BY JAYLYNN LESLIE GRAY
Enquirer Contributor
NORWOOD -- Officials claim the stereotype of intolerance in their city is outdated but worth fighting.
That effort brought together police officers and nationally known civil rights leader the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth this week for a session on handling hate crimes and ethnic intimidation.
"There is a mythology out there that African-Americans are not welcome in Norwood," said Karla Irvine, director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), which did the training. "And, it may take only one isolated incident to continue the myth."
So Police Chief Timothy Brown brought in the Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth of North Avondale and Jonathan Williams, as
Shuttlesworth sistant director of HOME.
Mayor Joe Hochbein said the program is not a response to a particular problem, but a way to train officers.
This was the second session on handling such issues in the city. Since 1966, Norwood has reported two ethnic intimidation crimes -- both in 1997 and both involving juveniles.
The Rev. Mr. Shuttlesworth said he came to talk "with the arm of the community" -- the police.
He spoke candidly about the bombings and beatings he endured as a young black man in the South.
"Police were responsible for keeping blacks in their places, so you can imagine what fear does to a community," he said. "But I always knew that society was better than that and I applaud this type of program. I wish this type of training had been around 40 years ago when there was no professionalism among some police, when there was segregation."
Mr. Williams provided updates on ethnic intimidation statutes and encouraged dialogue. A HOME video showed incidents of hate crimes and ethnic intimidation from around the country.
"There's no area that people should not feel free to live in," Mr. Williams said. "One of the main reasons hate crimes occur is because people choose to live, go to school, worship or do business in a particular area that has not traditionally been known to embrace diversity or integration.
"The challenge for us at HOME has been to bring together the community and the police to learn the issues at the same time. No matter what police department you work for or no matter what your race, ethnicity, national origin or gender -- we want you to be able to identify, investigate, report and prepare for prosecution of a hate crime.
"We're working to clear up the notion that these statutes are just for blacks or that HOME is an agency only for people of color," he said. "Nothing could be further from the truth. We're equal opportunity, anti-bigot, just like the law is."
Said speaker Eric Smoot, an officer with Cincinnati police for 18 years: "I asked myself what makes ethnic intimidation different than any other crime. A hate crime victimizes not only the immediate target, but everybody in that community.
"The challenge as police officers is to speak out loudly that this is something that we don't stand for."
Said Chief Brown: "I wanted our officers to be brought up to date on the ethnic intimidation statutes and have the same educational ammunition to do their job as officers in other communities." Walt Schaefer contributed to this report.
