Black People In Montco Make Voices Heard Over Dislike Of How Police Treat Them
LOWER MERION, Pa. (CBS) - A series of race-related incidents between police and black people who live in Lower Merion, Montgomery County prompted officials to hold a public meeting at their municipal building Wednesday night in an effort to resolve their issues.
The message is clear: the black residents of Lower Merion do not like how they are being treated police in their community.
"Part of the problem is some of us who live here feel marginalized, we feel like second class citizens," this resident says. "It does feel like those who are sworn to serve and protect us are protecting the rest of the community from us."
The issue that took center stage at the meeting is the detainment of 58-year-old Nate Williams -- a black man who police say fit the description of a bank robbery suspect.
Residents say this detainment was profiling and it's something that happens there all too often:
"This process that includes this excessive force all of the time cannot be the status quo. It cannot be something that continues to happen."
The Lower Merion Board of Commissioners talked about different ways they can better how the police treat blacks they encounter. The overwhelming suggestion is to make a shift to community policing.
