With protests around the country bringing a light to the treatment of African Americans by law enforcements, Cape Girardeau has seen protests of its own.
Sgt. Joey Hann of the Cape Girardeau Police Department spoke to KRCU about community policing.
He says that the police department is trained in cultural diversity, going “above and beyond our mandatory amount of training.”
He says during this time in which anti-racism demonstrations are taking place, law enforcement has taken action to help prevent conflict.
“To mitigate against any sort of violence occurring or civil unrest during any type of demonstration, one thing we do is we try to make contact with anybody who is organizing a demonstration or a march,” Hann says.
He wants to “open up lines of communication” to ensure safety at such events.
Local protests over police brutality have been peaceful Hann says.
Though in one demonstration held at Liberty Corner, a female was struck by a vehicle. However, after speaking with police, she did not want to make a report and did not think it was intentional.
“There’s been a few arguments, but nothing major,” Hann says.