Earlier this year Bishop Barry Randall initiated a series of conversations about race relations in our hometown of Portsmouth. When he scheduled the second one, I urged him to allow PCW to video record it. I was most favorably impressed with first one, but was regretful that it would not be available to a wider audience than those in the room on the night it occurred. He accepted my proposal, which enabled us to become the official media sponsor of that event. Unfortunately, a “Murphy’s Law” scenario led to the loss of all but the last ten minutes of that program. C’est la vie! Luckily, he afforded us a second chance, and we captured the entirety of the third panel discussion, Chat & Chew III: Hard Talk about Police and Community Relations.

I need to offer an excuse about the video: at times it is a uneven because Mr. Murphy reared his ugly head once again this night. A bit of forgetfulness in preparing our video gear left me without the small yet indispensable attachment required to mount the camera to the tripod. Still, for a completely hand-held shoot of nearly two-hours’ duration, it is not so bad. Thankfully, the audio is very good quality.

The video is divided into four segments, all of which are accessible through the PortsmouthCityWatch.org YouTube channel: introductions, the first set of issues, the second set of issues, and the closing. We thought that serializing the program in that fashion would make it more accessible, especially if someone wants to review particular points of discussion at a later date. The individual links are at the end of this posting.

PortsmouthCityWatch.org thanks host Bishop Randall, moderator Dr. Jackie Walker, and the thoughtful and courageous panelists for a lively, fascinating, and respectful exchange of ideas.

Chat & Chew III: Hard Talk about Police and Community Relations

• Part I contains the welcome from Bishop Barry Randall and the self-introductions of the illustrious moderator, Dr. Jackie Walker, and panel members Associate Pastor Hugo Morrison, Community Activist Bryan Scannell, Community Activist Terry Danaher, Entrepreneur Peter Olanitori, City Council Member Elizabeth Psimas, Community Activist Michael Wilkins (a. k. a., Mike Lynk), Community Activist Robbie Bradshaw, City Council Candidate Nathan Clark, and MANUP (Mastering and Nurturing Unlimited Potential) Founder Marcus Baker.
• Part II includes discussion of the effectiveness of police body cameras, citizen video recordings of police encounters with citizens, and the reasons police draw their weapons when approaching suspects.
• Part III addresses questions about why Portsmouth Police Chief Tonya Chapman could not be present; whether or not African Americans are profiled by police; and their opinions of the chief’s public outreach initiatives.
• Part IV captures the concluding remarks from Bishop Randall and the panel members.