Camden Officer Gets Rare Chance To Talk Policing With President Obama
By Mike DeNardo
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) - A Camden police officer is back from the Oval Office, where she had a rare opportunity to talk about policing with the President of the United States.
Camden County metro division officer Virginia Matias was invited to the White House to talk with President Obama and Vice President Biden about community policing.
Matias was one of five officers from around the country who spent an hour Tuesday in the Oval Office. She says the president was eager to hear about how the newly-formed county force was working:
"We're getting back to that trust and that bond and he liked to hear that. I told him about the first time that we had the bikes that I rode around in the summer. And that's a way for the community to see us in a different light."
She says she told the president that in Camden, crime is down and trust is up:
"Last summer, working and I see the kids playing outside, riding bikes in the neighborhood, on their porches, having conversation. And that's how I measure the change. I'm like, 'wow, we really are making a difference,' because they feel safe that we're out here walking and they get to see us."
She says her bond with the community is helping to rebuild the trust in police eroded after national incidents including Ferguson.
Matias was hired with a federal COPS grant and says her visit helped the President put a face to the fund.
