Decatur police chief implements leadership classes for officers
When Mack was sworn in on June 2, he vowed to restructure the police department, and he said that starts with additional training. Mack brought in national communications specialist Darryl Rivers for the 4-day sessions.
Hands Across Decatur extends hours due to heat
Rivers had spent his entire adult life as part of the government, including 17 years as a police officer, sergeant and lieutenant.
For nearly two years, the Decatur Police Department has been under heavy scrutiny since the police shooting death of Stephen Perkins in September 2023.
The department drew more criticism in April with the death of John Scott Jr., who was arrested by police while experiencing an apparent mental health crisis.
'Leadership is not defined with what's on your collar. You could be a born leader, or you can be a leader,' Mack explained. 'Mr. Rivers is going to make a lot of leaders today with his message.'
Rivers drilled the police officers on the meaning of earning respect with your ears and then losing that respect with your mouth.
'From time to time, the biggest part of communication is actually listening, and we as human beings don't do that all that well, so we elect to speak before we listen,' Rivers explained. A city-commissioned independent review released in January found Decatur police officers needed more training both on the law and how they interact with the public. Mack said he wants all of his police officers in the department to be trained as leaders in changing the perception of the department.
'This class today is for the sergeants and below or the officers that are aspiring to be sergeants,' said Mack. 'Just to give them a feel of what it takes to be a competent and a professional leader.'
Mack added that he is focused on several issues detailed in the review.
Rivers told News 19 that his goal for the officers is to believe that they are leaders both in and outside of the department in order to change its public perception.
'Sometimes people feel that the law enforcement community really isn't in tune with the plight of society, so I feel as though one of the main things that law enforcement could do is literally sit back and listen sometimes in order to understand how to best solve problems, issues and situations,' Rivers said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Solve the daily Crossword
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
18 hours ago
- New York Times
‘I Want to Clear My Name': Deported Migrant Takes First Step to Sue the U.S.
A Venezuelan migrant took the first step on Thursday toward suing the United States for what he says was his wrongful detention and removal to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, 27, spent four months in the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where he said he was beaten and abused. He filed an administrative claim on Thursday with the Homeland Security Department, accusing U.S. immigration agencies of removing him without due process. It is the first such claim to be filed by one of the 252 Venezuelan men who were expelled and sent to El Salvador in March, his lawyers said, and is a necessary step before taking legal action against the U.S. government in federal court. Mr. Rengel, who is seeking $1.3 million in damages, was released last week as part of a large-scale prisoner swap between Venezuela and the United States. He is now living in Venezuela. 'I want to clear my name,' he said in a phone interview late Wednesday from his home in the state of Miranda. 'I am not a bad person.' The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately comment on Mr. Rengel's claim. The detention of Venezuelan men in El Salvador in March was one of the first high-profile efforts to fulfill President Trump's campaign promise of mass deportations. His administration has accused the migrants of belonging to a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, and his administration has used the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely invoked wartime law, to justify capturing and removing many of the men to El Salvador. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Bloomberg
18 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Trump Ally Sues Powell Demanding FOMC Meeting Public Access
An investment firm headed by a supporter of President Donald Trump sued Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and other Fed officials demanding public access to monetary policy meetings. James Fishback's Azoria Capital said in a suit filed Thursday that the decades-old practice of holding Federal Open Market Committee meetings behind closed doors violates government transparency laws. The fund asked a federal court in Washington to require the Fed to open its July 29-30 meeting.
CBS News
18 hours ago
- CBS News
U.S. Dept. of Education investigating 2 Michigan universities for alleged exclusionary scholarships under DACA
The U.S. Department of Education says it's investigating five American universities, including two in Michigan, for what it called possible violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, saying their DACA-affiliated scholarship programs may be discriminatory. The investigation, announced Wednesday, is targeting the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University, along with the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska Omaha and the University of Miami. The federal education department says its intention is to "determine whether these universities are granting scholarships only for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals." DACA, often referred to as the Dream Act, has allowed hundreds of thousands of immigrants who crossed into the U.S. illegally or overstayed their visas as minors to live and work in the U.S., without fear of deportation. The education department drew attention to the University of Wisconsin's Dreamer scholarship and Western Michigan University's WMU Undocumented/DACA Scholarship. Neither the Trump Administration's America first policies nor the Civil Right (sic) Act of 1964's prohibition on national origin discrimination permit universities to deny our fellow citizens the opportunity to compete for scholarships because they were born in the United States," Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said. In announcing their investigation, the education department said they will also "examine additional scholarships that appear to exclude students based on other aspects of Title VI, including race and color." Kay Jarvis, director of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin, responded to Wednesday's announcement, saying, "The university has received a letter of notification relating to this matter. We have no further comment." CBS Detroit has reached out to Western Michigan University for comment and is awaiting a response. Last week, the same department announced it was launching a separate investigation into the University of Wisconsin following the arrests of Chinese nationals in a number of pathogen smuggling Montoya-Galvez and DeJanay Booth-Singleton contributed to this report.
