Former members of the Durham Police Department excited about the return of their newly appointed chief of police

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Former officers with the Durham Police Department say the hiring of Patrice Andrews is what is needed to improve morale within the troubled department.

One of the former officers interviewed by Rev-elution noted a message on the Police Department’s Facebook page, posted on October 21.

“Are you aware that Interstate 85 persistently remains in the top 10 crash locations in Durham? Perhaps earlier this week you saw DPD’s Traffic and Crash Team (TACT) and Motor Unit, along with Ofc. J. Harris of Uniform Patrol as they conducted speed enforcement along I-85 North and South between E. Club Boulevard and Cole Mill Road. The highest recorded speed was 97 mph in a 60-mph zone! Officers made 15 vehicle stops.”

A simple message, like so many others on the page. It was the second comment posted minutes later that caught the attention of members of the police department.

“Proud of the work that you all are doing to keep our roads safe! See you soon!”  Patrice Andrews, the newly appointed chief of police, is making a statement. I see you. I affirm you. I look forward to working with you.

It’s that level of familiarity that resonates with many members of the police department. Many say they know and trust the woman who is coming back home after a brief stay not far away.

Andrews, who served five years as the Town of Morrisville Police Chief, replaces C. J. Davis who left Durham to head the Memphis, TN police department. Andrews started her career with the Durham Police Department as a patrol officer in 1997. She’s remembered for advancing up the ranks to become district commander and a captain supervising the Special Victims, Homicide, Domestic Violence, and Fraud units.

Rev-elution interviewed officers who worked with Andrews before she left Durham in 2016. The officers say her leadership style with the rank and file is a better match than Davis, who came to Durham from Atlanta, GA.

“Patrice is more willing to listen to the opinions of others,” a retired officer said on the condition of anonymity. “She takes what others think before making a decision.”

The retired officer noted tension within the police department caused by understaffing and an unwillingness to consider alternatives to maximize current staffing needs.

“Patrice is more of a community person,” another former officer said when questioned about Andrews. “She’s the type of leader who will be out in the community with the people. She will build relationships with everybody.”

A retired officer compared Andrews to former Durham Police Chief Steve Chalmers, who served as chief of police from 2003-2007. After serving on the force for more than 32 years, Chalmers continued efforts to impact the root causes of crime with Men of Vision, a nonprofit he started while serving as police chief.

“She’s like Chalmers. They both care for the community and know the city,” the former officer said. “She’s got that same drive to build programs that make a difference.”

Rev-elution spoke with residents who desired a more transparent process. They imagined a series of community forums with finalist like when Davis was under consideration to become Durham’s police chief. There were four finalists following a national search. Durham City Manager Wanda Page made the decision with the help of nine diverse members of Durham’s community.

In the end, deep connections to Durham made the difference.

"I am confident that Chief Andrews is the right leader for Durham, where she spent most of her law enforcement career," City Manager Wanda Page said in a statement. "I am happy to welcome her back to Durham, where she also has deep family roots and developed lasting relationships in the community while working and living here."

Andrews faces numerous challenges as Durham Chief of Police. She enters a political climate with calls to defund the police. Homicides are rising and increasing disparities complicate strategies to strike the roots of crime. The current police force is witnessing retirements and the exodus of officers to other higher paying, safer municipalities.

According to past members of the police department, there is reason to be excited about Andrews’ return to Durham.

Vegas Don knows these Durham streets

Vegas Don says he shot 17 of his own people while selling cocaine as the leader of a notorious Durham street gang. 

 

 

In 1987, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting at someone, but the conviction was overturned in 1992. His life and way of life is featured in “Welcome to Durham”, a 2007 documentary about gangs in Durham. The film placed Durham on the national radar as a small town with a gang problem. 

 

 

Vegas Don’s real name is Otis Lyons. His name change is reminiscent of a biblical Damascus Road experience. Things radically shifted after he went to prison. He started Campaign4Change, a nonprofit working to deter young people from the life he once lived. Lyons says he stopped dealing dope to become a hope dealer.

