LaGrange in Troup County, Ga. (Wikipedia map) |
The move has drawn widespread criticism from other law enforcement officials across the country, and was the focus of Georgia police leaders' annual conference this year. "While such a policy might be supported by the public, explained John B. Edwards of the Peace Officers Association of Georgia, most agencies would find it impossible to implement," Thompson reports.
But Dekmar told Thompson that the program is about the public's trust: "Every time we avoid taking a life, we maintain trust." Dekmar believes the public generally supports the initiative because he's invested more time in building that trust in the town of about 30,000. Other law enforcement authorities can do the same in their own communities to find solutions that fit, he told Thompson: "Policing in a democracy means that a community gets to define what ‘good’ policing looks like, and that definition may vary a bit from place to place."
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