DAYTON — The Dayton Branch of the NAACP is backing the city manager’s decision on the next police chief.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, this comes after community activists and the mayor spoke out over the process used to select Eric Henderson for the position.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Mother, boyfriend facing charges after social media video captures alleged child abuse
- Children of man accused of killing wife could be called to testify in murder trial
- Deputies looking for suspect accused of breaking into storage units, stealing catalytic converters
Some people wanted public discussions about the hiring process for a new police chief.
>>RELATED: Protestors call for firing of Dayton city manager after naming new police chief
Others said the 11-person panel was enough because Henderson has been training for this position for years.
“Officer preparing to support the community from a training, mental, and health standpoint. So that’s his vision for the police department. Those are his core goals coming in to lead this department. And I believe that those are some good, solid goals that he has laid out as a foundation that’s going to take our Police Department to the next level,” Dayton Branch NAACP President Derrick Foward said.
Henderson is the first internal hire for police chief in more than 24 years.
On Thursday, the Dayton Branch NAACP and the New Black Panther Leadership voiced their support for Henderson and how he was vetted during the hiring process.
“I think we lasted over two hours drilling him. It wasn’t a cake walk,” Dayton Branch NAACP Chairman David I. Fox said.
But some activists previously told News Center 7 that it wasn’t enough.
“They could have held town halls across the city. They could have several in East Dayton. They could have in West Dayton,” Racial Justice NOW co-founder Zakiya Sankara-Jabar said.
The group voiced their concerns about how the city manager handled the hiring process.
It’s one of the reasons why they are calling for City Manager Shelley Dickstein to step down.
“The city needs a new direction. The city manager, Shelley Dickstein, has been there long enough, okay? The people who live in the neighborhoods, in the community, are tired of seeing all the money, all their tax dollars, being invested in downtown,” Sankara-Jabar said.
“Shelley will make her own decisions on what she’s going to do on down the road. And I think that what people are calling for and trying to protest against is already kind of in the mix already,” Foward said.
During the press conference, the NAACP said it wants unity among all activist organizations.
However, Racial Justice NOW believes that it isn’t possible until there are changes within the city’s administration.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
