Benton Harbor Mayor Talks Police-Community Relations

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marcus-muhammad-official-2

Following the recent police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana, as well as Thursday’s killings of five police officers in Texas, Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad says police and the communities they serve need to better communicate. Muhammad says he recently attended a national mayor’s conference in Washington, D.C., and was among those asked by President Obama to ask their local police to find ways of addressing police misconduct while also thanking them for their service. Muhammad says he’s spoken with Department of Public Safety Director Dan McGinnis about the issue.

“I think that there has been some improvements in certain areas, but I think that there are some mountains to climb in others, but he has a number of projects that will be coming forth as relates to police-community relations,” Muhammad told WSJM.

Muhammad says Benton Harbor law enforcement have been working on several initiatives to engage the public, and he plans to help them with more in the near future. He also suggests that the nation begin to have a dialogue on gun control, and what can be done to keep firearms out of the hands of those who are “irresponsible.”