GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — Members of law enforcement gathered with community activists, political leaders and residents Thursday for a roundtable discussion.
The group included law enforcement from the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, Greenville Police Department, Greer Police Department, Fountain Inn Police Department and Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
The discussion was led by Bruce Wilson, the founder and CEO of Fighting Injustice Together.
“It’s time for the two [activists and law enforcement] to stop pointing fingers at each other and see how they can together to better the community,” Wilson said.
During the meeting, residents asked patrol officers how they approach each call they respond to.
“I immediately try to start working with them,” a Greer Police Officer explained. “I try to figure out what went on. Obviously, we have to try to figure out what they’re telling us, what the other party is telling us and the circumstances of that.”
Law enforcement was also asked how they work to de-escalate situations.
“We tie de-escalation to every single training we do,” Greenville Police Chief Howie Thompson said. “You get to say, ‘What could you have done better? Could you have done this? Should you have done that?’ You get it in their [officers] heads on how to better answer calls like that.”
Thompson explained that each call can be complex.
“Most of the people we deal with are in some type of mental health crisis,” he said. “We do need to step up our mental health capabilities.”
“There are people who come to the county jail who don’t need to be in our county jail,” Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright added. “They need to be in a mental institution.”
Wright said he would support opening more facilities to help those those battling mental health issues.
“It would solve a lot of issues in our jails and communities,” he said.
The discussion came just a few days after the tragic school shooting in Nashville.
“We, in the sheriff’s office in Spartanburg, participate in active shooter drills quite a bit,” Wright said. “Any school that would let us host it, we do.”
“With the school district’s cooperation, we would send officers in plain clothes,” Greer Police Chief Matt Hamby added. “They would go onto the campus of the school and try to find an open door. They’ve been successful, unfortunately. But, that’s a learning opportunity.”
While not every issue could be addressed Thursday, law enforcement and local leaders said they hope the meeting was a step in building better relationships for the future.
“A lot of this was about dialogue, and that’s something you can still do in Greenville, South Carolina,” Greenville Mayor Knox White said. “It’s really one of the things that separates us from some of the other communities.”
