Law enforcement and religious leaders hold unity rally
SALISBURY, Md. – Law enforcement and religious leaders came together at the First Baptist Church in Salisbury Monday. Their message was all about unity. They say that change needs to come when we look at how law enforcement interacts with their communities. “We are outraged about it and we are standing together in unity, against this crazy nefarious acts that are going on with some of our police men,” said Reverend Doctor Lewis Watson.
Rev. Dr. Watson says that everyone needs to stand together. “I feel as if we all feel the same thing. We all feel the same hurt, black and white. To see black and white clergy come together and black and white law enforcement, black and white community,” said Rev. Dr. Watson.
Members of law enforcement from Wicomico, Worcester, Somerset, and Dorchester were also there to say enough is enough. “I want everybody here tonight to know that I condemn – as much as anyone else – I condemn the actions, the reprehensible actions, in Minneapolis that happened back on May the 25th this year,” said Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis.
Rev. Dr. Watson says that it’s important to unite the community with law enforcement. He says that standing together is the first step to ensuring that law enforcement protects and serves their communities to their best ability. “There is systemic racism. We have to acknowledge it. We have to bring it to the table, and sit down and talk about it so that we can eradicate this. So that we can live together as human beings,” said Rev. Dr. Watson.
Sheriff Lewis says his department is making good on their promise to evaluate their officers and retrain them in areas that need adjustment. The sheriff says that he is working on implementing President Obama’s 21st Century Policing executive order. “We have all of those reports on our desk that we’re slowly integrating the recommendations that were made by that commission, and we will continue to do that. We will continue to reevaluate and reevaluate our best practices,” said Sheriff Lewis.
Rev. Dr. Watson tells 47ABC that peace and unity is possible, especially through the power of prayer. “We want to continue in peace and in prayer. That’s my hope and that’s my dream, and I believe it will become a reality,” he said.
Rev. Dr. Watson says that looking ahead – he hopes rallies like the one held Monday will prevent tragedies like the death of George Floyd on the lower Eastern Shore. He says that uniting with law enforcement helps them to be proactive. “We want to get ahead of it. We want to be proactive, and we don’t want something like that to happen here and then there’s nothing done about it. Nothing’s said about it,” said Rev. Dr. Watson.
