The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will have a speaker at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in Harriett B. Wick Chapel on campus.

The message of that lecture is raising a few eyebrows among local law enforcement.

Lamont Lilly, African-American political activist, will provide a lecture on the topic of abolishing policing in America.

“One of the roles of a university is to educate its students as well as members of the surrounding community by presenting ideas that can spark insightful conversations from both those who agree and disagree. Our hope is that this lecture will result in valuable, productive discussions,” said Pat Frantz Cercone, university spokeswoman.

“This lecture is part of the University of Pittsburgh’s Year of Pitt Global, an initiative during the 2018-19 academic year to integrate local and international perspectives that advance new knowledge,” Cercone explained.

According to the Pitt website, the lecture is part of an administration of justice class called Abolishing Policing, “which examines methods for building collaborative relationships with grassroots organizations from Oakland, California, Washington, DC, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Chicago, Illinois who focus their efforts on the development of new community-controlled alternatives to policing in America.”

The course is taught by Dr. Tony Gaskew.

Bradford City Police Chief Chris Lucco had this to say on the lecture: “Certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion. Mr. Lilly, from what I understand, is a political activist and is very outspoken regarding his negative views on law enforcement.

“The university may be simply attempting to bring in someone with a different viewpoint,” the chief said.

With that said, Lucco added that he does not agree with police abolitionism.

“I believe abolishing law enforcement borders on ridiculousness,” the chief said. “Living in a lawless society certainly does not appear to be the best thing for citizens in the countries that choose to do so.”

He said he was confused about the selection of speaker for a course in administration of justice.

“I cannot imagine how someone speaking on this subject matter could possibly enhance the education or career of future criminal justice personnel,” Lucco said.

For her part, McKean County District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer spoke of finding common ground with those who have differing viewpoints, and of fostering mutual respect.

“We are fortunate to live in a society that values different viewpoints. Diversity, the end of racism, and equal opportunity are goals of most modern societies,” she said. “From those perspectives, common ground can be found among us.”

Shaffer said everyone can agree there is no place for bias in society.

“Our similarities tell us that bias against someone based on race should not be tolerated. Our similarities tell us that opportunity should exist for everyone’s children — even the children born into poverty,” Shaffer said. “Our similarities tell us that respect for each other — including the police — is something that should be demanded.

“Violence cannot be tolerated and we require our police to quash violence when they see it,” she said. “We expect our police to run into burning buildings as was the case last Sunday when (local police) officers ran into a burning building, pulled a man out and drove him to the hospital.”

Society requires a great deal from law enforcement, she said.

“We expect our police to pull victims from car accidents and stay to interview witnesses as if they have not just witnessed something so horrific,” Shaffer said. “We expect our police to defuse a suicidal man with a gun to his head who could just as easily turn the gun on them.”  

Shaffer explained she had read some work written by Lilly, and said, “One article by the speaker says things that seem foreign to us. He writes that ‘the role of the police today is to keep the oppressed and marginalized in that same place…’”

She disagreed.

“The role of the police is to something much more profound — ensure peace in a violent society. Children aspire to be police officers and families of police exude pride for their officers,” she said. “Our police share our community views because they, too, are the community. They live here, they volunteer here, and they raise their families here.

“Police officers hold each other to a higher standard than they hold the rest of society to because they recognize the enormity of their responsibility to society,” Shaffer opined.

She is hopeful that Lilly will offer solutions in his lecture.

“I hope the speaker acknowledges that most people want the same things — diversity, end to racism, and opportunity,” she said. “I am hopeful the speaker offers solutions to bring people together. And I am hopeful the speaker acknowledges the important role the police have — as enforcers of peace and protectors of their neighbors. We cannot truly place ourselves in someone else’s shoes but we can chose to respect each other.”

Shaffer is seeking re-election as district attorney. Her challenger, former assistant district attorney and current chief public defender Phil Clabaugh, was unable to comment when reached late Tuesday.