Charleston police chief speaks at Cal U蘑菇视频 security conference
Amy Fauth | 蘑菇视频
Dr. Michael L. Hummel, a professor of criminal justice and security studies at California University of Pennsylvania, spoke about the challenges of protecting institutions of worship at the school蘑菇视频 11th annual Conference on Homeland and International Security on Friday.
Amy Fauth | 蘑菇视频
Gregory Mullen, retired police chief from Charleston, South Carolina., was the keynote speaker at California University of Pennsylvania鈥榮 11th annual Conference on Homeland and International Security.
Amy Fauth | 蘑菇视频
Gregory Mullen, former chief of the Charleston, South Carolina, police department during the church shooting at Mother Emmanuel AME Church, discussed the shooting and its aftermath.
California University of Pennsylvania蘑菇视频 11th annual Conference on Homeland and International Security focused on protecting places of worship and featured a retired police chief who served in Charleston, South Carolina, during the Mother Emmanuel AME Church shooting and its aftermath.
Gregory C. Mullen got his start as an assistant chief in Virginia Beach, but when he took the job in Charleston before the 2015 shooting that took the lives of nine people, he found a community with so much poverty and violence that people were afraid to go outside.
鈥淚t changed me. It changed me as a person,鈥� said Mullen.
So, he said, he decided to change the community. Mullen said he strove to create relationships and partnerships in the community, building a culture with vision and purpose, putting himself out there to the people he served.
鈥淭he more open and vulnerable I was to people 鈥� the more I became a complete person,鈥� said Mullen. 鈥淲hat I learned in Charleston is you don鈥檛 have to be hard.鈥�
It was, he said, the work to connect with the city蘑菇视频 residents that helped him and his department during the shooting and its aftermath. The collaboration and cooperation meant residents worked with police instead of shying away during one of the city蘑菇视频 most difficult times, Mullen said.
Dylan Roof was the shooter. Mullen doesn鈥檛 say his name. He hasn鈥檛 in any speaking engagement he蘑菇视频 done, he said, but he spoke of Roof蘑菇视频 intention to spark a race war when he killed six women and three men, all black, at the church.
Mother Emmanuel is one of the most historical churches in the South and a symbol of black freedom. In 1822, it was burned to the ground by a slave revolt and rebuilt. In 1886, it was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt. In the 1960s, it was a focal point of the civil rights movement.
All of these things, it turned out, just made the church more of a target for Roof.
鈥淗e knew if he attacked Mother Emmanuel it would send a ripple across the black community,鈥� Mullen said.
Self-radicalized for two years, Roof scouted the church for six months and made seven trips to Charleston, before eventually carrying out his attack on June 17, 2015, Mullen said.
Roof came to the church and asked to join in a Bible study class, where for 40 minutes he discussed verses with those there. After the class ended, he stood up for the prayer and began shooting. There were three survivors, including one Roof said he purposefully left alive to tell the tale. The other two were a woman who feigned death and laid atop her granddaughter to protect the 5-year-old.
Roof fled and was apprehended 14 days later in North Carolina, but that really was just the beginning, according to Mullen. The community needed to heal.
Officials set up a family assistance center. Police worked with the community during funerals, rallies and protests and during Roof蘑菇视频 trial.
Mullen said the partnerships forged years before kicked in.
鈥淗ealth and wellness impacts the entire community, not just the victims and their families. We need resources for the community because they are going to be suffering too,鈥� he said.
A community rally of about 12,000 people of all races and walks of life helped move the community forward.
Mullen recalled one pastor who said Roof may have wanted to start a race war, but 鈥渨hat he started was a revival.鈥�
Dr. Michael L. Hummel, a retired military police officer and an active municipal police officer in Charleroi and Monessen, also spoke at the conference. Hummel said protecting institutions of worship is a challenge.
Churches, he said, are considered suitable targets for shooters because they host open gatherings of unprotected people who feel they are secure.
鈥淲e have to train people to be vigilant and convince them that (potential threats are) real,鈥� said Hummel, who is also a criminal justice and security studies professor at Cal U. 鈥淵ou are always going to have bad people 鈥� very bad people.鈥�
Hummel said he believes churches should educate their clergy and church leadership, and appoint a security leader or committee. Having an emergency plan, even an informal one, will help leaders and congregants be prepared, he said.
Don鈥檛 be afraid to consult with law enforcement can help with those plans, Hummel said.
鈥淭raining is key. Training is everything. Everything is training,鈥� said Hummel.
Hummel warned leaders that if using cameras and technology, make sure they are being monitored by someone who is trained. Otherwise, the footage is only good for evidence after the fact.
In closing, Hummel made a suggestion for church leaders.
鈥淧ray to God,鈥� he said, 鈥渢hen post a guard.鈥