Resolving tension between LAPD and black youth

LAPD officers met with African American young adults inside a South LA church Wednesday to resolve the tension between the two.

On the floor of The Experience Christian Ministries, 25 LAPD officers met one-on-one with 25 black community members as a way to understand each other’s perspectives and bring unity.  

College student Nicholas Crawford opened up about a police officer automatically reaching for his gun when he was grabbing for his wallet during a traffic stop.

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“The scariest part is the fact that whatever happens, I have to let it take its course,” Nicholas Crawford told LAPD Officer Brendyn Ponce. “Whatever he’s feeling like, I have to let it happen. If he’s in a bad mood and he wants to mess with me, I have to let it happen.”

“The uniform itself brings a lot of stigmas from the past and that’s what we’re trying to break,” replied Officer Ponce. “Ultimately, it’s just that trust.”

All of the officers were involved in the protests, many who work in the South LA community, and are going on 15 straight days of work.  

“We are as police officers automatically judged on what happened in the past but it’s my job to show you different and that we are all different,” Officer Robert Johnson told South Central LA resident Sieara Delone.

“What happened in the past, we’re here to mend that gap and work to make everything better than it was before.”

“One way you could help is connecting with community members so that there’s not that barrier and so we feel like we know these people who are protecting us,” says Delone. “So it’s not us looking at you as different than us but as people who are a part of us, who also help to create the community.”

The youth who attended are 18 to 35 years old, some of who have been in trouble with the police in the past. They asked officers questions like, “what are your internal disciplinary procedures” and “what determines the level of force officers use?” with hopes that a raw, honest look into each other’s minds and hearts will bring peace.

“We’re hoping that they leave here and take that energy with them, back to their homes, back to their cities, and that this will be the start of great dialogue that will change the community,” says The Senior Pastor Shep Crawford, who organized the event with LAPD late last week as a way to move forward after the protests.

“I’ve learned if you’ve changed one person, you’ve changed the world.” Pastor Crawford plans to continue this event in the future and make it much bigger to bring about more positive change.