Newtown residents to lead police boards

Two individuals appointed to lead the city’s police advisory boards are optimistic they can help build stronger relationships between the Sarasota Police Department and the communities they serve.

On Monday, the City Commission selected Stanley Daughtry and Latressa Preston to serve as chairs of the Independent Police Advisory Panel and Police Complaint Committee, respectively. Daughtry is an associate pastor at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. Preston is an administrative assistant for the Sarasota County School Board.

Both Daughtry, 59, and Preston, 42, are black and live in Newtown, a majority-black community in north Sarasota. During Monday’s meeting, multiple commissioners said they wanted to emphasize diversity as they selected leaders for the police boards.

“I think it’s an important message that we need to send right now — to say we appreciate and promote members of that community to come and be a part, and be a visible part, of the police advisory panel,” Commissioner Liz Alpert said.

The chairs will work with the city manager to recommend applicants to fill the four vacancies remaining on each board. The City Commission will make the final decision on those appointments.

Although the city established the bodies in 2011, the boards drew increased interest following a recent wave of local protests over policing. Daughtry said the timing was a motivating factor.

“As a citizen that loves Sarasota — and loves people, also — I couldn’t stand around and not do anything,” Daughtry said.

In a previous interview with the Sarasota Observer, Police Chief Bernadette DiPino said she was proud of the work the department has done to build relationships within the community since she took the job in 2012. She said she was encouraged to see increased interest in the policies governing the police department.

“We want to see people engage,” DiPino said. “We want to have conversations and dialogue.”

Daughtry and Preston named relationship-building as a top priority. Daughtry said tension between law enforcement and communities of color is a long-standing phenomenon that demands serious work. But he believes meaningful progress is possible, and he wants that to start with open conversations. He and Preston both thought community meetings could serve as a productive first step.

“Most problems, especially when it comes to race, hatred and division, start with relationships,” Daughtry said. “If I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, it’s going to be a problem. I think the first step in solving the problem is first you have to admit — both sides have to admit — there is a problem.”

Preston, whose work on the Police Complaint Committee will be more narrowly focused, said she wants to increase awareness of the processes the city has in place. Preston said she believed many people who are frustrated with the police don’t necessarily know how to navigate governmental systems.

“I have a passion to help people,” she said. “I also have a passion for helping people gain knowledge and understanding of things.”

During Monday’s City Commission meeting, some board members signaled a preference for appointing individuals with more experience in the city’s advisory board system. Daughtry and Preston both said their civic experience prepared them, but they also said their personal backgrounds could help provide a new perspective.

They hoped that would encourage engagement from a broader cross-section of the community.

“I think it’s good they’ve got someone who’s not a politician because I’m not a part of the clique,” Preston said. “All I know is: What’s right is right, and what’s wrong is wrong.”