On the road to Mayberry, maybe

On All Saints Day, which was as fine a Saturday morning as ever was, there were a lot of places for people to be other than the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center.

But a lot of people were there early, rewarded with coffee and Danish and other goodies, but most of all with the comfort of knowing that a lot of people are working really hard in Terrebonne Parish to make them safe.

Two Parish Council members, John Navy and Arlanda Williams, conceived the idea of this event, a crime summit, at which people could talk directly to the people who police them and other officials, and where those officials could speak to them.

By way of full disclosure, I was also invited to take part, as the media representative at a panel discussion, and this I did.

My role was tiny. The role played by the officials who made the presentations was not.

Houma Police Chief Todd Duplantis talked about his department’s activities, their statistics and future plans. The city’s hugely successful neighborhood watch program was discussed.

Sheriff Jerry Larpenter presented as well, with a lot of help from Maj. Malcolm Wolfe, Capt. Dawn Foret of his detective division.

Maj. Darryl Stewart of the Narcotics Division shared information too.

And that was only the tip of the information iceberg. Schools chief Philip Martin, District Attorney Joe Waitz Jr. and others were present too.

What was impressive about it all was that the presenters came with facts and figures, and if you didn’t know a lot more about the picture of crime and enforcement when you got there that situation was remedied by the time you left.

Among the people who attended and soaked all this in were about 80 students from each one of the parish’s high schools.

They listened and they learned, and had some good questions for the officials in the latter part of the program, which generally received courteous answers or promises to find the information requested.

Our communities in Terrebonne have seen proof over the past year, even when times have been difficult that bonds do exist between law enforcement and the people they protect and serve.

While the nation kept its eyes and ears on Ferguson, Mo. this past summer, where the community reaction to the killing of a teen by a police officer turned violent, one of the most important factors leading to that response was not initially paid attention to.

Some people in Ferguson – more than some – felt as if their police force was more of an oppressive army than an organization of helpers.

For the most part that doesn’t seem to be the case here. There is just enough community policing, more than enough of cops coming from the bayous or from the neighborhoods they end up policing to know who the people they speak with are, enough respect for the people in general from the commanders, to allow for dialogue even when problems emerge.

The Sept. 23 Village East shooting of 14-year-old Cameron Tillman – the State Police report on that is still not completed – by a deputy was met with anger. The teen allegedly had a realistic looking pellet gun in his hand when the incident occurred. The incident strained local faith in law enforcement. But enough of a relationship existed for the pot – despite constant heating for a while – not to boil over, and more bad things to result.

Future events like the crime summit, organizers hope, will likewise protect Terrebonne Parish, its citizens and its officers from misunderstandings even when things get bad. Riot helmets and jackboots are not generally the uniform of the day here. Continued dialogue will keep it that way.

Back in the early 1990s when I researched police custody deaths for my book “The New Untouchables: How America Sanctions Police Violence,” forward-thinking sheriffs and police chiefs were talking about how programs bringing the police and communities closer can save lives. A lot of that went out of fashion as America got deeper into the “occupying army” mentality of policing.

The Terrebonne Crime Summit shows that here there is a belief in dialogue investment, which puts us ahead of a lot of other places.

Councilman John Navy said that his hope, as the summit concept he and Arlanda Williams champion grows that closer relations will result.

“We can build upon it and make it bigger and better for next year,” Navy said. “A lot of people are excited more people want to see these kinds of things.”

“I would love for law enforcement to be like the Andy Griffith Show,” Navy confesses. “A friendly relationship, where people are not afraid to talk to a kid, or a kid to talk to the officers. A wonderful relationship.”