On June 7, 2016 the Northampton Police Department held a community engagement course on police use of force. The class, led by Chief of Police, Judy Kasper and Detective Sergeant Victor Caputo, was an effort to increase transparency and to work toward spreading the message that “the police are the citizens and the citizens are the police,” as Kasper said in the class. Kasper also commented, “having a class like this gives us an opportunity for us to teach the community a little bit about use of force and what we know about it and also for us to listen to community members and hear their concerns and thoughts as well.” The course was the first of its kind for the Northampton Police Department who hopes to continue conversations as a part of the Northampton community.
