Something has to change.
Otherwise, Toledo’s African-American leaders told Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, there’s no point in having meetings like the one the mayor called Friday afternoon, which was designed to facilitate discussion about the relationship between the minority community and the police.
“I’m not waiting any longer for my son to be a hashtag,” said Sheena Barnes, executive director of Equality Toledo and a Toledo Public Schools board member. “I’m not waiting any longer for my brother to be a hashtag.”
The meeting came four days after the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who was shown on video lying on the ground while a Minneapolis police officer leaned on his neck for several minutes. That officer, Derek Chauvin, and three others were fired from the force a day later, according to national media reports, and Mr. Chauvin has since been taken into custody.
Mr. Floyd’s death sparked demonstrations not just in Minneapolis, where protesters burned down a police precinct, according to news reports, but in cities across the country, including in Ohio. Protests in Toledo are scheduled to occur this weekend.
During the meeting Friday, held in city council chambers, Toledo’s African-American leadership shared stories and concerns, asked questions, and expressed anger, fear, and frustration about the racism they see from police officers in Toledo, and the long history of violence committed against African-Americans throughout the country.
It was emotional. At times, it got heated. But it was important, city officials believe, and the mayor would like to see those meetings continue with even more people present.
“You have the city’s attention,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said.
Ms. Barnes has two sons, she told the meeting’s attendees. They’re 12 and 7 years old, and they’re afraid to go outside because they’re afraid of the police.
“I own my house, but I feel like I’m a threat on my own porch,” she said.
Christina Rodriguez, co-chair for the social justice committee for the city’s Human Relations Commission, listed some of the questions that people have: Would the prosecutor file charges if an officer here killed a citizen? What is the city doing to prevent what happened in Minneapolis from happening here?
“Right now, we need transparency, Mayor,” Ms. Barnes said. “We need truth. We need to know you’re angry, too.”
Pastor Jerry Boose, a former Toledo firefighter, said African-Americans need to see people who look like them in Toledo police and fire uniforms, he said. They need to know that someone who knows what they’re going through is responding to the call.
“If the faces don’t change, we’ll be back here the next time having the same conversation,” he said.
The man sitting next to him, Earl Mack, president of Toledo Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, agreed but said getting more representation on the police and fire forces is a long-term goal. The city needs a short-term, immediate solution, he argued.
“If something happens close to what we seen the other day, this city is going to be burning as well,” said Mr. Mack, who worked for nearly 40 years in various law enforcement roles, and is now running as an independent for Lucas County sheriff.
A news conference in front of the Toledo Safety Building followed the meeting in council chambers.
The mayor told reporters that the video of Mr. Chauvin made him sick to his stomach. The son of a police officer, Mr. Kapszukiewicz said he respects Toledo police, but knows that Toledo is not immune from the underlying issues of inequality and racism.
“It also doesn't mean that it couldn't happen here. I think the point is that in America it could happen anywhere,” he said of police violence toward minorities.
The mayor added that his administration will make a long-term commitment for both dialogue and material change to build trust between police and the African-American community.
Entrenched racism infects all of America, Toledo included, he said, and he encouraged everyone to protest peacefully.
“If now is not the time to protest after what happened in Minneapolis, I don’t know when you ever would,” he said.
In a tweet on Thursday morning, Toledo police Chief George Kral called Mr. Floyd’s death inexcusable and said all the former officers involved — the one accused of killing him and the ones accused of doing nothing to stop it — must be held accountable for their actions.
He expanded on that on Friday afternoon, and said when he first saw the video he was sad for Mr. Floyd, and for Mr. Floyd’s family.
“And then I got angry,” Chief Kral said. “I got very angry.”
Mr. Floyd’s death did not need to happen, he said, and if it had been anyone else kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck long enough to cause his death, they would have been arrested that night.
Once the handcuffs are on a suspect, Chief Kral said, officers should pull back.
“There’s no reason ... that knee had to be on that neck for nine minutes,” he said.
Like the mayor, he acknowledged that what happened in Minneapolis could happen in Toledo. He also reiterated a goal of his to keep increasing diversity in the police department. Leaders in the fire department have talked about the same goal in recent years.
For the scheduled protests this weekend, Chief Kral said extra officers would be brought in, but he again echoed the mayor and encouraged everyone to come out and protest peacefully.
During the news conference, a number of community members took turns speaking. Reggie Williams, executive director of the Frederick Douglass Community Association, said he’s mentally drained but emphasized that it’s important to keep being consistent in letting people’s voices be heard.
Mr. Williams said he’s pained by the fact that there are individuals in this country who want people who look like him to be dead.
“We’re human beings,” he said. “I love. I hurt. I bleed. Just like you do.”
First Published May 29, 2020, 8:29 p.m.
