Last night, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah highlighted Madison in a segment on race relations, bias, and police titled “Are All Cops Racist?”
Madison Police Chief Mike Koval and the Madison Police Department were interviewed and featured prominently in the segment that talked about the shooting of Tony Robinson and about anti-bias police training, in general.
The Madison Police Department developed an unconscious bias training program back in 2010 and are one of the few police departments in the nation to have extensive anti-bias training.
The segment with Chief Koval began with “The Daily Show” reporters asking him if police have bias.
“Yes, the police have biases,” Koval said.
“Got ’em!” said “The Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr.
After taking the reporters through MPD’s bias training, Koval stressed the importance of talking about the problem.
“The key is that we have to acknowledge that this is a problem that is occurring with all too great a frequency,” Koval said. “Because If no one’s talking because we’re all hunkered and bunkered down, there’s no possible way we can move the needle forward. So I think if nothing else, show affirmative steps that you’re doing something, dammit, that’s going to make the training less likely to end in those outcomes.”
