Attorney General Curtis Hill on Tuesday participated in a fireside chat with Dr. Benjamin Chavis Jr., a longtime civil rights leader, as part of a forum Attorney General Hill sponsored about police-community relations in America.

Attorney General Hill said during the discussion that he believes respectful and authentic engagement between law enforcement and citizens can ease the tensions that exist in our nation today. Attorney General Hill pointed to the Ten Point Coalition as a successful model in achieving this goal.

“It’s not about enacting legislation,” Attorney General Hill told Dr. Chavis. “It’s about the commitment of people to take back their neighborhoods through honest, caring and loving engagement.”

The troubles our country faces today are the result of a 400-year-old wound that continues to fester, Attorney General Hill said. Black lives have not always mattered in our country, he acknowledged.

But even though we are living in tumultuous times, there is hope for our future, Attorney General Hill said.

“Americans find a way to pull together. People find a way to pull together. And that’s what our hope is here,” Attorney General Hill told Dr. Chavis.  

The fireside chat with Dr. Chavis followed a panel of prominent law enforcement officials, mostly from Indiana. Those panelists were:

• Randal Taylor, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief

• Bernard A. Carter, Lake County Prosecutor

• William Owensby, President of the Indiana State Fraternal Order of Police

• Oscar Martinez Jr., Lake County Sheriff

• Lynda R. Williams, President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, U.S. Rep. Andre Carson (7th District), Indiana Rep. John Bartlett and Fort Wayne United Director Iric Headley also delivered remarks at the forum.