The Northern Plains Ethics Institute is scheduled to host a public forum featuring Joel O. Powell and Rylan E. Fitzpatrick of Minnesota State University Moorhead and Moorhead Police Captain Deric Swenson.

The forum, titled “Police Use of Force and the Puzzle of Public Safety,” is set for Thursday, Nov. 17, at noon in Barry Hall’s Louise Auditorium.

The event also can be viewed on zoom.

Powell is the peace officer education coordinator at MSUM and a former member of the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training. He will discuss how actions that American police regard as routine and necessary procedures can sometimes be traumatizing for citizens. Using video recordings of encounters between police and civilians, he investigates how police procedures can clash with civilian habits and ways of thinking. According to Powell, the clashes are persistent in spite of advances in de-escalation technologies and evolving training in cultural understanding.

Swenson will provide counterpoints to Powell’s research and provide guidance on understanding police-community relations. Fitzpatrick is a sociology student.

For more information, contact Dennis Cooley, Northern Plains Ethics Institute director, at NDSU.NPEI@ndsu.edu or 701-231-7038.

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