Richard Myers, who began work as interim police chief last week in Sanford, Fl., has vowed to be a “bridge builder” with the city’s black community after the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, 17, in February, says the Orlando Sentinel. Myers, 57, former chief in Colorado Springs, Co., is leading a department that was criticized for not arresting George Zimmerman, who was charged by a special prosecutor with second-degree murder.
Myers tells the Sentinel: “It sounds trite, but you really have to win them one heart at a time. Trust has to be earned — you can’t buy it. Take the time to listen, to demonstrate that you care, to be honest and forthright about what you can and cannot do, and not to give false hope. [ ] at some point you have to ask people to be willing to let go of history and look forward.”