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Bishop Culp explained the
purpose of the Code of Conduct. “Respect for one another is
fundamental in any society,” said Culp. “You can’t change
problems that you can’t recognize.”
Culp said that he is not
of a mind to call for defunding the police, but “I do
believe we need to redefine” the law enforcement mission.
“Law and order should not be the purpose of the police
department,” he said. “They ought to be agents of justice
and peace in our community.”
Rev. Otis Gordon, pastor
of Warren AME Church, made the plea for those in attendance
to join the work of the Black/Brown Unity Coalition.
“This is a time for us to
come together and to be proactive,” said Gordon. Noting that
Toledo has not faced some of the difficulties that other
urban areas around the nation have experienced lately,
Gordon attributed that fact to community efforts to take
steps to “come together, act together and unite together.”
Speaking of the Code of
Conduct, Gordon said “it’s time to take this agreement city
wide.”
Among the number of
speakers addressing the audience of more than 100 under the
tent was TPD Sergeant Mike Kurjan, who currently leads the
recruitment effort for the department.
“We need applicants to
accurately reflect the demographics of our city … who are
hard working with strong moral code,” said Kurjan. “There is
always room for improvement and we want members here to be
part of that improvement.”
The Code of Conduct, which
has been signed by the leaders of FLOC, the Toledo Community
Coalition and the NAACP, along with LIUNA Local 500, Latins
United, the NW Ohio AFL-CIO, FLOC Homies and FLOC LOBOS, is
an agreement that calls for the respect of the sanctity of
human life; the respect for fundamental freedoms and
safeguards guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution; valuing
honesty, integrity and ethical behavior; valuing diversity
and a commitment to work together in the delivery of police
services for the common good.
The goal of the Coalition
is to see that the Code is used as a vehicle to curb racial
profiling, to stop police misconduct and to improve
police-community relations.
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