In a 3-page written message, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said he wants to begin to bridge a divide between dedicated officers who want to do right and citizens who insist they can’t or won’t.
“They have their reasons, those who don’t trust the police,” Coffina told KYW Newsradio. “The officers, those who are almost all overwhelmingly well-intentioned, have their perspective and that has to match. We have to get that disconnect on the table and start working it through.”
He understands the reasons for protests and is grateful that, at least in Burlington County, they’ve been peaceful. Coffina pointed to a number of actions taken over the last few years to make encounters with police safer, including a ban on chokeholds unless someone’s life is in imminent danger.
But his discussions with people since Floyd’s death has convinced him a frank discussion is needed.
“It’s heartbreaking that a mom or father should worry that their son is not safe in an encounter with the police,” Coffina added. “There’s enough people that they should have to worry about.”
No date or time has yet been set for the meeting.
New Jersey State police receive training to address unconscious bias within their ranks, and he believes it may be time for the county’s 900 sworn officers to start getting it.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has ordered listening sessions across the state as the office reviews the use of force policy police must follow.