ITC class hears from police chief

Grand Rapids Police Chief David Rahinsky spoke to students January 22 in an Intercultural Training Certificate course about training officers to be culturally competent.

Rahinsky was joined by Edward Edwardson, affiliate faculty of criminal justice and a former police chief.

Regina McClinton, director of the ITC program, said she brought the two speakers in to help her students think critically about the issue of law enforcement in the wake of high-profile deaths like Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice.

The ITC program is a 15-hour academic certification program. It was established in 2011 and the first cohort of students completed certification in 2012. McClinton said the program’s largest cohort, to date, of 16 students will graduate in April with certificates. Click here for more information about ITC.