CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Police officers should focus their training on interactions with the people they're supposed to protect and serve, and concentrate less on tactical training, an Indiana state police official told members of the Charleston Police Department on Monday.

Alex D. Huskey, who is teaching a racial profiling training class for Charleston police this week, said he didn't come here to tell officers what they are doing wrong. But he also didn't come to give them a pat on the back and tell them they aren't engaging in any profiling.

"'Cause we know that isn't true," he said.

Huskey, superintendent of the Indiana State Excise Police (part of the state's alcohol and tobacco commission), said biased policing is a reality in every police department across the country. But it doesn't have to be that way, he said.

Instead, the former behavioral scientist and preacher came to Charleston to tell officers ways they can work on the issues they face in their profession, with the community and with other officers.

Police must deal with, and get along with, people, Huskey said. But most training that officers across the country receive focuses on tactical training, he said. Officers are trained to always watch their situation and surroundings, to always be on their guard.

Huskey asked the 16 officers at the class why the approach they have to many situations was tactical.

"It's because of what you might encounter," one officer said.

"Safety reasons. Everyone you run into is a potential threat," another said.

Huskey agreed that officer safety is one of the most important things an officer must focus on, but he said that police across the country spend the least amount of time focusing on what makes people tick because they are too busy focusing on how to protect their own lives.

Alex D. Huskey, who is teaching a racial profiling training class for Charleston police this week, said he didn't come here to tell officers what they are doing wrong. But he also didn't come to give them a pat on the back and tell them they aren't engaging in any profiling.

"'Cause we know that isn't true," he said.

Huskey, superintendent of the Indiana State Excise Police (part of the state's alcohol and tobacco commission), said biased policing is a reality in every police department across the country. But it doesn't have to be that way, he said.

Instead, the former behavioral scientist and preacher came to Charleston to tell officers ways they can work on the issues they face in their profession, with the community and with other officers.

Police must deal with, and get along with, people, Huskey said. But most training that officers across the country receive focuses on tactical training, he said. Officers are trained to always watch their situation and surroundings, to always be on their guard.

Huskey asked the 16 officers at the class why the approach they have to many situations was tactical.

"It's because of what you might encounter," one officer said.

"Safety reasons. Everyone you run into is a potential threat," another said.

Huskey agreed that officer safety is one of the most important things an officer must focus on, but he said that police across the country spend the least amount of time focusing on what makes people tick because they are too busy focusing on how to protect their own lives.

A few of the officers at the class said that they have been guilty of some form of profiling, but it's generally toward people who have caused problems in the past.

"People wear on us and vice versa, so that's where the rift begins," one officer said. "They don't want us there, and we don't want to be back there."

While the class talked about racial profiling, Huskey made it clear that not all profiling is race-based. Much of the bias comes from an officer's interaction with a small portion of the population.

"We spend 80 percent of our time dealing with 20 percent of the population," he said. "That leaves 80 percent we're not dealing with."

Many times officers will stereotype certain communities based on the actions of the small percentage of the population they deal with, no matter how unfair that may seem, Huskey said.

"You don't have to be friends with them, but you should look at it from their perspective -- it's important to treat people the same in all classes, no matter what you actually think of them."

He said it's often difficult for officers, or anyone else, to change their perceptions about a community just because they want to do so.

"My reality is my reality, and your reality is your reality," Huskey said. "But together, we should have a shared reality.

"We really need to think real, real, real closely about our relationships with people," he said. "You should have the same relationships with people at the top that you do at the bottom."

Reach Kathryn Gregory at kathr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5119.