photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Lawrence school board member Yolanda Franklin participates in a workshop hosted by the Lawrence Police Department and Department of Justice on Saturday, July 27, 2024.

Activists, civic groups and two local parents who lost their children to gun violence were among those sharing their thoughts with Lawrence police and Department of Justice facilitators on Saturday about how to improve the community’s relationships with law enforcement.

The half-day workshop on Saturday was the first of two that the DOJ will be facilitating in Lawrence as part of the Lawrence Police Department’s Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships Program. A cross-section of community members — neighborhood associations, youth service agencies, advocacy groups and more – were in attendance, and they all broke into groups to discuss what the community’s strengths were and what barriers existed between the Lawrence Police Department and the people it serves.

“This is an opportunity to be open, honest and have some difficult conversations. And also open our ears and hearts to listen to one another as well so we can be a part of a solution,” said community member DeBarre Johnson.

Among those who came to share their ideas were two parents whose children died in gun violence incidents. One was LaTouche Shaw, whose 14-year-old son Kamarjay Shaw was fatally shot in March 2023; the other was Natasha Neal, who voiced her concerns about what she saw as a lack of communication and empathy from police after her son, 17-year-old Isaiah Neal, was fatally shot last month.

In a small-group discussion at the workshop, Neal said she thought officers should put themselves in the shoes of victims and prioritize transparency during stressful situations. Neal told Kansas Reflector last month that after Isaiah was shot, Lawrence police directed her to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, but after an hour’s drive, she learned that Isaiah had actually been taken to LMH Health. When Neal arrived, the hospital was on lockdown, and she found that her son had already died.

“I don’t want another parent to go through anything I went through,” Neal said.

A suspect has been arrested and charged in connection with Isaiah’s death, as the Journal-World has reported. In March of this year, a jury acquitted a teenager who was charged with murder in Kamarjay’s death.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth

Attendees share their ideas about police and community relations at a workshop hosted by the Lawrence Police Department and Department of Justice on Saturday, July 27, 2024.

Some of Lawrence’s strengths that the participants identified in their discussions on Saturday were a willingness to be involved and share ideas; strong leaders of color in the community; and the continuous efforts of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, which aims to foster communication and collaboration among criminal justice officials, advisory bodies, agencies, and community leaders.

However, there were many concerns with a general lack of trust in law enforcement. Michael Machell, a retired human resources director, said there was a negative perception of police officers going around on social media which may be contributing to that.

Other barriers mentioned were the lack of sensitivity training for officers, the public’s misunderstanding of police protocols, cultural differences between the public and police officials, and the feeling of being in a community where it’s the people versus the police.

At the end of the workshop, community members voted on which barriers they believe should be a main priority for LPD. The results will be available next week, when a second half-day workshop will be held on Aug. 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lawrence High School to brainstorm solutions for the most pressing issues.

Police Chief Rich Lockhart said that’s important, because one of the things he believes in strongly is that the department needs to police the community the way it wants to be policed.

“The DOJ will give us a report when they’re done with this, and we’ll be releasing that to the public,” Lockhart said. “What we’ll be wanting to do is continue to work with you all next Saturday so we can work on making our Lawrence community as safe as it can be and making it what you all want it to be.”

Lawrence school board member Yolanda Franklin encouraged the people participating in the event to get more people involved, especially since there’s a lot of work that needs to be done.

“For Lawrence to be so diverse, we do not understand each other at all,” Franklin said. “Every community and every race should be here and represented today. We have got to do better.”