BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — A virtual discussion on law enforcement in northwest Ohio is set to take place Wednesday night through a Bowling Green State University organization.
Anthony King is one of many panelists set to participate in the "Not In Our Town" community conversation. He organized the peaceful protest a few weeks back in Bowling Green and hopes Wednesday night's panel will help the community understand why the black community is calling for action.
"I'm super super excited to be a part of this conversation to help lead the charge and close this gap surrounding racial disparities in the Bowling Green area," King said.
The panel consists of northwest Ohio Black Lives Matter activists, top members of local law enforcement, BGSU diversity representatives and other criminal justice experts. Members of the group "Not In Our Town" have been working to create these conversations for years, but say it's now time to step things up and bring everyone to the table.
"Our goal in this event is to increase understanding and foster understanding and awareness so that we can take action," Emily Dunipace said.
Bowling Green police chief Tony Hetrick also has a spot on the panel. He said that he wants the community to know BGPD practices community policing.
According to Hetrick, in the 25,000 contacts his officers had with citizens in 2019, only 12 required use of force among. Hetrick said he is hopeful Wednesday's conversation is the first of many.
"This is an opportunity to ask questions some things that people really want to know about how we operate," he said.
Wednesday's panel is free and starts at 7 p.m.
You can join the meeting by clicking here and entering the password NIOT.