Protests over George Floyd's killing by a police officer last month have given way to renewed calls for reforming a system of policing that has become increasingly militarized across the country.
One former state trooper in Massachusetts is arguing that a tool he developed from his time serving in the military may actually belong in the police reform toolkit.
"That term (militarization) has many connotations, the policing program I started has nothing to do with militarizing the police, it's basically taking the best practices I learned from community engagement with my time with the Green Berets, then applying them in the civilian law enforcement sector," Michael Cutone told Boston Public Radio on Tuesday.
His program, C3 Policing, uses modified counter-insurgency tactics Cutone relied on in Iraq. It is currently implemented in Springfield, Massachusetts, in partnership with the local police force and a team of state police troopers, to control gangs and drug networks.
Cutone said C3 Policing is similar to community policing — utilizing pedestrian patrols, community meetings and engagement to build networks in the community — but is less "transactional."
In Springfield, Cutone said C3 units would hold weekly meetings with various community stakeholders that became a "laboratory of innovation."
"The folks that came up with the best ideas to help their community were the citizens, and the cops were able to help them implement it, what a novel idea," he said.
Michael Cutone is founder and creator of C3 Policing, a retired Masssachusetts State Police trooper, and a veteran of US Army Special Forces.
