At the November 11 special meeting members agreed they wanted to learn more about the Ashland Police Department and how it engages with Ashland citizens and then to invite Police
Chief O’Meara to attend a future meeting.
It was suggested to spend time at the December SERJAC meeting discussing what members want to learn and then to develop questions to ask the Chief.
Suggested questions:
1. How does the Ashland Police Department engage in community policing? What does that mean?
2. What type of training do officers receive that teaches social justice? race relations?
3. How does police training in Oregon address implicit bias? Is it effective?
4. Please talk about the police department's Southern Oregon Racial Equity Liaison work with BASE Southern Oregon, and any similar outreach work that the APD is now doing in the community.
5. Can SERJAC collaborate with APD for a Forearms Amnesty Day to encourage citizens to turn-in-any unwanted firearms.
6. What are some of the ways APD would like to engage and connect with our marginalized communities, especially our BIPOC residents.
7. What are some initiatives APD would like to take towards dismantling white supremacy within our southern Oregon region.
8. How can SERJAC support APD in these initiatives?