Hawthorne Press Tribune The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - November 26, 2015 “The Nutcracker” at El Camino Hawthorne Police Sergeant Honored for Representing City on National Level By Derrick Deane Imagine having the opportunity to represent your city on a national level and effect policy changes to the way policing is done. That is exactly what happened to Hawthorne police sergeant Chris Cognac who was honored during the November 10 council meeting. “A few years ago an inroad was built through the hard work of Chris Cognac, the U.S. Department of Justice and their community oriented policing office,” Hawthorne police chief Robert Fager said. “As we work on different programs together, I find it unique now because we all know the scrutiny on law enforcement.” Fager says that the relationships the police department has created have been both fruitful and beneficial for the city. “A lot of the programs out of the D.C. office that they wanted to see rooted and get feedback from got implemented and we were one of the few police departments to get that kind of recognition in the country,” Fager said. “One of the best case and points that everybody in our city knows that we’re touting nationally is Coffee with a Cop. This is the same office that gave us the inaugural grant that helped us get that off the ground and build it out.” “That was just one chapter and another one was just completed by Chris Cognac,” Fager adds. Community Oriented Policing System (COPS) was created 20 years ago by President Bill Clinton and functions as an independent arm of the Department of Justice. The director of the organization, who works directly with the Attorney General, works out of Washington D.C. and is appointed by the president. The organization is responsible for giving out more than $30 million in grants to state, local and tribal agencies. Among the organization’s responsibilities include developing policy and making recommendations for better police practices. “One of the things you’re going to hear about is collaborative reform,” Cognac said. “We all know about Baltimore, Ferguson, all those things, all the reports that come out from that are authored by the COPS office.” About two years ago, the organization put out a call for a local police officer to work in Washington D.C. in the COPS office. Cognac applied, interviewed, and was ultimately chosen to fill the role. “In March, I worked in the Community Policing Advancement and Research and Development section,” Cognac said. “One of the things that we did was develop and try out policy that worked.” Cognac adds that he also participated in collaborative reform which he explains is when a team of individuals come into a city and assesses the reaction to a particular incident and how the police department engages with the community. “There were a lot of guys with PhDs and I was the only one who didn’t have one so it was kind of intimidating at first,” Cognac said. “They’re all nice guys though. We got to have input on national policy from our level of experience. They looked at how policy would work practically. There are a lot of social scientists and think tank people there but not a lot of people who apply those policies.” Cognac says that the city of Hawthorne got to serve as the de facto police department when questions were raised if certain policies and procedures would work. “It was fantastic,” Cognac said. “We got to see where the pulse of policing and the Department of Justice is going. One of the things I did when I was in Washington was if there was a major incident, I would be part of that response team.” Cognac traveled to Pasco, Washington to assess a controversial shooting and subsequent riots. He was also a part of the collaborative reform team that assessed the Baltimore Police Department and the actions leading up to their riots as well as interviewing 60 officers, residents, and activists in Salinas, California in response to shootings and use of force. “They would say, ‘Get on an airplane,’ and so I would go with a couple other people and we would go to work,” Cognac said. “We tried to make things better and it was interesting to get that national picture. What was neat was I was this officer from this little city in California, but it was great to say I’m with the city of Hawthorne. People knew who we were. It was great.” Reviewing the Ferguson and St. Louis reports for content and policies on issues that may or may not have been correct also fell under Cognac’s responsibilities. “It was kind of neat because it was kind of like James Bond,” Cognac mused. “I got to see all the stuff before it actually came out. What that did was then gave us an idea of potential problems that we could then head off here in Hawthorne.” Cognac says that the experience of seeing what was and wasn’t working in other cities helped him communicate ideas and potential issues to be aware of in the future with chief Fager. As an avid writer, Cognac also published numerous articles on community policing, fairness, social issues and media that were published through COPS that then went national and people would call him about the topic. With his background as a television host, he also provided media training sinc, “a lot of PhDs don’t do well on TV.” “One thing you realize is the world is a small place now,” Cognac adds. “What we do really does resonate around the world.” The program helped establish Hawthorne as a true leader in community policing and engagement on a national level while also promoting the image of Hawthorne being innovative with their policing efforts. “We’re one of the cities they look to now, as a model and say, ‘these are the things you are doing with the resources that you have’ and it’s fantastic,” Cognac said. “When people think of Hawthorne they think we have a great police department, we’re forward-thinking and that enhances the reputation of the city as a whole.” • Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................6 Classifieds............................3 Community Briefs...............7 Food.......................................8 Legals................................ 6-7 Pets........................................5 Police Reports.....................3 Sports....................................4 Seniors..................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday Partly Cloudy 63˚/46˚ Saturday Sunny 63˚/48˚ Sunday Sunny 63˚/46˚ The South Bay Ballet delivers a holiday classic Dec. 19 and 20: “The Nutcracker,” directed by Diane Lauridsen and Elijah Pressman, is an annual tradition at El Camino College’s Center for the Performing Arts, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd, Torrance. Tickets are $33; Children (12 & under) $22 and are available at www.centerforthearts.org.
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