham said. “If we can get a third of the officers there, I think it will be a success.”
Denham said he’s also working with the training organizers to possibly set up another day that his remaining officers can attend.
The training class is the latest step in the city’s partnership with Community Relations Service. The service organized a meeting of city officials and community leaders last month, but has been relatively quiet until now.
Created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the service is the only federal agency dedicated to helping state and local governments, private and public organizations, and community groups prevent and resolve racial and ethnic tensions, civil disorder based on race, color, or national origin, and to address and prevent hate crimes, according to the Justice Department’s website.
Attempts to reach officials with the Community Relations Service on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
The city requested the service to design a program to help ease community concern after firing Lt. Josh Doggrell and accepting the retirement of Lt. Wayne Brown on June 19 for their ties to the Alabama-based League of the South. The decision came after a nearly three-day investigation into the officers’ involvement with the group.
The League says it advocates that the South should secede from the U.S., but some civil rights organizations have labeled it a hate group.
David Baker, chairman of the Anniston Citizen Police Advisory Committee and former president of the local chapter of the NAACP, said he thought the training was a great idea.
“I think the training is necessary and I hope out of this we will have a better police department than it already is,” Baker said.
Denham said he is set to meet with a Community Relations Service representative this week to discuss more training opportunities. Other courses the service offers include training on how to work with minority communities, building trust between police and communities and understanding of hate crimes.
“I hope for us to do as many courses as possible,” Denham said.
Williams said residents shouldn’t dwell on the two officers’ involvement with the League.
“My feeling is we solved the problem and now we should move forward.”
Meanwhile, the Anniston Civil Service Board will meet at 8 a.m. Thursday to set a date for a hearing in Doggrell’s attempt to overturn his firing. The board oversees hiring and firing for the Police Department and has the authority to overturn the city’s decision.
Doggrell requested the hearing in July.
Copyright 2015 The Anniston Star