Hundreds of attendees filed in for the opening ceremonies of the 121st annual IACP Conference and Expo in Orlando, Fla. at the Orange County Convention Center Saturday afternoon.
Current President of the International Association of Chiefs of Policet Yost Zakhary, Police Chief of the Woodway Police Department in Texas, thanked those in attendance for traveling from around the country for the conference that spans Oct. 25-28.
"Orlando is a tough place to visit," Zakhary said jokingly. "The weather has just been perfect since we arrived."
He then thanked the hospitality of Mayor John "Buddy" Dyer and the leadership of Police Chief John Mina.
"Our conference is a big event, and the Orlando Police Department has helped shoulder the efforts to organize it."
A 23-year veteran of the force, Mina was sworn in as police chief of the more than 1,000-officer on April 1.
He spoke about the department's various programs, including a body camera study and community outreach involving the city's youth.
The body camera study -- held in conjunction with the University of South Florida -- compared 50 officers equipment with body cameras to 50 officers not wearing body cameras. To determine if people the officers come in contact with behave differently when they know they are being filmed.
In order to reach out to the city's youth, the department created Dragon Boat race teams comprised of officers and children who live in the communities they patrol. Mina said that being able to reach members of the city when they are at an impressionable age is paramount.
"We need to tell kids that they are smart and they can be anything they want to be," he said. "It may be that they've never heard that before."
Past President Steve Harris, who died traffic in a crash that also severely injured his wife this past August, was remembered by fellow Past President C. Roland Vaughn III.
"He treasured his time with his friends and his dogs, and you could see it in his eyes," he said.
During his term Harris fought the merger of the DEA with the FBI, which was a high priority when he was president 1992-93.
"Steve was committed to making a difference, and he did."
Paul Peluso | Editor
Paul Peluso is the Managing Editor of OFFICER Magazine and has been with the Officer Media Group since 2006. He began as an Associate Editor, writing and editing content for Officer.com. Previously, Paul worked as a reporter for several newspapers in the suburbs of Baltimore, MD.
