Cop chiefs to eye public trust

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 3:00 AM EDT
By Peggy Schenk

OLD SAYBROOK — Chiefs of police from throughout New England will focus on restoring the public trust in law enforcement officers as they return to their duties after a three-day convention here.

The 76th annual Training Conference of the New England Association of Chiefs of Police, held at the Saybrook Point Inn, ends today.

The conference, the first to be held in Connecticut, wraps up with installation of Woodbridge Police Chief Dennis Phipps as the organization's 2001-2002 president during a banquet at the Inn tonight. Nearly 300 chiefs attended the convention.

Among those in attendance were outgoing President Gerald Schofield of Freeport, Maine and William Berger of North Miami Beach, Fla., incoming president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Topics explored during the conference included bias-based policing, underage drinking and driving, and cooperation with the military in police matters.

Of priority concern for Phipps as he begins his yearlong tenure is a dwindling public trust in police.

"The perception throughout Connecticut, New England and the United States is that the gap is widening in terms of trust," Phipps said Monday.

The 1997 fatal shooting in East Haven of Malik Jones following a police chase by Officer Robert Flodquist is a situation that exemplifies the issue, he said.

"It was definitely a tragic event for all involved," Phipps said. "The family of officer and victim are suffering the effects.

It's a situation that I'm sure Officer Flodquist did not want to be in. No officer wants to be that situation."

Phipps noted that Flodquist was fully exonerated. "We're going to have to go on to try to mend fences and open communications and accept the fact that it's a tragic thing that took place," he said.

Phipps said that as president he will "try to get across to all of our police executives the importance of trying to restore public trust, through education and with the support of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

"We've had some trying times as police, where allegations of racial profiling and unethical police behavior were scattered across the news media. It's up to us to try to take the initiative to win back what we have lost over the years."

As part of that initiative, Phipps said the association, along with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, will ask President George W.

Bush to establish a commission on law enforcement to address public trust issues.

"We're hoping to pressure Congress to support a commission that will identify problems, suggest solutions and develop policies and procedures that can be applied to law enforcement nationally," said Old Saybrook Police Chief Edmund Mosca, whose department co-hosted the event along with the Clinton Police Department.

In addition, Phipps said he is planning a seminar for chiefs of law enforcement in the Northeast early next year on issues such as racial profiling.