Police Sgt. Marcus Harper attended the event in civilian clothes. He said creating a strong relationship between the community and the department requires building trust, developing partnerships and hard work.

“At some point, somebody has to come to the table to start that healing process,” Harper told the Tulsa World.

Harper said he believes some officers may not understand how the north Tulsa community feels about the issues at hand. However, he said individualized work is being done.

“We have a lot of guys out there that are working really hard to try to mend those fences, and a lot of times that goes unrecognized,” Harper said. “But we can’t get complacent.”

City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, who is married to Marcus Harper, agreed that better training and cultural change are needed in the police department. She said residents have a role to play, too.

“The community needs to have some training ... so we will know what we need to do,” she said. “There is an aspect of community responsibility.”

During the forum, Crutcher said the NAACP Legal Defense Fund plans to conduct a “thorough investigation” of police conduct in Tulsa since 2012.

“This movement is for the future Terence Crutchers that are yet to be born, so that when they are born they can feel safe because of what we are doing,” Crutcher said.

Reece Ristau 918-581-8455 reece.ristau@tulsaworld.com Twitter: @reecereports