Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Diamond Jordan
Senior Seminar
Officer Kenny stated, that Robinson had Xanax, mushrooms and marijuana in his system and
that multiple witnesses told investigators Robinson was tweaking out on mushrooms, jumping
in front of cars and intimidating bystanders,(Johnson). All over social media and the news
teenagers and police have had deadly confrontations that could have been avoided. Teenagers vs.
police violence has been all over the news and social media for the past year or so. One would
believe that the communities, with many teenagers. Its police departments might have a strong
bond. Although this may be true for some communities, it is definitely not true for most.
Teenagers are the future of our society. If communication between the police and teenagers isnt
positive, then how will our future world function? The relationship between these two parties
needs to improve and it can if communities and police departments acknowledge the problem.
Police officers and students need to take purposeful steps to improve communication.
Background:
Police relationships with teens are currently characterized by violence and distrust.
Violent interactions with police officers are common in the media today and have been common
in the real world for a long time. A July article written by Celisa Calacal states, police have
killed 59 people so far this month, (Calacal). This staggering statistic is too high and wasnt an
isolated incident or two, it was 59 deaths caused by police in 1 month meaning there were
approximately 1 or 2 deaths per day. It is worth stating that police officers are resorting to lethal
violence in several situations. Even police stops that may seem casual and not emergencies. Like
verbal arguments or traffic stops have resulted in physical altercations. In addition to the
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violence, there is also a great distrust between the police and teens, particularly teens of color.
Communities are trying to increase trust. One way, is by introducing the idea of body-worn
cameras. However, Joseph Goldstein reports that, While body-worn cameras were quickly
hailed as a tool to foster police accountability, some civil rights activists and technology experts
say they are more concerned with the policies that police departments develop regarding use of
the cameras than the speed with which officers start wearing them, (Goldstein). Clearly, the
police departments should work with local community groups and local government to develop
policies that are transparent so all parties can be compliant as well as confident that the policies
will be followed and enforced. Additional policies along with the cameras are an amicable start
but may not be enough for people to feel safe in the community due to the deep rooted mistrust
between the police and the community. People may feel confident that the videos will help bring
justice to both the criminals and officers, however, people will question if the officers will use
them properly and fairly to show all the evidence no matter what the video may reveal.
The problems between police and teens are caused by many reasons, such as
misunderstanding and prejudice. Misunderstandings occur when both police and teenagers dont
have the same view of a situation. For example, in June 2015, a video of a Texas pool party gone
wrong went viral. The video showed how the police officers, who were called to the scene of
disturbance, forcefully shut down the pool party just because of the noise (which was the
reason they were called to the neighborhood). The boy who shot the video, Brandon Brooks
stated, the argument that drew police to the pool party didnt even involve most of the teens [the
officer] was going after, (Fantz). This event shows a misunderstanding because the police
jumped to the conclusion that everyone was a part of the situation when, in reality, it was only a
few guests.
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The teens, as well, misunderstood the severity of the situation and behaved in a way that
made the officers feel surrounded and threatened making the problem worse. Misunderstandings
can be added to a situation by prejudices. Police officers are human and quite often they may
judge a situation or a person with their own biases, beliefs or react by misconceptions of a
certain group or certain people. This issue has always been a problem, but its currently in the
public eye because of the increase in deaths by police being brought to light by more media
coverage and technology. Citizens have taped several of these incidents on cellphones; because
of this organizations like Black Lives Matter and the media are covering their protests and more
After a fatal shooting in San Diego this year, a local man of San Diego, Eddie Price,
described the problem to Sunil Dutta: I have been a black man for 56 years. None of this is new
to me, (Andrews). Its not only horrible to think that being part of a community of color means
you have to get used to being mistreated, but its also horrible to have to grow up and believe that
While misunderstandings and prejudice are one cause of the violence and distrust
between police and students, the violence and distrust itself causes deaths and loss of respect for
police. The deaths are obvious; there have been reported deaths due to police brutality all over
the country. Research from The Guardian done by Jon Swaine, Oliver Laughland, Jamiles Lartey
and Ciara McCarthy, taken during 2015 year span, states 55 [reported] deaths of teens cause by
police; 15 under the age of age 18; and 40 of the ages 18 and 19, (The Counted: People Killed
by Police). The deaths have forced the community to look at the policing system and analyze the
significant impact it has on how the community is treated. In a 2015 article in The Washington
Times, famous activist and author Toni Morrison calls out the police for their violence and
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prejudice publicly. This shows the growing disrespect for the police because she has an influence
on public perception, and by presenting a biased opinion of the situation she is able to bring the
attention of the situation to everyone and convince them that the police are wrong. When the
most common opinion about police officers is negative, teens cant help but react to it and be
Positive communication between police and students can build a bridge and start a
positive conversation to begin to try to understand and to begin to listen to one another. Doing
so, in a relaxed environment can prove to be important for the groups to communicate well and
begin healing. Improving positive communication between police and students by having them
interact in relaxed situations can help students to see officers as human, which both increases
student respect and decreases student anxiety. For a former seniors project, a police officer went
to Blackstone Academys first field day in 2015; this was a positive encounter because students
