Two weeks after being reassigned to the Baltimore Police Department's Western District, Capt. Sheree Briscoe said at a panel discussion Wednesday that she's working to get officers "out on the streets and talking to people who have the view of 'I don't like the police.'"
Briscoe spoke alongside activists, politicians and faith leaders at the University of Baltimore during an event hosted by the city's NAACP branch and sponsored by the FreedomWorks Foundations Empower Project. She took the place of Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, who was unable to attend.
The group answered questions from the audience on a variety of topics relating to how the city should move forward following the unrest stemming from Freddie Gray's death. Gray, 25, died in April after suffering a spinal cord injury while in police custody. Six police officers have been charged in connection with his arrest and death.
"We're holding conversations with people from the community who feel they've been overlooked," Briscoe said. "We're introducing ourselves and, more importantly, we're introducing the idea of the possibility that we can be better than what we are, and that yesterday doesn't have to be today… One relationship at a time, one interaction at a time, one opportunity at a time and holding us accountable all the while."
Del. Jill Carter commended Briscoe, but said the attitude of the woman who grew up in Baltimore City reflects only a portion of the police force.
"I believe that Capt. Briscoe is what the community needs, but she is in the minority," Carter said during the discussion. "She exists in an institution that does not espouse that kind of philosophy. There can be no community policing if the majority of police don't come from Baltimore City and if the leadership is not committed to those kind of relationships and making sure the institution has a culture of respect."
Alveda King, another panelist and the niece of Martin Luther King Jr., said it was important to remember not to label the entire police department as "the enemy."
"You have good officers and you have bad officers," said King, a minister and activist. "You don't throw away the law enforcement system, you clean it up."
Briscoe said the panel showed her there was a need for a larger conversation "to express ideas and put those ideas into action."
"There is a fear of police in this city and I pray this conversation will be a bridge," said CL Bryant, a FreedomWorks Foundation fellow.