 

 

Durham needs massive hope. Last year, 318 people were shot, and 33 people died. Close to 100 people have been shot so far this year. With mounting gun violence, Mayor Pro Tem Jillian Johnson, Council members Charlie Reece, Pierce Freelon and Javiera Caballero are supporting a plan to shift 60 police department vacancies over a three-year period into a new community safety unit. The new unit promises to offer mental health and other alternatives to law enforcement.

 

 

Durham Beyond Policing, a grassroots campaign to divest from policing and prisons and reinvest funding into supporting health and wellbeing of Black and Brown people, is spearheading the Durham defund police movement.

 

 

The Rev-elution asked Lyons for input regarding police funding, gun violence and public education. When asked if anyone on the city council has reached out to discuss his thoughts, he answered no.

 

 

Lyons offers a balanced approach. He advocates for alternative solutions to law enforcement while understanding the need for more police in the streets.

 

 

“You know you can’t have two cops being sent to all the projects,” Lyons said. “All the projects got gangs. All the projects got shootouts. So, you can’t say not more police. I just think the traditional way of funding and how they’re doing it needs to be looked at. You know the reason why crime is continuing to grow. It’s simple. We could keep doing the same old things, talking the same talk and not bringing the right people to the table.

 

 

Lyons says it would help to pay gang members to come to the table to discuss ways to reduce violent crime and that secret incentives will help people feel safe in sharing what they see every day.

 

 

“If you got four or five kids on the block, and you know they got guns and you know people are not saying anything, we need to try to encourage people in some type of way, some type of new program to give some revenue to call the police and say hey these young people are playing games, that they got guns. It takes stuff like that to get the community more involved.”

 

 

It’s been more than 20 years since Lyons started Campaign4Change. He says the young people who were on the streets gang banging before he changed his life are now the parents of the kids he’s dealing with today. In 2009, Lyons released a DVD to help parents deal with the reality of life in the streets.

 

 

“It's almost like if you put a kid in a rat cage, which in our case they put these kids in the projects. You got five rats in a cage, and when you put one piece of cheese in that cage, and let's say eight days later they'll kill each other to get their piece of cheese,” Lyons said.  “It’s what is happening to our kids. They can get some money and they’re fighting for territory, and it's almost like that's the piece of cheese.”

 

 

Lyons says he’s troubled by the impact a lack of mental health options plays in maintaining the cycle of violence among Black youth. In his work with Campaign4Change, he often has conversations with people who commit violent crimes.

 

 

“I can deal with the kid that just killed somebody on Monday. I have a conversation with that person, and I can see the child. You get what I'm saying? Like absolutely, it's no way this kid killed somebody, but he did,” Lyons said. “I'm saying these actual facts. I know this person is a killer and this is a kid.”

 

 

Lyons says conversations involving school funding fail to address the real problems facing youth most impacted by poverty and violence.

 

 

“Why are we putting all this money in education when these kids ain’t even going to school,” Lyons said. “When you do that, you really support your kids, and you know the other kids that we are trying to get back in school get’s nothing. We need to balance it out because you can’t educate a guy that ain’t going to school. You can’t educate a kid that when they do go to school he’s disrupted and is cussing out the teachers. How can you educate a kid that’s just not willing to learn?”

 

 

Lyons believes more attention should focus on youth who aren’t being educated. He says youth need to be taught principles and morals to help make them become productive citizens.

 

 

“They don't know what respect and morals and honoring the elderly means,” Lyons said. “We got to bring those values back. We got to remind them they are worthy. Like I said, the system makes them feel they’re not worthy.”  

 

 

Lyons says conversations involving school funding fail to consider the needs of youth who fall through the gaps of traditional public education.

 

 

“Why don’t we take care of kids that dropped out of school, don't give a damn about school and got other issues,” Lyons said. “You can't even educate a kid that's hungry. You can’t educate a kid who is being abused.”

 

 

Lyons says he often reminds people these kids weren’t born evil. There are a variety of circumstances that make it difficult to break the cycle. Lyons also believes there is a system set up to hinder the progress of Black youth.

 

 

“You could look just from the basic principles of a child growing up with everything wrapped around white supremacists’ ideas,” Lyons said. “It's just in every fabric of what we do and how we educate these kids.”

