Fayetteville City Council votes to create a Civilian Police Advisory Board

This board would give the community an opportunity to have input on police policy, hiring and training.

Police Chief Gina Hawkins said she welcomes a public advisory board. In fact, she said she's already been inviting the community to come out and take part in building the police-community relationship.

Fayetteville police chief, officers join protesters in peaceful march

"[It was] an organization that for years that had done adjustments and accountability, and invited others to come into the organization," she said.

Ministers demand Fayetteville police change use-of-force policies

Hawkins said her department has eliminated choke holds and taken de-escalation training. She said there are already hundreds of other policies already in place to keep officers and the public safe.

"We have standards on ethics, standards on applications, standards on auditing ourselves. There are more than eight that are needed for a professional law enforcement entity. We've been doing it and we continue to evolve by inviting others to come look at it," she said.

Chief Hawkins points out that her department is nationally accredited--and said her officers constantly train to use best practices when interacting with the public.

Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin suggested that the police department devote 5 percent of its budget to community policing activities. Chief Hawkins responded that her officers spend about 40 percent of their time doing exactly that.

For next steps, Fayetteville's City Council will put together a plan to decide how to select members for the Civilian Police Advisory Board.​