TALK A MILE 3

“The Chief is on his way.” We knew there was a good chance Portland Police Bureau (PPB) Chief Chuck Lovell would be participating in Talk A Mile on this late spring day, but now it was actually happening.

Portland Police Bureau Chief Chuck Lovell Talk A Mile

Our focus with Talk A Mile has been to connect young Black leaders with local police trainees. Both are at pivotal junctures in their lives. The students will continue their education, begin careers, many will start families, and they will continue to grow as leaders in this community. The trainees are at the beginning of serving our community, potentially for decades to come. What better time to begin these conversations than right now?

That said, we are very interested in trying our model with veteran officers, particularly in leadership positions. We see that as a big opportunity to go deeper with our work and have a greater impact on local policing and public safety. Here was our chance. We paired Chief Lovell up randomly with a student, just like we had with the trainees.

This Talk A Mile had 26 participants – thirteen students from the Central Catholic Black Students United, twelve PPB trainees, and Chief Lovell. While many of the students were participating in Talk A Mile for the first time, we had quite a few who had participated previously. To us, this is always an encouraging sign that participants find the experience impactful. In fact, we began to measure impact in a new way in our post-event survey. We’re encouraged that 93.8% of participants reported “As a Talk A Mile participant, I felt seen and heard.”

Thank you to everyone – students, PPB trainees, and Chief Lovell – who took the time to walk, talk, listen, and learn.

TALK A MILE STATS FOR THE DAY

Miles Walked: 26

Number of Participants: 26

Likely to Recommend Talk A Mile: 9.87 (on a scale of 1 to 10)

93.8% of survey respondents agreed that "As a Talk A Mile participant, I felt seen and heard."