Red Bank Police Chief Joins Dialogue About Race

RED BANK – Chief Darren McConnell believes the Red Bank Police Department does a good job in reflecting the diverse community and in addressing its needs. But, he acknowledged, there are areas where the department can improve.
“Where we fall short is in the Latino community,” he said, speaking of departmental outreach and the number of Hispanic officers.
McConnell participated in the borough public library’s series, “Let’s Talk About Race,” on Feb. 24, exploring the racial divide that exists and ways to improve it.
“That’ll change in time,” said McConnell, who believes it is inevitable that the department will greater reflect the town’s large Hispanic population.
According to the chief, the 40-member department is 20 percent African-American officers, 15 percent Hispanic and 10 percent female, with a sufficient number of officers who are bilingual to cover the various shifts.
According to McConnell, fluency in Spanish is an attribute, when the department looks to hire an additional officer in the future. “Now if you’re bilingual you’re getting an inter view” – while 20 years ago, “it wasn’t a priority.”
McConnell, who has been chief for a little over two years, grew up in Rumson and has been with the department since 1988. He started when he was 19, a short time out of high school, he said.
Policing and officers have changed during his nearly 28 years on the force: more extensive training, officers obtaining more education – McConnell acknowledged he would not have hired himself if seeking the job today, given his age and inexperience at the time – and the department’s embracing of social media and technology developments, such as car cameras.
Community police has become a major focus here and in departments elsewhere, McConnell explained, speaking before an audience of roughly 15.
“Everyone realizes the day of the foot patrol is over,” he observed, with technology making an officer walking an inefficient way to patrol. But officers are required in certain sectors to get out of patrol vehicles and walk the area for portions of their tours. That, McConnell said, gets the community and the officers to interact and get a better sense of each other.
Officers spend time in the borough schools, for much of the same reason: to get the community comfortable with approaching officers. In addition, without being summoned, as a good faith effort, officers regularly stop at Lunch Break, a west side soup kitchen and food pantry; and make regular stops at the Boys and Girls Club, 138 Drs. James Parker Blvd., for community outreach.
The department has recently established a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Department representatives have conducted community outreach sessions in Spanish at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, 121 Bridge Ave., McConnell noted.
St. Anthony of Padua is a center of activity for the burgeoning local Hispanic community.
“We’re always reaching out to the community,” McConnell told the audience. “But what we want is the community to reach out to us,” keeping officers informed, the chief added.
In response to an audience member’s question regarding police brutality and misconduct, McConnell pointed out that his department responds to approximately 22,000 calls a year. Of those there are about 20 to 30 incidents of use of force that officers report annually. The last incident of excessive force was about seven or eight years ago, with that officer ultimately being fired, he said. “Every use of force sets into motion an investigation,” McConnell said.
Sid Bernstein, Lincroft, told McConnell there were 1,130 police killings of black men in the U.S. last year.
McConnell responded that in his experience, there have been three incidents where he’s had to draw his weapon. “The last thing that would be on my mind is what color is the guy,” he said, as he evaluated and looked to defuse the situation.
And while officers undergo training, “You can’t train for every eventuality,” he added.
“I think authority can be intimidating,” said Elizabeth McDermott, library director, talking about a traffic stop that she was involved in that didn’t occur in Red Bank.
“A lot of situations are inherently confrontational,” responded McConnell, explaining it is up to the officer to appropriately handle the situation.
Linda Hewitt, circulation supervisor/outreach and programing coordinator for the public library, 84 West Front St., said she wanted to conduct this series because “I really wanted to have this conversation because there is a really need.”
Next month’s discussion will be a look at the borough’s Hispanic community.