Lawrence Police Chief Tarik Khatib said “Kansas is headed in the right direction” when it comes to fair and impartial policing Friday as he spoke on a panel in Topeka at the Kansas Civil Rights Symposium.

The symposium, which was held at the Brown vs. Board of Education Historic Site in Topeka, was organized by U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom’s office to engage law enforcement and citizens on issues involving civil rights.

Khatib was selected to speak on a panel — with Grissom; president of the Kansas State Conference of the NAACP Renee Wiggins; and Rita Valenciano of the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service — regarding building trust between police and the communities they serve.

President of the Kansas State Conference of the NAACP Renee Wiggins, Lawrence Police Chief Tarik Khatib and Rita Valenciano of the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service speak on a panel at the Kansas Civil Rights Symposium Aug. 14, 2015 at the Brown vs. Board of Education Historic Site at 1515 Southeast Monroe St. in Topeka.

On the panel, Khatib said that the big “takeaway” from the events in Ferguson, Mo., after the controversial police shooting of an unarmed black man was the importance of healthy police-community relationships. After reading the U.S. Department of Justice’s report on the Ferguson Police Department and learning of their poor community relationship, Khatib said it was “not surprising the protests happened.”

“Sometimes you can survive a bad event with a good relationship (with the community),” Khatib said. “Sometimes you can’t survive even a good event with a bad relationship (with the community.)”

Wiggins agreed, saying, “the NAACP learned (from Ferguson) the need for expansion of community policing.”

Khatib said that fair and impartial policing is also crucial to preventing events like Ferguson. The concept, which Khatib learned about at the Kansas Law Enforcement and Training Center in 2013, focuses on preventing racial discrimination in police work.

Khatib said that because all people — whether citizens or law enforcement — have their own internal biases, it is important to teach fair and impartial policing to prevent racially motivated policing.

“Our biggest obstacle is ourselves,” Khatib said. “Training our officers to overcome (biases) and recognizing our biases in ourselves is important.”

But audience member Ben Scott, of Topeka, said that he believed that it will take more ¬- like body cameras – before the black community will feel comfortable with law enforcement.

“I’ve done studies and talked to people, and black men’s trust level of police officers is really not high,” Scott said. “As a black man, I try to keep my tail lights clean (to prevent being pulled over.) This is an issue we have to deal with daily.”

Khatib said that he is a “huge fan” of body cameras on law enforcement, but that agencies need to have a plan in place — and funding — before they can be implemented.

“I think the community needs to go and say, ‘This is what we want for police,’ and find a way to fund it,” Khatib said. “There has to be a plan to fund and to utilize them.”

Valenciano said that it would be “all for naught” if a law enforcement agency purchases the expensive cameras without a “tried and true plan from another agency that’s using them successfully.”

But Scott argued that price should not be an issue when it comes to garnering trust in law enforcement, which plays into the safety of the community.

“The cost of body cameras pales in comparison to just one person’s life,” Scott said. “For black males, it gives them some kind of assurance.”

Khatib’s panel was just part of a full day of programs and discussions on civil rights at the symposium Friday. Also in attendance at the event were Sgt. Trent McKinley of the Lawrence Police Department and Capt. James Anguiano of the Kansas University Public Safety Office.