MADISON — The third Peacemakers Community Forum and Speak Out will take place at Darbo Community Center Wednesday, Oct. 29, 6:30-8 p.m. Retired Detective Pia Kinney-James will facilitate.
Among the issues that this forum will address include school and police relations, the role of officer liaisons, locker searches, and contacts of parents/guardians. Questions of home contacts due to underage drinking and parties, have been brought to our attention.
The first two gatherings, held on Sept. 23 and 30 at Falk Elementary and the South Madison Branch Library, respectively, centered on questions related to juvenile contacts and contacts of parents/ guardians, and rights during traffic stops and searches. The officers present at these two sessions provided information about protocols, differences between being under arrest and being detained. Officers also provided an overview of the numerous community programs run by the MPD.
The Peacemakers is a partnership with Today Not Tomorrow and the MPD to improve communication between community members and law enforcement. Attendees of the community gatherings are invited to bring issues they see and are facing in their neighborhoods to the MPD, to ask questions about their rights, and open discussion.
On Oct. 17, Today Not Tomorrow was contacted by the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center in Oakland, California, regarding The Peacemakers.
The Peacemakers forums are free and open to all. The Peacemakers is funded in part by the City of Madison, Emerging Opportunities Program Grant. For more information about the upcoming forums or to hold one in your community, contact Jeanne Erickson at 770-2049 or jeanne.erickson@clubtnt.org.
