OK Law Enforcement Learns From Former Boston Police Commissioner

Some Oklahoma law enforcement officers are getting a chance to learn from a man who's been forced into the spotlight because of terrorism.

Boston's police chief was in Green Country Wednesday, teaching officers about the lessons he learned after the Boston Marathon Bombing.

During the Boston Marathon Bombing, the police reached out to the public for help - the response had never happened before, forging a real relationship between police and the people they serve.

"In the back of your mind you're thinking, ‘This will never happen here,’ and, unfortunately, it did," said former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis. "It was a tough situation for the community and for the victims, obviously."

Two days into the investigation, police tried a new tactic.

Davis said, "We decided to crowd-source, go out to the internet and ask people to help us with videos and pictures they had taken at the scene."

Within 24 hours, the department had more than 12,000 submissions.

"It actually crashed all of our computers, but that evidence was critical to running these guys down," Davis said.

His actions are played by John Goodman in Patriots Day - a movie Davis thinks shows how a community can come together.

"They [terrorists] are trying to sew chaos and disorder, the terrorists, and what we found in Boston is that the city came out stronger at the other end of it," he said.

Davis said he's long understood the importance of serving the community along with education.

"I understand the police work for the community, and it's not just about law enforcement, it's about prevention and relationships," he said.

While speaking at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Davis spoke about how to keep your family safe, stressing practicing and planning, but also not being scared to enjoy the community.

"Practice and planning really make all the difference," he said. "I think we have to be aware. We shouldn't allow terrorism to change what we do."

Davis has been touring the country, speaking about the challenges police departments face and the opportunities they have to work for the community and build a strong bond.