Sonoma State University hosted a community event where everyone was informed about the different ways to better correspond in a community and build a deeper understanding of one another. Guest speaker M. Quentin Williams addressed the importance of seeing eye to eye and the reconstruction of relationships between communities and law enforcement. Williams is a former FBI  agent and currently, head of Dedication To Community (D2C), a nonprofit organization with the goal to educate and empower communities with various workshops residing on critical issues in public safety and law enforcement, as well as diversity, belonging, and equity with the overall goal to develop relationships in communities.

Williams told the audience stories from his past, starting with the years of his youth growing up in Yonkers NY. Williams had no desire to join any type of law enforcement in his younger years due to the negative exposure he had growing up in a tough neighborhood. The community was corrupted by illegal drug sales and this resulted in numerous bleak interactions between youths and the police, “When I became a functioning adult I never considered it [becoming a police officer] because cops were taking my friends to prison, so why would I want to be part of that system.” Still, when the time came he worked his way up to positions working with high organizations and agencies such as his role in the FBI. Williams then told the audience about his lowest point in life, being fired from his executive position at the NBA which later built up his inspiration to seek a way to create positivity on a global aspect. 

With high tensions between the general public and law enforcement, Williams wants to offer his advice and create more positive relationships between the two. Throughout his appearance, the one thing that was repeated in nearly every portion presented was how significant it is to understand that we are all human. 

Williams encourages the officers he works with to create scenarios where they act as if they were not in uniform, he informs the audience that doing this puts everyone at ease because it presents that form of humility that makes people feel comfortable. Williams said, “Community members aren’t necessarily pro-cops, bringing these folks together works magic because once hearts are open and the human-ness seeps out, now community members are seeing these cops as humans it changes the dynamic immediately.” 

He then proceeded to discuss how this push towards more positive interactions allows for those relationships between the average citizen and law enforcement to blossom. This may even increase someone’s interest in law enforcement without those initial feelings of uneasiness. 

Williams also talked about how law enforcement should incorporate social media more into the job. He believes that social media should be used as a tool to showcase each officer’s individualism so people get to know who is under the blue uniforms. Williams plans to spread his methods on how to ‘build trust in the community’ and add to his foundation by working with the NBA team, Miami Heat, and promoting his book “A Survival Guide: How Not To Get Killed By The Police.”