PHOTOS: Mayor, police chief convene meeting in east Salem on reducing violence

Salem Mayor Chris Hoy and Police Chief Trevor Womack last Wednesday convened the first in a series of public forums intended to create solutions to rising gun violence.

The “community conversation” about reducing violence was held at the East Salem Community Center. The meeting came four months after a report commissioned by the police department found shootings in the city have doubled in the past five years and are largely concentrated in the northeast.

The chief told the audience that the public forum was the first step for Salem’s Community Violence Reduction Initiative. He and the mayor plan to work with other law enforcement agencies and community organizations to focus on preventing shootings.

Salem police said around 200 people attended the event, which ran about 90 minutes. Womack shared facts about gun violence in Salem. Then, Ben McBride, an activist focused on criminal justice reform and gun violence prevention, spoke about solutions that have worked in other U.S. cities. McBride will facilitate the city’s next community meetings on violence reduction.

*Salem Mayor Chris Hoy speaks during the public forum on reducing violence on Wednesday, March 6, at the East Salem Community Center (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

*Brendan Murphy, a Marion County deputy district attorney, listens during the public forum* *(Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

*Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack explains the city’s data on gun violence and efforts to reduce local shootings (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

*Salem City Manager Keith Stahley listens during the public forum on reducing violence (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

Ben McBride, an activist who will facilitate the city’s community meetings on violence reduction, writes down guiding principles suggested by audience members at the first public forum (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)

*Audience members discuss ideas for guiding principles to reduce local shootings during the public forum on reducing violence (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

*Audience members discuss ideas for guiding principles to reduce local shootings during the meeting* *(Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

*Satya Chandragiri, Salem-Keizer School Board Member, speaks during the public forum* *(Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

*Marion County Sheriff Nick Hunter and Cmdr. Jeremy Landers listen during the meeting on reducing violence (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

*Salem City Councilor Jose Gonzalez listens during the forum* *(Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

*Salem Police Deputy Chief Debra Aguilar will lead the agency’s work on the Community Violence Reduction Initiative* *(Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

An audience member wearing a shirt from Moms Demand Action, an anti-gun violence group advocating for stricter regulations on guns, listens during the public forum on reducing violence (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)

*Salem City Councilor Julie Hoy listens the public forum on reducing violence (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

*Audience members listen during the public forum (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

*Salem police spokeswoman Angela Hedrick speaks during the meeting (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)*

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By Laura Tesler - Special to Salem Reporter

Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.