NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – As protests over the death of Tyre Nichols continued this week, a group in New Orleans is voicing their support and advocating for change in the city.
The New Orleans Police Community Advisory Board, along with members of the community, gathered at the Martin Luther King monument Sunday.
The group stood in solidarity in response to the death of Nichols, who was allegedly killed by Memphis police officers.
“We want to prevent that same tragic event from taking place in our city, of course,” Police Community Advisory Board President Anthony Jackson, Jr., said.
Jackson proposes a more thorough assessment during the recruitment process.
“We have to understand why you want to be a police officer, why you want to serve the community,” Jackson explained. “If we have those questions in place, then we can lessen the chance of these tragic deaths happening.”
Jackson says the board wants a police chief who’s available and willing to do the work. He says he hasn’t met NOPD Interim Superintendent Michelle Woodfork.
“Which, by the way, the police community advisory board would love to have a meeting with her, just to kind of see what is her plan? What is her plan of action? We have to put it in writing. We can’t just do verbally anymore; that’s not getting the job done,” the board’s president said.
These community members fear change in response to a traumatic event.
“Instead of being reactive, how about being proactive? I think that’s the better message that we need to send to bridge the gap between the police and the community,” Jackson said.
On the topic of policy, the board doesn’t believe it’s time for the consent decree to be lifted.
“So, how about this? How about we reach out to our communities? How about we have transparent conversations? How about we look at the budget and we see where we can make effective changes to get the job done,” Jackson said.