The Milwaukee Post

24 • Milwaukee County Post • October 21, 2016 By ANDREA FENCL Conley News Service WAUKESHA — Waukesha Reads held a program Tuesday titled "The Paradox of Being a Black Police Officer in Today's Society," in which Officer Corey Saffold of the Madison Police Department discussed his position both as a police officer and as a black man in today's society. "We have to bring a balance. That's the paradox of this whole situation, it's grap- pling with the idea that African-American men, men that look like me, are being mur- dered. Then coming back and grappling with the idea that there are times where the black community is rioting and protest- ing in ways that don't help, and are spew- ing out rhetoric that's not true," Saffold told his audience at the Waukesha Public Library. "So how do I, in opposition, wres- tle with these two ideas?" Saffold discussed his life growing up in Milwaukee and his decision to become a cop, despite his run-ins with the law as a teen. "Those good decisions, those bad deci- sions, whatever they may be make me who I am and they will make me a better candi- date because I can relate to someone else in that situation as a police officer," Saffold said. Every contact Saffold had with police in Milwaukee, he said, was a warranted con- tact in which the police were extremely professional. "I've only ever had positive experiences with police officers, even as a black man," Saffold said. He also addressed police brutality as seen in social media and how it affects the community's interactions with officers. "I tell everybody that what you see in social media is a very small percentage, less than 1 percent, of what is really hap- pening out here," Saffold said. "I would be careful about allowing social media to change you." Saffold mentioned teaching about resist- ance at West High School in Madison where he is the educational resource officer. Video doesn't always tell whole story "You can't capture resistance on video. You can take the smallest lady in this room and two of the biggest guys in this room and I could tell those guys to put her hands behind her back and if she resists they won't be able to do it," Saffold said. "We are strong at our core. They won't be able to do it unless they employ other tactics, but you don't see that on video." Saffold encourages individuals who are upset about a particular case to look up the police reports and witness statements that are open to the public before coming to a conclusion about whether the officer was in the wrong or not. "You don't see and feel and hear every- thing that the officer senses and feels," Saffold said. He feels that traumatic events now on social media cause individuals to combine every case in the same category, even if the officer didn't do anything wrong. "Social media has created this attitude, this environment that says you should resist the police because the police are harassing people," he said. "So now when police are trying to do their job and people are being confrontational, it's as a result of the influence of social media." Saffold stressed the importance of con- sidering each situation on a case-by-case basis. "It's so easy to be consumed by social media videos, and they will only show you a snippet of what they want you to see," Saffold cautioned. Email: afencl@conleynet.com Andrea Fencl/ Conley News Service Corey Saffold, a Madison police officer who grew up in Milwaukee, discusses being a black man in con- temporary law enforcement at the Waukesha Public Library on Tuesday night. A black police officer in today's society Former Milwaukeean discusses paradoxical position WEST ALLIS SALVAGE WE PAY CASH FOR YOUR SCRAP! Cast Aluminum, Copper, Extruded Aluminum, Brass, Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Steel, Lead, Insulated Wire, and Aluminum Siding WE PAY TOP DOLLAR ALLIEDRESOURCERECOVERY.COM NATIONAL SALVAGE 1900 S. 80 TH ST. WEST ALLIS, WI 53219 600 S. 44 TH ST. MILWAUKEE, WI 53214 CA$H IN YOUR CANS! CONTRACTORS WELCOME! EXTRA 5¢ PER LB. ALUMINUM CANS, SCRAP ALUMINUM, BRASS AND COPPER. EXPIRES 12/5/16 2 5 2 5 5 3 0 0 1

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