Peterborough Police Chief Scott Guinard answered questions from the public related to race. officer training and use of force at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting in a conversation spurred by a petition delivered to him over the weekend by a citizen’s group, and national protests against police racism and brutality. The Select Board accepted a resolution condemning racial violence and promising to address inequities, and Guinard and town officials discussed residents’ suggestions for forming a police commission and having a community dialogue with members of the Police Department.
“We got the conversation started, and that’s critical,” resident Zach Green said after the meeting, but saw opportunity for more education and work. “I could tell that some of the members of the Select Board were uncomfortable even saying the word ‘race,’” he said, and that some “became defensive and indignant” when a resident’s statement was read about the institution of policing being founded on racism.
All police officers in New Hampshire are subject to the same training regardless of whether they serve on the local, county, or state level, Guinard said. “In New Hampshire there isn’t a tremendous amount of training when it comes to things such as race and racial issues,” he said, but the 16-week academy class does emphasize de-escalation, cultural diversity, constitutional law and communicating to resolve conflict, crisis and trauma. Recent conversations among the state’s police association and Attorney General’s office indicate the state might be moving towards changes in training, he said.
Peterborough police keep up with recent court decisions involving use of force and are not permitted to use chokeholds and strangleholds, Guinard said, although there is no statewide ban on police using them. “That is a decision I’d made a long time ago,” he said. “Of 399 arrests made in 2019, only three people physically resisted arrest, which tells me the officer did a good job of communicating,” Guinard said. The last time the department used a taser on a call was 2015, he said, 2006 for pepper spray, and it’s been 18 years since they last used an expandable baton.
The town and its police department has not received any formal complaints related to racial issues in recent memory, Deputy Town Administrator Nicole MacStay and Guinard said in response to a question by resident Bill Kennedy. Select Board members Karen Hatcher and Tyler Ward said they’d heard informal complaints. The Ledger-Transcript reported when a performer working with Peterborough Players filed a racial profiling complaint after employees at the Peterborough CVS called the police on him in 2017.
“People are interested in taking the temperature of their police forces,” Hatcher said. “We’ve got to be willing to really look.”
The Peterborough Police Department is not unionized, although many departments Peterborough’s size and larger are, including neighboring Jaffrey, Guinard said. Peterborough police do not wear body cameras, he said, and records of interviews can include subjective elements, like body language.
Many of the questions Guinard responded to were submitted by resident Sue Martin. After the meeting, she said his answers mostly led to more questions, but that she was hopeful the initial discussion would lead to a more ongoing, deliberate conversation in the town.
Green said he wants to hold the town’s administration and police force to task. To him, it’s unacceptable for an essentially all-white police department to ask local people of color to directly file race-related complaints, and sees the need for an independent oversight committee beyond the Select Board, which currently oversees the police.
A newly formed citizens’ group in town is set to meet next week to discuss making Right-To-Know requests to the police department and town, Green said, as well as to discuss the pursuit of a police oversight commission or a dialogue with the police department and the greater community. Living in a mostly white community doesn’t absolve Peterborough residents from having these conversations, he said, and encouraged residents to reach out to their friends, neighbors, and families on the issue and to get involved with local actions.
The Select Board unanimously accepted the following resolution: “The members of the Peterborough Select Board support all peaceful efforts to bring about change that makes our society more equitable for all. We condemn all violence against people based on skin color and stand with those who work for racial justice in our community and in our country. We are committed to hearing the concerns of our community and supporting constructive conversations that may inform and shape policies providing for the equitable treatment for all who live work and visit the town of Peterborough. We promise to face issues as they arise and work toward continuous improvement in response to community needs in an ever changing world.”