Tyler mayor Martin Heines speaks during the Cease Fire All Lives Matter Open Forum at Liberty Baptist Church on Sunday afternoon. (Victor Texcucano/Staff)

For almost 50 years, Frederick and Lou Gunter have lived in a home on North Palace Avenue. It’s where they raised their family, and it’s a place they want to enjoy. But lately increased foot and vehicle traffic, shootings and drug activity are making it an unpleasant place to live.

The couple said they have called the police and always get the same response that they’re working on it.

“They need to be gone, not working on it,” the 76-year-old Gunter said.

The couple was among an estimated 150-plus people who turned out for the Cease Fire All Lives Matter Open Forum on Sunday at Tyler’s Liberty Baptist Church on North Broadway Avenue. Those in attendance included African-American, Hispanic and white people of all ages.

The forum was spearheaded by Liberty Baptist Church leadership and members who wanted to provide an opportunity for residents to ask questions and hear from law enforcement officials and minority community leaders.

Panelists included Tyler Mayor Martin Heines, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith, Tyler Police Chief Gary Swindle, Pastor Gilberto Avila, NAACP President Cedrick Granberry and Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham.

In response to a question addressing the Gunters’ problem, Swindle said there are two approaches. Police can saturate a neighborhood with law enforcement officers, in which case innocent people likely will be stopped for violating minor laws and racial profiling complaints could increase, or police can send in an undercover informant to try to make a drug buy and build a legitimate court case, the latter of which takes time.

The question for residents is, “How far do they want officers to go in an area, or do they want police to solve the situation long-term?”

“We would appreciate you doing whatever you need to do to clean it up,” moderator, the Rev. Orenthia Mason, said.

The Rev. Mason presented the panel with 10 questions received from audience members.

Additional questions that were not asked because of time constraints will be forwarded to the Tyler Together Race Relations Forum, whose representatives will forward them to the right person so they can be answered, she said.

Questions addressed a variety of topics, including use of force by police officers, questioning people about immigration status, minority representation in leadership positions at local law enforcement agencies, racial profiling and racism among officers.

One question cited the recent death of 17-year-old Kristiana Coignard of Longview, who was shot by police officers inside the Longview Police Department.

Panelists were asked if deadly force is used only as a last resort and what steps they would take to defuse a similar situation, if it were to happen locally.

“If an officer is presented with deadly force … you go with deadly force, as well,” Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said.

Sheriff Smith said training and experience is key to ensuring officers are prepared to deal with any situation they may face.

Tyler Police Chief Gary Swindle said all officers who go through police academy prior to joining the Tyler Police Department receive Critical Intervention Training, or CIT, which teaches them to evaluate situations and defuse them, if possible.

There are five levels when it comes to police involvement. Swindle said the first is the presence of an officer or officers, and most people respond to that. Second, would be to handcuff a person. Third, would be to administer pepper spray. Fourth is use of a Taser, and fifth is deadly force, or shooting a person.

Smith County District Attorney said police officers and residents licensed to carry a concealed handgun have the same rights when it comes to using deadly force.

“Officers, for the most part, are always on the defensive,” he said.

Another person asked why minorities are not in administration at the Tyler Police Department and Smith County Sheriff’s Office.

Swindle said the lack of minorities in law enforcement is a “weakness in our community.”

Swindle said more should be done to encourage people, especially those in African-American and Hispanic communities, to become police officers.

Diannia Jackson, an African-American woman, served as an assistant chief at the Tyler Police Department until 2013 when she retired.

At Sunday’s meeting, a couple of minority police officers were present, including Reggie Conley, who is African-American, and Edgar Zapata, who is Hispanic. Neither is in administration though.

Smith said the sheriff’s office has two African-Americans at the lieutenant level, which is the third level below the sheriff.

Mayor Martin Heines said the community’s safety and the fairness residents experience from officers is due to the personal relationships and professionalism possessed by local law enforcement.

He also emphasized the fact that the Tyler Police Department is one of only 32 law enforcement agencies in the state — out of about 1,800 agencies statewide — with a CALEA accreditation. CALEA stands for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. He said part of this accreditation deals with the department’s race relations and multicultural education for its officers.

Swindle said he cannot be responsible for what happens in other parts of the country, but he is responsible for what happens in Tyler.

“If you feel like you’ve been wronged in the city of Tyler by a Tyler police officer, I want to know about it,” he said.

Smith agreed saying, “Unless we know what’s broken, we can’t fix it.”

Kenneth N. Butler, a Liberty Baptist Church member and one of the event organizers, said the forum’s purpose was to sit down and talk to law enforcement, not to be confrontational.

“We just want the opportunity to talk and ask questions and to strengthen our relationship and rapport from our community to the law enforcement community,” he said.

Beverly Beavers-Brooks, 70, of Tyler, who attended with her husband, Willie Brooks, 71, said the forum was an excellent start to what they hope will be ongoing dialogue.

Brooks said many of the topics brought up during the forum are things the community at large could benefit from hearing.

“I think we need to have more of these on (an) ongoing basis,” Mrs. Beavers-Brooks said. “I hope this is not the only forum we are going to have.”