LPS Acting Chief Scott Woods. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

LPS Chief talks racism, protests, and police training

Jun 4, 2020 | 1:52 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – As protests and riots continue to erupt across the United States and some police forces in the country respond with violence of their own, the Acting Chief for Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) has given his thoughts on the situation.

While the death of George Floyd, 46, in Minneapolis, Minnesota was the catalyst for these demonstrations, Scott Woods says he understands that there is a lot more than just one particular incident that caused many to reach their breaking point.

At the root of it all is a long history of institutionalized racism by certain police officers and the general public, and that peaceful calls for change have largely gone unheard for centuries.

As well, “a lot of that goes back to trust” in institutions like law enforcement, especially as many marginalized groups do not feel like they can trust the police.

“I think there’s a lot of frustration and anger within some of these protests. As the police, it’s certainly the right that people have – we just ask that it’s done peacefully, because, when it goes outside that and you start getting into people getting hurt, property being damaged – I think it goes beyond what the protest is supposed to be.”

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Woods hopes people can stay focused on the cause they hope to address, which is in the unfair treatment that many minorities often face.

“They’re protesting what’s happening in the United States and how policing has treated some marginalized people over a number of years, both within this country and others, that’s the point to stay focused on. Let’s not turn it into something that’s a sideshow with violence and other forms of destructive behaviour.”

While the main focus of the protests in the U.S. is around the relationship between African Americans and the police, Woods says black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ people are among those that are subject to unfair treatment in Canadian society.

He wants to ensure that LPS can continue to become more inclusive, welcoming, and understanding of all groups of people. Much of that comes down to training.

“Throughout the recruiting process to becoming a police officer, there’s a number of tests involved including some psychological assessment that officers have to go through, including polygraph testing to determine the validity of the answers they’re giving us and their background and a few things like that.”

Woods told media that they conduct annual “bias-free training” to ensure their members are not unfairly targeting minorities.

“We’ve met all of our provincial standards with regards to recruiting, training, reporting. All of our policies are actually one of the higher standards within the province, we’re told, that we adhere to.”

When he watched the video of the police’s interaction with Floyd, Woods said it made him “sick to his stomach.”

Videos show that Officer Derek Chauvin allegedly had his knee pressed down on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as he was already handcuffed, on the ground, and had repeatedly called for help as he was having trouble breathing.

It is incidents like these that prompted LPS to implement training earlier this year around disengaging.

“[It’s] about taking a step back when we get into situations. When we train for certain things and it doesn’t go that way, we have to be able to adjust, we have to be nimble to say that, initially, we may be responding to something that’s reported as much more violent, but when we get there, we need to be able to assess that and be able to disengage.”

At the same time, training will only take them so far if they are not hearing from the people that are affected by things like racism and targeting by police.

When asked about which groups representing minorities that he would like LPS to be part of, Woods said “all of them.”

Specifically for Indigenous groups, he talked about working with members of the Blood Tribe Police Service, wanting to regularly consult with elders, and forming a stronger relationship with the Sage Clan.

Members of the local police service have met with members of the LGBTQ+ community to gain their input as well.

“As we become more diverse, we have to educate ourselves better on a lot of things.”

With a planned anti-racism protest set to take place outside of Lethbridge City Hall Thursday afternoon, Woods said he welcomed his officers to take part and advocate alongside civilians.

He hopes to keep the event peaceful and says his focus will be on maintaining public safety.

Earlier this week, Woods issued a statement regarding the death of George Floyd. You can read the full, unedited letter below:

“All of us have been shaken by the tragic death of George Floyd in Minnesota at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. More than the deeply personal grief of Mr. Floyd’s family, this inexcusable event serves as a sobering reminder of the duty we all have to respect and honour every person in our community.

It also serves as a particularly strong reminder to those of us privileged to work in policing that we hold a special responsibility to our community – to treat everyone with the respect and dignity they have an inherent right to expect as a human being.

Living up to the standards of charactered, principled policing does not happen by accident. It requires deliberate action. The honour and integrity of the police service must be fought for and protected over time, and never taken for granted.

There are many measures that the Lethbridge Police Service follows and promotes to help ensure equal treatment and respect under the law. For example, our policies are reviewed regularly, to affirm proper policing values. Officers are continually trained and the values of principled policing are reinforced. Relationships with various communities and community leaders are encouraged and cultivated.

Sometimes, individual police officers will fail in their duties, but that is a function of the frailties of human nature – it does not reflect the values and duty of the Police Service to the community. If such failures do occur, the important thing then becomes making sure the offending officers are held to account. That is how respect for the community is maintained, even in the face of failure.

No organization can claim perfection. However, I am proud of the work that has been, and continues to be undertaken in the Lethbridge Police Service, to support a peaceful and safe community for all of our people. For as long as I serve, I will continue those efforts, in good faith and with all resolve.”

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