 

 

Lyons reminds us not to forget the wisdom of the people who have lived among and worked with the people on the other side of the street. Many of our public policies are crafted from a place of privilege. It is easy to assume our politicians know what’s best. A vote is a statement of trust that time is spent pondering every conceivable perspective.

 

 

It took 17 shots at his own people and five years in prison for Lyons to become a hope dealer. Durham needs some hope.

 

 

Is anyone listening?

 

 

 

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Durham police department has a public relation problem: Police brutality

Jose Lopez, Durham’s chief of police, needs to take a class on public relations.  It would help if a few members of his team would join him before people resort to calling the police “pigs”.

One of the principles of public relations is perception can be more troubling than reality.  Durham’s Police Department has a major problem due to claims of police brutality.  The troubling accusation is trumped by the silence of Lopez.

The first incident involves the case of Stephanie Nickerson, a Chapel Hill resident who claims she was beaten by Cpl. Brian Schnee when police responded to a noise complaint on Oct. 28.

Pictures of Nickerson’s battered face rapidly spread on the internet along with a petition asking Lopez to fire Schnee.  Protesters have showed up at police headquarters on Tuesday’s to protest a lack of attention to the incident.

Lopez claims an investigation is underway, and the group is interfering with progress.  Meanwhile, Nickerson faces charges of resisting an officer and assaulting a government official. She’s set to appear in court on Jan. 24.

The confrontation began after police arrived at Nickerson’s friend’s house after a call about a disturbance.  When police asked to search the house, Nickerson told her friend she didn’t have to let the police in because they didn’t have a warrant.  That’s when police are alleged to have become aggressive.

The police officer was caught on a cell phone video. Although dark and blurry, a voice can be heard demanding, “Don’t hit her man, don’t hit her. Come on bro, that’s a female.”

The second incident caught the attention of Boots Riley, the leader of The Coup, a West Coast hip-hop group.  Riley is the cousin of Carlos Antonio Riley, Jr., who is accused of shooting of a Durham police officer.

“Need help from any folks doing social-justice work in the Durham area to help us expose this case of a victim of police brutality defending,” Boots Riley posted on his Facebook page on Monday.

The LA Times recently listed The Coup’s “Sorry to Bother You” in their Top Ten Albums of 2012. Boots Riley has Durham’s roots.  He is the son of Walter P. Riley, a Durham native who joined the NAACP statewide campaigns for jobs, voting rights and desegregation, including lunch counters before moving to California in 1965.

Walter became a lawyer and established a practice in downtown Oakland, handling criminal defense, employment discrimination and police misconduct cases. On April 27, 2013, The National Lawyer Guild of the San Francisco Bay will honor Walter for fighting for justice for more than 50 years. Lopez and the police department are entangled in a fight with a family trained in confronting police corruption.  It would be wise for them to speak.

The police claim Officer Kelly A. Stewart was shot Dec. 18 while wrestling with Riley Jr. in the Forest Pointe Apartments off Broad Street.  Stewart suffered a leg wound.

Riley Jr. has been charged with assault on a law-enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a felon and robbery with a dangerous weapon. Riley Jr. is serving 24 months’ probation for a 2011 conviction of possession and selling cocaine.

Boots Riley posted on Facebook that Stewart began firing as he pulled his gun. He stated that Stewart “shouted expletives, physically attacked Carlos, verbally threatened to kill him and attempted to draw his weapon to shoot at my cousin.”

Boots Riley has been reared in a culture where police brutality is common course.  Oakland is the home of the Black Panther Party.  Oakland knows police brutality and corruption like Durham knows warehouse blues.  They are tied together.

Boots Riley’s comments may be over the top.  The truth involving Stephanie Nickerson will unfold over the coming weeks.  In the meantime, the police department is building a reputation that needs to be corrected through a solid public relations campaign.

Expect a hip-hop song performed by The Coup. Imagine the negative press after the release of a hip-hop song about Durham combined with national attention after pictures of Nickerson’s battered face explodes on the internet. 

The truth doesn’t matter when the people think something stinks.

The only way to stop it is to listen and speak.  You have to do the hard work before it’s too late.

The clock is ticking.