ITEM FILE PHOTO
Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger.
BY DILLON DURST
LYNN — Following the shooting deaths of black men by police in Minnesota and Louisiana, a network of North Shore faith-based groups will hold a vigil tonight for the victims.
The event will be held at the Bethel AME Church on Silsbee Street from 6-9 p.m. tonight. The Essex County Community Organization (ECCO) and Lynn Police will also participate in training to promote trust between police and the black and Latino communities, tomorrow from 10 a.m. to noon at the Lynn Police headquarters.
Participants will meet after the training to discuss a plan of action.
“We are grateful to the Lynn Police Department for working with us to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening closer to home,” said the Rev. Andre Bennett, of Zion Baptist Church, in a statement.
Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger said the department has been working with ECCO for about a year to improve the relationship between the department and the city’s African-American community.
“Ever since Ferguson, we’ve really ramped up our outreach efforts,” he said.
The two parties have met several times throughout the year, Coppinger said. He added that every meeting has “progressed pretty well.”
In the days following the shootings, Bennett said he received calls from parents and youth expressing anger, sadness and fear.
“One young boy asked me, ‘Does just being black make me a criminal?’” Bennett said. “What do I tell the youth at Zion Baptist? How do I comfort them, be honest with them and restore their hope in a system that is clearly uneven?”
Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by police officers outside a Baton Rouge, La., convenience store on July 5. A day later, police shot and killed 32-year-old Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minn.
The next night, five Dallas police officers were gunned down during a protest of the fatal shootings.
Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old black man who was later identified as the shooter, was killed in a standoff with Dallas police.
“We acknowledge the senseless loss of their lives, and pray for them and their families,” Bennett said of the five slain officers. “As we continue our call for an equitable criminal justice system, we affirm our belief that transformation must happen non-violently. As Mahatma Ghandi said, ‘An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.’”
Dillon Durst can be reached at [email protected].
