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Veteran Metro Police lieutenant walks the walk in building trust with minorities in Las Vegas

Las Vegas Sun - 3/1/2023

Mar. 1—Lt. Charles Jenkins of Metro Police was on a routine traffic stop in Las Vegas when the driver of the vehicle made a comment that didn't sit well with the longtime Las Vegas law enforcement officer.

Jenkins is Black. Same for the driver of the vehicle.

"You are a sellout," Jenkins recalled the person saying. "Can you believe that? It's 2023, and that logic still exists."

His answer came Tuesday morning during a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Foundation panel of Black leaders. Jenkins, a 32-year veteran of the force, continued his response during the panel by detailing an encounter during a service call to a residence whose homeowner wasn't Black.

Without saying the person's race, Jenkins explained how he was turned away at the door — even though the person called police for help. His partner was the same race as the person in need, stepping in to ease tensions.

"You wanted police service today. This is the officer who will be giving you service," Jenkins recalled his partner saying.

The panel event, which was co-hosted by the Urban Chamber of Commerce, looked at the necessity of community involvement in creating safer neighborhoods. It's part of the Black Giving Circle, which was launched two years ago after George Floyd, a Black man in Minnesota, was killed by a white police officer, to build trust in minority communities and open lines of communication with police.

The panel also included Yolanda Brown, the principal of West Preparatory Academy, who frequently welcomes officers from the nearby Bolden Area Command to the west Las Vegas school serving a mostly minority population. Her logic: Instead of having a child's first encounter with police happen during a time of need, it's important to start the relationship in the safe space of a school.

"They need to understand the officers are here to serve and protect," she said.

Brown's appreciation for the officers in Bolden started two years ago when she became principal of the school and had a conflict on campus, she said during the panel.

Not only did the officers respond, but they also followed up the next day and have been a permanent presence in their school community. She even has the cell numbers of the officers who helped that day and hosts quarterly meetings for principals of nearby schools with police.

"I'm a little biased about Bolden command. (They) stand behind their word," she said.

Jenkins, in an interview with the Sun ahead of the event, said his first encounter with police helped launch him on his path into the profession. Jenkins was a teenager on the way home from school in Brooklyn, N.Y., when he was unlawfully detained, he said.

Instead of letting a bad taste stick in his mouth, he was determined to enter law enforcement, hoping to bring fairness and equity to community policing. When visiting Las Vegas shortly after leaving the U.S. Navy, he observed officers policing on the Strip and was blown away with their professionalism. He wanted to join the department.

More than three decades later, he's risen to the rank of lieutenant and is in charge of a command area south of the Strip.

"Metro is one of the best in the country — hands down, guys," he told the audience. "We are one of the most progressive agencies in the country."

Jenkins also serves as the president of the Black Police Officers Association in Nevada, which is part of the national group that advocates for minority officers in the profession — everything from being considered for job advancement to recruitment.

Of Metro's 5,570 employees (including nonofficers), about 560 are Black, according to the department's annual report. By comparison, 56% of the total workforce is white.

The number of applicants to Metro has dropped 70%, which Sheriff Kevin McMahill attributed in part to national outrage at police officers after Floyd's murder in 2020 and the recent death of Tyre Nichols, a Black man in Memphis, Tenn., who died after being beaten by police officers.

"One of the major problems with law enforcement in general is recruiting, and that's a national issue," Jenkins said.

Jenkins hasn't thought about retirement because he loves showing up for work every day, a process that includes mentoring a younger generation of Metro personnel on "how we should police and treat people."

Jenkins has many stories of Metro's good works from his decades on the force, but one from his initial year in Las Vegas is tough to beat. During a "Shop with a Cop" holiday event with an underprivileged child, where officers take children shopping for a gift, he created a lifelong bond with a youngster. The child was 11 at the time, and they still talk — especially around the holidays.

"Those relationships with the community are something I don't take for granted," Jenkins said.

A similar chance for relationship between officers and local children is occurring at the Bolden Area Command, which sponsors youth baseball and soccer teams as part of an initiative by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Foundation Those teams are coached by officers.

In the first year, there was a 70% drop in violent crimes in the west Las Vegas neighborhood where games and practices are held, officials with the foundation said.

"That's why we're here — to make a difference in the community," Jenkins said.

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(c)2023 the Las Vegas Sun (Las Vegas, Nev.)

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