AG Holder Visits Chicago to Improve Police, Community Relations

โ€œThe one thing I want to encourage everyone around this table to be is candid. This will not work if people are holding back," Holder said.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asked for honesty as he met with Chicago community leaders, police and elected officials Friday, in an attempt to find ways to restore trust in law enforcement and the justice system.

โ€œThe one thing I want to encourage everyone around this table to be is candid,โ€ Holder said. โ€œThis will not work if people are holding back.โ€

Holder is holding meetings with local leaders across the country, highlighting the Obama administration's response to protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and cities like Chicago in the wake of the grand jury decision not to prosecute white officers in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

In the closed-door meeting, Holder told local leaders the way to confront the issue is โ€œhead onโ€, asking the people from law enforcement, the faith community and young people who have ability to express what they have been dealing with on a day-to-day basis.

โ€œIt brought to the surface some very important concerns about race, disparity of treatment and ultimately about trust,โ€ U. S. Attorney Zach Fardon said of the gathering.

Among the emphasized priorities were putting greater significance on community policing and supplying more funding for body cameras worn for law enforcement.

โ€œI believe at the end of the day, the best way to deal with this situation is to stop it before it happens with training and transparency,โ€ said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

After the hour-long meeting, many community leaders said they felt progress had been made.

โ€œYou could see where relationships are being built and the next steps are being made,โ€ said Dr. Byron Brazier, pastor of the South Sideโ€™s Apostolic Church of God.

Holder said he plans to pass this information along to the president and continue the conversation.

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