‘Know Your Rights’ meeting opens dialogue between law enforcement, civilians

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Folks from the Wilmington police Department, New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, and the District Attorney’s Office teamed up to talk with people about what their rights are in a number of situations.

“I learned that there’s a gap between how the citizens perceptions of law enforcement to the reality of it,” said Katrina Harrell.

The conversation Thursday night turned toward the unrest between officers and civilians in light of incidents across the country, and more recently here at home in North Carolina.

“Our black men, our women, that it seems as if we’re targets in a sense to police brutality,” Harrell said.

But how do you go about bridging that gap? Through discussion, both sides are trying to find the answers.

“It’s the dialogue between people. If you know an officer, if you got a chance to know for example Lt. Johnson tonight and hear him speak, I think that people are much more comfortable if they see him out on the street, going up to him and sharing maybe something that was uncomfortable for them or something that they feel like was wrong,” said Assistant District Attorney Connie Jordan.

Another important topic covered was speaking out when you see something happen during an interaction with a law enforcement that you believe is not right.