The screaming headlines keep coming, alerting us to the latest fatal shooting spawned by the growing tensions between black America and the police. It’s understandable that Teddy Floyd, more than most of us, is sickened by the news.
He’s a black man. He’s also a law-enforcement officer. And his job as a deputy with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, where he has worked for more than 25 years, is as much about community outreach as it is crime prevention.
“I’m passionate about what I’m doing, so much so that I wake up every day and can’t wait to go to work and serve our community,” Floyd said. “But seeing what’s been happening around the country – this disconnect between black communities and law enforcement – it just breaks my heart.”
He paused for a moment, then added, “I wish I could shine a light on what we’re doing in our community, so that the people in these other places can see how we do it.”
What’s happening here, where the Sheriff’s Office has forged a partnership with leaders of the local black community, should not just be replicated – it should be celebrated.
“If I had to give a grade to the relationship between the leadership of the black community here and the Sheriff’s Office, I’d probably give it a B-plus or A-minus,” said Freddie Woolfork, director of public relations and facility operations for the Gifford Youth Activities Center and one of the county’s prominent black leaders.
“That’s no accident,” he added. “That relationship wouldn’t exist if the community leaders and Sheriff’s Office didn’t make it happen.”
Unlike many other U.S. cities and counties – where anything resembling a relationship between black communities and law enforcement is undermined by intense feelings of distrust, hostility and even hatred – we’re blessed to have local black leaders and a sheriff who have embraced a spirit of cooperation.
Indeed, they’ve made community policing a priority, setting up monthly meetings where black leaders and others in the community can take their issues and concerns directly to Sheriff Deryl Loar, who, by all accounts, enthusiastically attends these sessions.
He fields questions, explains policy and, when necessary, absorbs criticism. He also welcomes suggestions and accepts information about criminal behavior in the community, sometimes speaking privately with residents after meetings.
The Progressive Civic League of Gifford is represented. So is the county’s Pastors Association, more than half of which is composed of black or predominantly black churches. And, of course, there’s the local NAACP chapter.
“We have the ability to talk TO each other and not AT each other,” said Tony Brown, the local NAACP president. “This sheriff, unlike others in the past, is a cop that will listen – and he doesn’t just listen, he hears you.
“Sheriff Loar comes to every meeting and takes questions,” he continued. “If someone in the community has an issue or a problem, he doesn’t duck it. He’ll address it. And if he can’t answer your question, he’ll make sure the person who can is at the next meeting.
“The answer might not be what you want to hear, but you’ll get an answer,” he added. “He’s there, he’s accessible and, as far as I can see, he’s transparent. People feel there’s a relationship there – that there’s some level of respect – and that’s important.
“It’s not a perfect marriage, but, like most marriages, both parties are doing what they can to make it work.”
On a scale of one to 10, Brown said he’d rate the relationship between local black leaders and the Sheriff’s Office as high as 8.5, while the black community at large probably would give it a 7.
That’s better than some might expect, given the racial divide that still exists in this county. Certainly, the relationship is better than it was before Loar took office in 2009.
“The big thing is that he’s visible and there’s access, and that helps people feel connected,” said Joe Idlette, president of the Progressive Civic League. “That access is very important in developing trust and making people feel comfortable.
“If people believe you’re trying to do the right thing,” he added, “they’re more likely to talk to you.”
If Loar falls short anywhere, it’s in the lack of black deputies on road-patrol duty: There’s only one, and he was recently hired.
Loar claims the pool of qualified and willing black candidates is shallow.
According to the sheriff, Floyd and Sheriff’s Lt. Milo Thornton – he’s a black detective who teaches at the area police academy at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce – most of the local black candidates he approaches opt to work in a corrections capacity at the county jail.
“I’ve tried to recruit local black candidates, but some of them don’t know if they could arrest a friend or someone they grew up with,” Thornton said. “They don’t want to do that type of policing.
“That’s why you see most of the Sheriff’s Office’s black employees working at the jail,” he added. “We also have five black deputies, including one sergeant, working as school resource officers. But it’s extremely difficult to find black candidates who want to be road-patrol deputies.”
Thornton said the Sheriff’s Office loses promising minority candidates to law-enforcement agencies in Port St. Lucie, Martin County and South Florida, where the pay is noticeably better.
“Believe me, I’ve tried and I’m still trying,” he said, “but the pool of candidates is just not there.”
Thornton said a black female candidate for road-patrol duty recently completed the required background checks and is expected to be hired shortly.
As for recruiting corrections officers from the jail to transfer to road-patrol duty, both Thornton and Loar said the opportunities are there but willing candidates aren’t.
“There’s not a lot of interest,” Thornton said. “They’re happy where they are.”
Brown, Woolfork and Idlette said they believe Loar is making an effort to hire black deputies and they’re satisfied with his explanation.
“It’s a concern for us, because we’d like to see more black deputies on the road, but it helps to have Teddy in such a visible role and for Milo to be a lieutenant in criminal investigations,” Brown said. “I know it’s a concern for the sheriff, too, but it’s not a perfect world.”
Regardless of race, Loar said he encourages his deputies to get involved – either by working with non-profit groups or coaching youth sports teams – in the communities they police.
“Know us before you need us,” Loar said. “I’ve always believed it was important that the community knows us as people, not just in a law-enforcement capacity. Good community policing is about building trust through relationships.”
Loar said he speaks and takes questions at gatherings in the black community at least three times each month. In addition, local black leaders have both his work and personal cell-phone numbers.
“I don’t want there to be the kind of disconnect we’re seeing in other parts of the country,” Loar said.
He believes the Sheriff’s Office’s relationship with the local black community would go a long way toward avoiding mass protests and violence if an incident occurred here. He thinks local black leaders have enough trust to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“I’d like to believe there wouldn’t be any rush to judgment,” Loar said.
Considering the prevailing anti-cop climate in many black communities across the country, Woolfork said he can’t predict what might happen if there was a controversial shooting, but he said an overwhelming majority of our black community believes Loar is fair and would reward him for his efforts.
At the very least, local black leaders said they would urge patience, try to prevent emotions from escalating – as they did in Baton Rouge, Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo. – and try to tamp down any community violence.
“We would surely make an effort to prevent anything like that, but I can’t say what people would do, especially younger people,” Idlette said. “I’d hope the relationship we have with the sheriff would prevent a knee-jerk reaction and help keeps things calm.”
All of us should.
We should hope we’re not the next national headline.
“The sheriff and community leaders deserve a lot of credit, because all of this starts at the top,” Floyd said. “We’re not putting up a wall. We’re building bridges.”