Gun violence derailed officer exchange program

BACKGROUND

In December 2013, Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said the department would send officers to Nepal the following year.

The exchange with Nepali police departments was to be part of the Department of Justice's International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program. Cedar Rapids was selected for its large Nepalese community.

Cedar Rapids officers, as well as those from Madison, Wis., would travel to Nepal for three weeks at a time to teach various subjects to officers there. The program got as far as Jerman traveling to Portland, Ore. to meet with police there who participated in a similar exchange program with Bangladesh.

WHAT HAPPENED SINCE

A spike in gun violence prompted Jerman to bow out of the Department of Justice's International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program.

'In October (2014), I made the decision it was not in the best interest of the city to send officers out of the city to do this exchange program,” Jerman said. 'We notified the State Department last October that we were not going be participating in the program at this time.”

Jerman's decision came in the midst of one of the worst years for gun violence for Cedar Rapids. There were 93 shots fired or shooting incidents in 2014, along with eight men and women murdered.

Jerman said from the time the police department was invited to participate in the program, it was clear it was going to require a significant commitment of resources.

Nonetheless, he said he was honored by the department's selection to the Department of Justice initiative. However, the department also had to dedicate officers to local issues, such as gun violence and combating the spread of illegal drugs.

'Clearly, to me, it was the right decision because it was in the best interest of the city, the community, the resident of the city and the department that we needed to remain focused here,” Jerman said. 'Our priority is clearly here.”

Violence has continued in Cedar Rapids in 2015. Jerman said, however, he is open to revisiting the exchange program with the Department of Justice in the future.

'If conditions and situations improved and changed in the city, we'd certainly revisit that opportunity again,” he said.