It has been a dream come true.
“Once I realized I had something I could use to help this community, I said, ‘That’s where I want to be,'” Riviera Beach Police Chief Michael Coleman said.
The new chief of police in Riviera Beach has only been on the job for five days, but he says he already knows what needs his attention.
He said, “Community policing is at the center of everything I do.”
Coleman said that Blue Heron Boulevard and Avenue E will be fixed up where there are problems.
He also wants to talk to kids and older people in neighborhood groups, schools, and churches.
“When I was young, all I wanted to do was lock people up, but that didn’t make a bit of difference in the community,” he said. “But getting into people’s hearts and giving them chances and tools to change their lives.”
Coleman said that he has a two-part plan to review both how things are run and how they are run. He wants to be sure that there are enough police cops on the streets.
“We’re at 114 right now,” he said. “We just met with Mr. Evans, the city manager. We’re trying to get more people to join us.”
Coleman was being interviewed by WPTV when Alexis Bryant, who lives in Riviera Beach, came up to say hello. She asked him how he was fighting crime and taking care of the people of Riviera Beach at the same time.
Bryant said, “I’m glad to see that he’s ready to make the change we needed.”
Coleman thinks that changing the idea that Riviera Beach is a dangerous city is the hardest part of his job.
“It’s not true that there are a lot of crimes in Riviera Beach,” he said. “The problems in Riviera Beach are the same as in any other place. The way people think about crime in Riviera Beach makes it worse than it really is.”
