SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two groups of people who wouldn't normally be together, putting differences aside to keep the community safe. Students and law enforcement came together on USF St. Pete's campus on Tuesday to find solutions and increase trust.
Three students and three officers were on the panel sitting side by side. For most of the students, it was their first time being by an officer in uniform, but the goal was to bridge the gap between our men and women in blue and the community.
"It's not police officers, it's the system of policing and that's what's caused the triggers," Destiny Gomez, a student and the organizer of the panel said.
Race took center stage in the conversation about policing. Protests in the city back in 2020 were a reminder of the pain in the community after the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
"I get a chance to see both sides. I get a chance to wear this blue uniform, but when I take off this uniform I'm a Black man. When I'm in this uniform I'm a Black man. I can really sit back and go wow is that really happening on both sides," St. Pete Police Chief Anthony Holloway said.
Both chiefs with St. Pete Police and USF St Pete, plus a captain on the campus' police force want to change everyone's perception.
"It just breaks my heart when I hear someone who says I'm afraid of a person in uniform," USF St. Pete Police Chief David Hendry said.
Hendry says officers are trained to handle interactions with people of different backgrounds.
"It really starts from when an officer is hired and the curriculum are all built around weaving in info," Hendry said.
St. Pete Police changed some of their policies after the protests in 2020.
"We have a community member on board whenever a woman or man is interviewed on the force, so they'll know who's coming into the community," Holloway said.
For the student who put the event together, hearing officers talk about tangible change made them confident in their future relationship.
"It brought me hope, it brought me comfort and it brought me healing," Gomez said.
More conversations will be held on campus and in the community with law enforcement in the future.