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Community discussion on police relations planned for Thursday night

Posted at 5:21 PM, Oct 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-26 19:21:19-04

Boise leaders are planning a community meeting to discuss police relations on Thursday night, October 27 at 6:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

The panel includes Boise Police Chief Bill Bones and local representatives with the NAACP and Black Lives Matter. The discussion will be facilitated by Phillip Thompson at the Idaho Black History Museum.

The discussion will focus on what police practices work and how local leaders can improve communication between the community and the police force.

"Boise is in a unique situation," Idaho Black History Museum executive director Phillip Thompson said. "We can prevent what's happened in the larger cities like Baltimore where you have the civil unrest with the disconnect between police and the people, but [in Boise] we have a police force that's actually rather welcoming and willing to work with the community. So there's not a case of 'us versus them'; it's more of a collaborative effort  and so we can keep situations like what you're seeing in Baltimore from happening here. "

Questions can be submitted in advance and participation is encouraged to foster a greater conversation.