treated him like he was a friend- he was just another guy. They were able to see him outside of
uniform, which made the kids understand police officers are people too and they are like
everyone else. Also in a neighborhood setting in Gainsville, Florida, a police officer was called
to a scene by a complaint about teenagers being loud and playing basketball in the street. The
officer was respectful and approached the kids in a friendly manner. He began to play basketball
with them and ended the fun by stating I will be back tomorrow with back up, (Karimi). The
next day the officer went back with some fellow officers and Shaquil ONeil as his back up. The
kids were thrilled and played a game of basketball with the officers and Shaq. Realizing the
officer kept his word and went back to play with the kids, was very important and is something
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they will never forget. This allowed the kids in both situations on both days to relate to the
officers as a person; on a personal level. It is easier to respect their point of view rather than
seeing them as someone who doesnt care. These relationships help build trust and a positive
If police take steps to be involved in the community in positive ways, then the
community will react and create a better environment for everyone. CBS Boston reported that
police in Walpole, Massachusetts were acting on a new initiative to give out tickets to children
for the kids behaving well (Marrill). The kids were able to see that by being naturally good, they
were rewarded by the police department. For example, two kids looked both ways and held their
mothers hands before crossing the street. Another child received a good ticket for wearing his
helmet as he rode his bike. Each kid was presented with a good ticket with their name on it, the
officers name, along with a gift card for free ice cream at the popular neighborhood ice cream
shop. This helped the kids to realize that policemen arent only there to enforce the law; they can
also be there for good reasons. By these circumstances occurring, the positive relationship
between police and students start at a young age and can be helpful because students will
understand that police are also there for positive re-enforcement. Kids who see these types of
interactions, feel better around police and thrive to do the right thing more often.
relations, the overall public opinion of law enforcement officers is trending negative. Serious
violent incidents, including rape, attempted rape, robbery and physical attack, occurred in an
estimated 13 percent of U.S. schools in 2013-2014, according to federal data, with 26,000
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serious violent incidents reported in those schools. Two percent of the nations schools reported
fights involving a weapon,(Brown). Having these statistics be so recent police officer may be on
the fence because there has been reported violence in schools, such as the fights with weapons.
However lately in the media, there have been multiple instances that show evidence of a lack of
positive relationships between police and teens. For instance, at William E. Tolman Senior High
School, there was a case where an officer at the school site felt threatened and slammed a
student onto the floor. Despite the officers feeling of being threatened, there was no real threat
and his actions were unsubstantiated. Two students, Ivander and Tyler Debergo, were arrested
after the incident but later released and not charged. Students and families are seeing students
being mistreated by police on the news across the country, not just in this one example. With this
saturation of negative interactions, why should anyone be expected to unquestioningly trust the
policing system?
Some police may believe that the people, of the United states, shouldnt be questioning
the trust of the system. However, Eddie Craig, a former Deputy Sheriff, tells Justin Gardner from
The Free Thought Project They have made this system convenient to allow your rights to be
violated in a way that you would much rather have that happen than stand up for them (1). Here,
a former law enforcement officer admits that the public can be, and is being, mistreated by the
police force. As a result of claims like these and situations like the one at Tolman, people feel
that the expected blind trust of law enforcement is not only unjust, but unsafe. In other words,
more community policing programs should be created with restoring the public and police
relations.
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By creating purposeful opportunities for police officers and students to have positive
interactions, both parties will have better understanding of each other. For example, there was a
peace rally that Blackstone Academy had in the spring of 2015 where all the public schools, such
as William E. Tolman High School, Charles E. Shea High School, Central Falls High School, and
BACS walked to a park with police and spent time in a casual, stress-free, neutral environment.
This was a great start for all parties to begin to learn more about each other and begin to bridge
the gap between students and police. This helped the whole community see how all four schools
and police departments actually had good intentions towards each other; they all wanted to be
Not only is it possible for students to learn that police are here to protect them and be
positive role models, it is also important for police officers to know that teens understand the
positive intentions of their jobs and that we respect those precautionary aspects. There are a few
questions one should think to themselves regarding police, such as: Are officers participating in
local projects? Support a Police Athletic League or other sports project, besides being there for
security reasoning? And when was the last time they stopped to talk to a group of kids just to say
hi? By having police interacting with the community on their own free will, the community will
see they are pushing for a better relationship and they are making the first steps. Chris Cognac
expressed his feelings towards officers taking the step by stating, Non-enforcement community
engagement activities make a huge contribution to building and maintaining lasting relationships
and community trust. The fact that an officer goes out of his or her way to participate in
something that is important to a certain segment of the community shows that the officer really
cares about the members of that community, not just about enforcing laws. These non-
enforcement community engagements help because, just like at Blackstone Academy, the officers
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are pushing to make a personal connection with the community and the kids; which will make
the community want to have a personal connection with the officers as well. These personal
connections are valuable because it will create a trust that will help any future interactions that
may occur.
