CARON BUTLER PARTICIPATED IN RACE AND COMMUNITY POLICING PANEL DISCUSSION AT 83rd ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
San Francisco, Calif. (June 18, 2015) – Two-time NBA All-Star and 13-year league veteran Caron Butler participated in a special panel on race and community policing Monday, June 22 at the 83rd Annual Conference of Mayors in San Francisco. The panel began at 9:00 a.m. at the Hilton San Francisco in Grand Ballroom B (333 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco, CA 94102).
Butler, a native of Racine, Wisconsin, will join William A. Bell, the Mayor of Birmingham and Vanita Gupta the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice on the panel which was hosted by Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake made opening remarks.
As a special panel feature, Butler was reunited with Lieutenant Rick Geller of the Racine Police Department. Geller, who is a 30-year veteran of the Racine Police Department, made a critical decision in January 1998 when he chose to believe in then 17-year-old Butler’s innocence following a tip that there were drugs found in Butler’s home. That choice made the difference between Butler spending up to 10 years in jail and pursuing his dreams of becoming a professional basketball player.
Butler’s experience with the justice system as an African American and particularly, his life-altering encounter with Geller, who is Caucasian, will provide a unique perspective to the ongoing national conversation around race and law enforcement.
“I am honored that Mayor Johnson has asked me to participate in the United States Conference of Mayors and be a part of this panel,” said Butler. “Giving Lieutenant Geller and me the opportunity to tell our story will shed light on how a relationship between one troubled kid and a cop can make a world of difference in some of the toughest neighborhoods in this country.”
