BREMERTON — The Bremerton Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP) will be hosting a representative of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service on Sept. 18 to discuss how communities can work with police departments to improve relationships between persons of color and police officers.

The public is invited to the meeting that is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Community Resource Office of the Kitsap Resource Center, 1201 Park Ave.

Lionel Collins, president of the Bremerton Chapter NAACP, cited three incidents where black men were killed by police. On Aug. 9, a black man was shot multiple times and killed in Ferguson, Mo.; a black man was died from a choke hold compression by police officers July 17 in New York City and a black man was shot in the back by Los Angeles police officers on Aug. 11 during a routine investigation stop.

“We hope the representative of the Community Relations Service can inform us on how to work with law enforcement agencies in Bremerton and Kitsap County to identify police officers that are prone to using deadly force” said Collins.

Collins added the NAACP’s position is that it cannot “tolerate hate or use of deadly force against citizens of our community.

For more information about the meeting, call (360) 481-6010.