San Luis Obispo County residents came together Saturday for a discussion on community policing.
Public Safety SLO hosted and moderated a panel discussion on issues surrounding people with mental illness, homelessness and more.
Arroyo Grande Police Chief Mike Martinez, San Luis Obispo Police Chief Rick Scott and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson were invited as panelists.
KSBY spoke with one of the attendees who said she was "impressed" with what the panelists said.
"They obviously want to support the community and I want to support them," Jennifer Jarvis said. "I feel like with this kind of open communication, we can really come together as a community."
Chief Martinez said having a group of police leaders engage in these difficult conversations on local policing is "extremely important" for both the law enforcement industry and the community.
"[This is] valuable for us to be able to take something away and learn how we could provide a better service to our communities," Chief Martinez said.
Saturday's event was the first in-person community-centered dialogue on community policing since 2020, according to Public Safety SLO.
