TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan is putting together a team from the community to build better relationships between officers and the people they serve.
The Tampa Police Department Chief’s Community Advisory Team will be made up of 10 people who have lived in the city for at least five years and are in good standing in the community.
The advisory team will be will serve as liaisons between the community and the police department. One of its responsibilities will be to make sure Chief Dugan hears directly from community members about systemic police conduct and actions that positively or negatively impact the community he is responsible for protecting.
"As chief of police, I can’t fix something if I don’t know if it’s broken or not. In 20 years I don’t want to look back at this moment we had an opportunity to make a change, and make this a better police department," Chief Dugan told 10 Tampa Bay.
The creation of the advisory team comes after protests in the city and across the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
Floyd's death on Memorial Day sparked nationwide and even global demonstrations against police brutality and institutional racism.
The advisory team isn't the only thing the city of Tampa is doing to make changes to its police department.
During a press conference in June, Mayor Jane Castor outlined three other initiatives.
First, she said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will take over investigations into officer-involved shootings. She said this will allow for an unbiased investigation and safeguard both accountability and transparency.
Second, she said she is changing two policies. The first is officers are now required to intervene if they witness another officer using excessive force.
The second policy change adds wording to reinforce that the use of chokeholds or the “carotid restraint” is banned. Mayor Castor said that practice was banned decades ago, but this codifies that policy.
Finally, she created the Mayor’s Community Task Force on Policing to allow for a better conversation with the community. The task force will look at national best practices for policing and make sure TPD’s policies align with those.
More information on how to apply for the Chief's Community Advisory Team can be found here.