Community relations focus of study circles in Fayetteville, N.C.

NAACP seeks answers in 2 deaths

by Melissa Willett

February 8, 2006 | Fayetteville Observer | Fayetteville, North Carolina

The NAACP said Tuesday that it will join law enforcement and county agencies for a public forum to talk about community relations issues after the deaths of two black men late last year.

The forum, to be held at Fayetteville State University on March 14, will be done in a question-and-answer format.

The issues raised in the forum will be discussed in a series of study circles, made up of people in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

The idea for the forum and study circles came after several recent incidents involving law enforcement, including the deaths of Jamale Davis and Calvin Wilson, according to Raymond Shipman. He is president of the Fayetteville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

On Nov. 3, Jamale Davis died of cocaine ingestion while in police custody. Calvin Wilson was shot to death by a Fayetteville police officer the same day. The officers involved in the incidents are white.

The State Bureau of Investigation has investigated the deaths. Neither case is closed.

The forum will allow people to ask those questions in a non-threatening environment, Shipman said. They also can ask about employment and health and education issues, Shipman said.

The local law enforcement agencies will be represented, as well as the city of Fayetteville, FSU, Fayetteville-Cumberland County Human Relations Commission, the NAACP and the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners.

Fayetteville police Chief Tom McCarthy said he plans to talk to people about what it means when an officer is undergoing an internal investigation and about how personnel laws work.

“As a team we can get far more done than as an individual,” McCarthy said.

After the forum, the questions will be presented to the study circles so they can be discussed and, if necessary, changes can be made.

The forum will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Shaw Auditorium at FSU. All are welcome, and anyone who doesn’t get a chance to ask a question can go to the NAACP office on Murchison Road.

For more information, call the Human Relations Office at 433-1696 or the NAACP at 484-6166.

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=225973

Learn more: Police-Community Relations  | Racial Equity