SAN DIEGO - The message a friend sent Pastor Byron Richardson was urgent: Get to La Mesa, Calif. A protest there could get ugly. Come help broker peace.
Just days earlier, on Memorial Day, George Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Protests were held across the country. In San Diego County, people also protested the arrest of a Black man at a La Mesa trolley station, a videotaped encounter that many pointed to as an example of mistreatment and racial injustice by law enforcement.
That anger exploded on May 30. Thousands gathered in front of La Mesa's police station, where they faced officers in tactical gear. Richardson raced to the front, wedged himself between police and protesters, then paced back and forth.
The pastor stood in the gap between them.
"Things got out of hand," Richardson said recently, noting that later that night some people within the crowd became violent and destructive. "Buildings started burning because no one was willing to talk. That kind of infuriated me."
Within days, Richardson teamed with Pastor Bryon Barmer to form Stand in the Gap - the gap between police and the community. The group is made up of 18 or so like-minded people of faith, primarily men. Most were attending Barmer's weekly fellowship group via Zoom as a means of protecting themselves against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most of them are Black. Many of them are former law enforcement.
Barmer, president of the fledgling group, spent 28 years as a San Diego police officer. Fellow member Tony McElroy spent 32 years on the force, retiring as a captain.
They said the goal of the group is to get police leadership at the same table as the community leaders demanding policing reform and to get them talking.
Stand in the Gap appears to have won the ear - and the trust - of police chiefs throughout the county.
"They came to the table to try and build peace and unity," said Chula Vista police Chief Roxana Kennedy, president of the San Diego County Chiefs' and Sheriff's Association.
Kennedy introduced Stand in the Gap to the association after meeting Richardson, who is the pastor of Extreme Gospel Worship Center in Eastlake. Now, Stand in the Gap meets virtually with the chiefs a couple times a month.
Since July, Stand in the Gap has hosted two virtual town halls with police chiefs, the county sheriff and community activists. The demands presented to the chiefs are long standing, from better screening of recruits to better training on cultural competency. Many want an acknowledgement that systemic racism exists and is being addressed.
Other demands include the creation and implementation of de-escalation and duty-to-intervene policies. Police say those are already in the works.
Other demands - like no longer using police dogs or crowd control devices, or ending gang databases - present concerns for law enforcement leadership.
Sheriff Bill Gore applauds the efforts of the group, which he sees as "a neutral arbitrator." The group leadership is clear that they don't speak for the community. They just want to get both sides to talk.
"It's a start," Gore said. "We've got a long way to go, but I think that Stand in the Gap provides a service to enable that discussion. You don't want a forum where people are just shouting at each other, talking past each other."
Some community activists said they commend Stand in the Gap for its efforts to facilitate conversation and expression of different points of view, but they remain skeptical that all the talk will turn to action.
Francine Maxwell, president of the San Diego NAACP, attended the group's first town hall. But she said she's doesn't see Stand in the Gap connecting with the community.
"I applaud all groups that meet with their elected officials," she said. "But I need to understand at what point does it trickle down to the boots on the ground who don't have a meeting with these people."
San Diego, she said, may be "one incident away" from another night of unrest like what happened La Mesa in May.
The Rev. Shane Harris, president of the People's Alliance for Justice, said he admires Stand in the Gap for its desire to build a bridge. But he fears that law enforcement "want our prayer, (but) they don't want our challenges."
"I am hoping we can move from prayers to policy," Harris said.
Maxwell said she fears the chiefs will create a "silo" if they only talk with clergy.
"I need people to be in uncomfortable spaces," she said. "If you are having a meeting with clergy, you are trying to stay comfortable."
Maxwell also noted that Stand in the Gap had no female members.
Barmer - who said the group has now added women - acknowledges the meetings with police "moved the needle a little bit, but not much" among activists.
"I hear what they are saying," he said. "This is going to be a marathon. It's not going to to be a sprint."
Stand in the Gap member Michael Brunker said that when he joined he soon saw it's "really laser focused on peace, trying to bring peace to conflicting parties."
Brunker, a vice president of the YMCA of San Diego County, mentioned Stand in the Gap to his fellow Rotarians. A downtown San Diego chapter, Rotary Club 33, and was so impressed that its Peace Committee recently tapped the group with its annual peace award.
"We saw that was so exceptional and such a wonderful concept that could be carried forward in different cities," committee chair Jean Young said. "These kinds of grassroots things going on behind the scenes are so valuable to know about."
Harbor Police Chief Mark Stainbrook is the vice president of the county Police Chiefs' and Sheriff's Association. He was so struck by Stand in the Gap that he invited Barmer to give presentations to the officers in his department. He also said he prioritizes the meetings with the chief and the group.
"I have completely rearraigned my schedule to be sure I am available at 5 p.m. every Thursday," Stainbrook said. "By and large, we keep coming back because this is valuable."