Earned Respect:
Many people can argue that police officers are not required to clarify their actions in most
circumstances when an officer is stopping or detaining a person for a possible illegal infraction
or crime. A police officer from the Ferguson police, for example, was forced to use a lethal and
fatal act against a teen. Later, the officer told The Washington Post, Dont argue with me, dont
call me names, dont tell me that I cant stop you, dont say Im a racist pig, dont threaten that
youll sue me and take away my badge. Dont scream at me that you pay my salary, and dont
even think of aggressively walking towards me, (Dutta). According to this mindset, no one
should be second guessing what the officers are doing because its their job to do what they have
However, this argument is flawed because the community around the police should feel
as if the police are on their side. The police should be looking out for the community and the
community should know that the police has their back so they can all cooperate on a positive
way. Briana Jefferson was interviewed by Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center, and she
had this to say I also felt grateful for the sense of protection they provided when I saw officers
patrolling my neighborhood. This woman has had faith in the police, not because she blindly
trusts them, but because they have earned that respect by doing their job effectively.
Conclusion:
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Police officers and students need to take purposeful steps to improve their
communication. Certain police officers in certain communities already try, on their own, to
create a positive impact on all residence in the community in a positive way. For example
Central Falls, in all of the city events the police are there having fun with the residents and
people in the community. In an interview, Officer Joe from the Central Falls Police Department
stated, we as police officers want students to have trust in us to protect them and their families.
There are still some misconceptions about the relationship between police and the teenagers in
the community especially. Like I stated before, if the communication between the police and
teenagers arent positive then the safety of both police and communities will not be. In order to
answer this question, I propose we follow the steps of my project to strengthen the bond between
Work Cited:
Agorist, Matt. "Graphic Video Shows Cops, Punch, Knee & Taser Teen Girl Then Put a Bag
Over
Her Head Read." The Free Thought. N.p., 22 June 2016. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
Andrews, Travis M., Tony Perry, and Mark Berman. "Police Fatally Shoot Black Man They Say
Took
shooting Stance in San Diego Suburb, Sparking Protests." The Washington Post. N.p.,
28
Sept. 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016
Brown, Emma. "Police in Schools: Keeping Kids Safe, or Arresting Them for No Good
Reason?" The
Washington Post. N.p., 8 Nov. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.
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Calacal, Celisa. "This Is How Many People Police Have Killed so Far in 2016 The Year Isnt
Even
over Yet." Think Progress. Dylan Petrohilos, 5 July 2016. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
Cognac, Chris. "Ready, Set, Engage! Ideas and Options for Community Engagement and
Partnership
Building." Community Policing Dispatch. N.p., June 2015. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
Dutta, Sunsil. "Im a Cop. If You Dont Want to Get Hurt, Dont Challenge Me." The
Washington
Post. N.p., 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 24 Sept. 2016.
Goldstein, Joseph. "Not One New York Police Officer Has a Body Camera." The New York
Times.
The New York Times, 04 Oct. 2016. Web. July-Aug. 2016.
Fantz, Ashley, Holly Yan, and Catherine E. Shoichet. "Texas Pool Party Chaos: 'Out of Control'
Police
Officer Resign." CNN. N.p., 9 June 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2016
Gardner, Justin. "Former-Cop Exposes How Police Will Violate Your Rights During Every Stop
&
How to Beat It." The Free Thought. N.p., 7 June 2016. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.
Jefferson, Brianna. "Attitude Towards Police: A Cycle of Distrust." Michigan Youth Violence
Prevention Center. Alison Grodzinski, 2 July 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2016.
Johnson, Alex. "Tony Robinson Shooting: No Charges for Wisconsin Police Officer." NBC
NEWS.
N.p., 12 May 2015. Web. 6 Apr. 2017.
Karimi, Faith. "Shaq Florida Officer Surprise Kids with a Basketball Game." CNN. N.p., 24 Jan.
2016.
Web. 20 Mar. 2017.
Lee, Trymaine. "Why Vonderrit Myers Matters." MSNBC. N.p., 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Nov.
2016
Richardson, Valerie. "Police Kill More White than Blacks, But Minority Deaths Generate More
Outrage." The Washington Times. N.p., 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
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Roberts, Frank Leon. 10. Womens ENews, #SayHerName Calls for Gender Inclusive
Movement
to End State Violence. May 20, 2015. Web. (n.d.): n. pag. NYU. NYU, Oct. 2015. Web.
Sept. 2016.
Walpole Police Ticket Children For Good Behavior. Perf. Liam Martin, Paula Ebben, and Kate
Merrill. CBS. N.p., 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 10 Jan. 2016.
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