Posted: August 25, 2020
The Punta Gorda Police Department has partnered with the NAACP to bring the training course The Cost of Bias and its Impact on Policing/Community to our officers. This training will be conducted by Dr. David Thomas, a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and renowned author of The State of American Policing: Ethics, Implicit Bias, and Credibility.
As part of this process Dr. Thomas will be conducting a community presentation and discussion prior to the officer training in order to answer questions community members have regarding why officers use force, officer and agency accountability, biased policing, internal affairs complaints, and police/minority relations and how these issues relate to the Punta Gorda Police Department and our community.
The community presentation and discussion will be held at the Charlotte Harbor Event & Conference Center on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Due to social distancing requirements seating will be limited, the event will be open only to Charlotte County residents, and advanced tickets are required for admission. Tickets will be available at no cost starting on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. by visiting www.eventbrite.com and will be provided on a first come, first serve basis.
This training is being provided through the George and Mary Chapoutot Trust / Punta Gorda Police Department Endowment Fund in cooperation with the Charlotte Community Foundation and Charlotte State Bank.