With coronavirus concerns, crimes, racial injustice and protests, the Durham County Sheriff’s Office is working towards unity and continued safety.
Durham Sheriff Clarence Birkhead spoke with radio personality ‘El Superman’ of La Ke Buena to discuss Latinx community outreach during this tumultuous time.
As the country moves into its fourth month of uncertainty amid the pandemic, Sheriff Birkhead started off his discussion directed to the Latinx community by discussing the pandemic and what we need to do as a community to stay safe.
Sheriff Birkhead being interviewed by La Ke Buena (Photo courtesy of the Durham County Sheriff’s Office)
“This pandemic has impacted all of Durham – every sector – white, black, Latino – and we all have to ban together to be safe and take care of our families and take care of each other,” Birkhead said.
Birkhead stresses that, even though the state is slowly reopening, it’s still very important for everyone to wear their mask – not just to protect yourself, but to protect your family, friends and loved ones.
“It is not a sign of weakness,” Birkhead said. “It is not a sign that I’m afraid but it’s that I love my community and I’m going to do what I can to keep my community safe.”
As we continue to wade our way throughout the pandemic, Birkhead also wants to encourage the community to contact the office to report crimes. He said one of the reasons the sheriff’s office is committed to fostering community relationships is so Durham residents, including the Latinx community, can feel comfortable calling in.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, the Durham Sheriff’s Office reports a 12 percent increase in violent crime. For burglaries and robberies they’ve seen between a 44 and 49 percent increase.
“So we need your help to keep our community safe and get these offenders off the street,” Birkhead said.
While discussing health and safety, Birkhead spoke on recent events that spurred protests nationwide and at home in Durham. He said he wants people to be allowed to protest in a peaceful and safe manner, even if protests are shutting down local highways.
“The way that we’ve handled it, the Durham Police Department and the Durham Sheriff’s Office, is we allow for peaceful protests in the highway for a short period of time and then we encourage those individuals to move and open up the highway for traffic,” Birkhead said. “We know that’s part of their message. They’ve got our attention.”
According to Birkhead, these protests are all about being heard and actively listening to make compromises and stir change.
“So when they take to the highway, I actually got a phone call while they were on the highway asking me to meet with them along with Chief Davis, and we agreed,” Birkhead said. “They said we’ll leave the highway if you agree so it’s about being heard – it’s about establishing that dialogue and communication. At the same time our job is to maintain public safety.”
Birkhead said he understands these protesters anger and frustration at racial profiling and systematic oppression as he’s experienced it many times before – even as a sheriff.
“I am the elected sheriff, the highest elected official in the county – doesn’t matter, I’m still black,” Birkhead said. “I have three degrees – doesn’t matter, I’m still black. Doesn’t matter how much community outreach I do, doesn’t matter how much I give back and how I train myself and my deputies – I am still a black man in America and that’s the first thing they see when I walk into a room.”
Birkhead said he has felt very fortunate to have very peaceful protests in Durham and he attributes that to the community working together to protect small businesses and keep people safe while spreading an important message.
He said Durham is setting an example for the nation on how to peacefully and lawfully protest.
“The protesters that I’ve talked with, they don’t want to burn down Durham,” Birkhead said. “They want to build it up.”
While peaceful protesting is encouraged, the sheriff’s office does not condone looting, rioting and the destruction of property. Birkhead said anyone who does break the law will be held accountable.
The sheriff’s office is meeting with protesters Friday to discuss their demands for the fair and equitable treatment of everyone as well as accountability in law enforcement.
“My job as the leader of the Durham County Sheriff’s Office is to make sure my deputies treat everyone in a fair and equitable way,” Birkhead said. “I’m fully committed to holding my agency and my deputies responsible for their behavior.
You can find the full interview with Sheriff Birkhead on La Ke Buena’s Facebook page here.
Photo courtesy of the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.
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