Collins attends White House policing forum

WASHINGTON - Marion police Chief Bill Collins said his time at the White House was "phenomenal," even before things really began Friday.

Collins was there for a forum on 21st-century policing and building trust among communities that included an address by President Barack Obama and discussions with other law enforcement officials and White House staff.

He spoke to The Marion Star on Friday morning about the event, having already received a White House tour.

"I just kept walking around thinking, 'I can't believe I'm here,'" Collins said Friday morning. "It was quite a sight to see."

Chief Collins invited to White House forum

The forum lasted several hours — it was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and was still ongoing at 5:35 p.m., according to Collins.

The president spoke for about 30 minutes to Collins and about 50 other law enforcement officials, and attendees also received and discussed an update on a report by the President's Task Force on 21st-Century Policing, part of the Community Oriented Policing Services Office in the U.S. Department of Justice.

Collins said other topics raised at the forum included officer safety and wellness, collection of police data, social media interactions, community communication and discussion of approaching implicit bias issues.

Marion showing support for police

Beforehand, he said the primary focus — improving community trust and adapting techniques to the 21st-century — are things the Marion Police and Community Together (MPACT) program have focused on.

"I think that they will take a lot of the ideas that they get today and try to implement some of the best proven ideas that have worked in different communities and try to spread that out nationally," Collins said.

The MPACT program, which began in May after two years of groundwork, was cited by Collins as a primary reason he was invited to the White House. Back in Marion, the police used social media to keep the community updated on Collins' time in Washington, sharing photos of him inside and outside the White House.

Maj. Jon Shaffer also compiled a video about the MPACT program that showed photographs and video clips about what they have been doing. Collins appears in the video himself, handing out freeze pops as part of "Chillin' Pops with the Cops," one of the most popular MPACT events.

The department released the video on Facebook on Friday morning, and within 10 hours it had well over 200 likes and shares.

One feature of the video was synchronized footage of Lt. B.J. Gruber playing basketball with local teens at Patterson Park, using video recorded by Bishop Cory Rogers and Gruber's body camera.

The video also unveils a new MPACT event, "Hot Dogs and Heroes," and lists the department's many community partners. The video was used by Collins as a visual summary of what police have done with the community, according to the department's Facebook page.

shickey@marionstar.com
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