Former Duluth police chief draws praise in new role

Former Duluth Police Chief Gordon Ramsay, who now leads the Wichita (Kan.) Police Department is garnering praise from near and far this week after his officers and members of the community worked together to hold a cookout on Sunday.
The Wichita Eagle reported that a protest had been planned for Sunday, in the wake of recent police shootings of black men around the country. But after Ramsay and local members of the Black Lives Matter movement had an hourslong meeting, they decided to host the community gathering together. The "First Steps" cookout drew hundreds of people; it included informal, small-group discussions among police officers and members of the community, as well as a public question-and-answer session with Ramsay. The cookout has drawn attention and praise on social media the past couple of days. "It takes two parties to make a healthy relationship," Ramsay told radio station KMUW after the event. "I definitely think this is a start for this community, and I definitely want to keep it going," activist A.J. Bohannon told the station. Ramsay, a native of Duluth, was Duluth police chief for nearly 10 years and was with the department for two decades. He left in January to take the job in Wichita.Former Duluth Police Chief Gordon Ramsay, who now leads the Wichita (Kan.) Police Department is garnering praise from near and far this week after his officers and members of the community worked together to hold a cookout on Sunday.
The Wichita Eagle reported that a protest had been planned for Sunday, in the wake of recent police shootings of black men around the country. But after Ramsay and local members of the Black Lives Matter movement had an hourslong meeting, they decided to host the community gathering together.The "First Steps" cookout drew hundreds of people; it included informal, small-group discussions among police officers and members of the community, as well as a public question-and-answer session with Ramsay.The cookout has drawn attention and praise on social media the past couple of days."It takes two parties to make a healthy relationship," Ramsay told radio station KMUW after the event."I definitely think this is a start for this community, and I definitely want to keep it going," activist A.J. Bohannon told the station.Ramsay, a native of Duluth, was Duluth police chief for nearly 10 years and was with the department for two decades. He left in January to take the job in Wichita.