Delaware troopers discuss racial bias in law enforcement

The Eastern Sussex Democrats hosted a panel June 26 on racial bias in law enforcement. 

The forum was set up and moderated by Sgt. Bernard Miller, a retired Delaware State trooper. Panelists included retired Delaware State Police officers Blaine Daisy, Cpl. Warren McGee, Lt. Charles Groce II, Lt. Andrea Boone and Felton Chief of Police Levi Brown. 

The panelists discussed Gov. John Carney’s executive order to ban the use of chokeholds and amendments that could possibly be added to the bill. Brown pointed out that the bill does not cover training and seems more like an appeasement bill to “quell the uprisings taking place.” 

Miller agreed that the chokehold ban is, “A Band-Aid that they’re trying to put on a gushing wound.”

The officers stated general approval for open-carry laws. They said they feel more comfortable seeing an open gun than a concealed weapon. 

However, one problem they had with the open-carry law is that people are able to open carry in schools. Miller urged Carney and other lawmakers to address this.

“You can’t open-carry in legislative halls, but our most precious commodity is our children and you can open carry in a school? That’s a flaw in the law,” Miller said. 

The officers also discussed racial bias in law enforcement. They all agreed that training is a necessity in assuring that everything goes smoothly and no incidents occur. 

“With policing, your training should never stop. You should never get to a point where you think you know everything about all people and all cultures. The more you can learn about all cultures, the better police officer you are,” Miller said. 

Each member of the forum expressed pride in their career and said the Delaware State Police are an honorable department. However, they agreed that there are some changes on a legislative level that need to be made.

The forum is currently on Facebook and can be viewed by searching for the Eastern Sussex Democrats Facebook group.