MOUNT DORA, Fla. — Following the George Floyd trial, police reform is a hot talking point in not just law enforcement agencies, but neighborhoods and communities as well.
What You Need To Know
- Mount Dora Police Chief Brett Meade says he is working to repair the relationship between his department and the public
- He says that a police department can only be successful "if a community allows it to"
- City residents have indicated they are interested in opening a dialogue with the department
Mount Dora Police Chief Brett Meade is a person who has experienced police reform, by helping to create it. Members of his community are now open to seeing what changes he will bring to their city.
Walking in Mount Dora, Gregory Harley admits he does not have a clean record. But, the Mount Dora native and 47-year resident said when he sees police, he always assumes the worst.
“What are you going to do?” Harley asks out loud. “I mean you just don’t know what to think. My ears are up, my antennas are up, you know what I’m saying?”
As the newly appointed Mount Dora Police Chief, Meade is hoping there will soon be a time people like Harley can just relax.
“A successful police department is only successful if a community allows it to,” Meade said. “Which means they are a partner with their community.”
Harley said he agrees.
“In my community we have to be more active in those city hall meetings as well,” Harley said. “We have to participate in political aspect, you know, we can sit here and complain or don’t vote then it is falling on deaf ears.”
Meade participated in police reform across the country when he was with the National Police Foundation, the oldest nonprofit research organization in the country. He has helped different agencies with recruiting and retention mechanisms; developing wellness programs; and helped to create specialized action base training for officers.
Locally he hopes to change people’s perception of those who wear a badge one person at a time.
“Sitting down with someone that has a completely different opinion of yours and listening,” Meade said. “Instead of being angry about it, that you listen and you talk.”
Residents of Mount Dora have said they are open to the discussion, and know it will be a process they have to embrace as well, one day at a time.
“We are always open for change,” Harley said. “That’s not our problem. It’s not like we say we want to be segregated, it’s never like that. We are open for dialogue.”
Currently, Meade is looking into body cameras that activate when an officer draws his or her Taser. He says he also feels officers should can always be active learners in how to deescalate situations.