Milwaukee police met with youths at a barbershop. Here's how things turned out
Some youths in Milwaukee are afraid of the police. And there are police officers who may still need to learn about the young people they encounter on their beat.
They got the chance to talk with one another on Wednesday -- in a barbershop.
Milwaukee Christian Center worked with Gee’s Clippers and Clippers & Cops, a nonprofit based in Atlanta, to open a dialogue they hoped would help bridge gaps between police and the young people they are sworn to protect.
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The buzz of electric clippers at some points was interrupted by sounds of deep, sometimes frank discussion on how young people and those sworn to protect city streets can understand one another. The event included free haircuts for youths ages 12 to 21.
The setting was key. A barbershop is ideal for these conversations because it is a “Black man's country club,” said Clippers & Cops founder Tyrone Dennis.
“We talk about everything under the sun in the barbershop, and everybody's equal. Everybody has an equal say,” said Dennis, who worked as a patrol officer for six years before becoming a gang detective for 10. “I'm not a cop in the barbershop. I'm just a regular person and everybody else is, too.”
He said most people don’t personally know a police officer or their knowledge of the law comes from friends and social media while their interactions with police come through traffic stops, which could be either bad or good.
Traffic stops are just as scary for police, Dennis added. He often instructs people he pulls over as a cop to roll the window down and place their hand on the window.
“A gun can't float in the air, so if I can see your hands, I can calm down,” Dennis said. “People never thought about it like that. It's an opportunity for us to educate and grow from that.”
That’s the goal: to educate people on why police do certain things, how to avoid negative interactions and to show the police as regular people.
“It's not just for the police to talk to the community. It's for the community to talk back as well,” Dennis said.
Clippers and Cops uses retired and active Atlanta police officers to help facilitate the conversation with Milwaukee police and residents. Similar efforts have occurred in Memphis, Dallas and Dennis’ hometown of St. Louis.
Dennis hopes this builds better relations between Milwaukee police and the community. He also hopes this will become an ongoing occurrence even though Safe & Sound has a similar initiative.
“We basically getting the ball rolling in that regard,” Dennis said.
At times, the conversation became very poignant.
Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said his administration has been more intentional in its engagement with the community. The effort has paid off. He noted crime is down, but he said he is alarmed by youth having greater access to guns and the “violence, especially with our young ones is inexcusable.”
“They are not going to gun stores to buy these guns yall,” Norman said.
He expressed exasperation over instances of kids playing with a gun at someone’s house and getting shot.
“Why are we allowing … kids in our homes doing dangerous (expletive). Let’s keep it real. This isn’t a time to have no sugar-coated conversations,” Norman said, drawing applause. “I’m tired of responding to this stuff.”
Violence prevention has its place but so does accountability, he added. “Let’s all take responsibility for our safety. This is why I put my hand out and, ‘Say help me please.’”
Second District Police Officer Salah Al-zalloum grew up in Milwaukee. He knows people have a belief that police are all bad. But not all cops are the same, he said. Interactions with police are reciprocal.
“If I come up to you and I’m all aggressive, you are going to be aggressive towards me. But if I come up to and you are being super nice about it, I match your tone,” Al-zalloum said. “It is all about respect. So, it is kind of the same way.”
Elizabeth Brown, of Justice Wisconsin, a civil and human rights advocacy group, disagreed with the idea that it’s children’s responsibility to de-escalate the police.
Kids have an instant fear of police because they’ve seen bad interactions with family members, in the community and on TV, she said. That fear prompts a flight response, she added.
“We have five officers pulling us over and everybody’s got a gun but me. Of course, I am going to be irate,” Brown said. “My thing is to put it on a community that we are supposed to de-escalate you when it’s your job to be professional. That is what you get paid to do. That’s your job.”
She understands not all police officers are bad, but says the good ones needs to speak up. Brown said she knows a few Black officers who are afraid to speak out because “there is a no snitching under the blue code.”
“My thing is where can we meet in the middle where everybody is taking responsibility and not pointing the figure blaming the youth … ,” Brown said.
Jadien Richards, 24, called the event an eye-opener. He is a youth build AmeriCorps participant with Milwaukee Christian Center, one of the event’s sponsors. He said he would like to see more programs that help educate young people on how to better interact with police.
Jadien Richards, youth build AmeriCorps participant with Milwaukee Christian Center, said he would like to see more programs that help educate young people on how to better interact with police.
“Every cop is not the same. There are some amazing cops out here, but it seems like it is a tug of war between us and them," Richards said, calling the event "an eye opener." "If we are more educated on the rules and standards, it would be better for us. We are lacking knowledge of our laws and constitutional rights. All I am trying to do is protect myself by the book.”
This was a good first step for radio personality and community activist Tory Lowe. He said the energy and neutrality of the Atlanta police officers led to real dialogue between Milwaukee police and residents.
“If we want to see things different, we are going to have to start working together and having transparency,” Lowe said. “If we can start with transparency the trust will come. You are not going to get the trust off the top. But the transparency and the open dialogue can create some hope of great change when it comes to community and policing relations.”
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The event didn’t go far enough for Louise Mckenzie. She operates a nonprofit that helps young mothers with baby supplies. She wants cops to show up at neighborhood events and meet people where they live.
“Gee’s is a safe place. This is a safe place to come and talk to people … but what about outside of here,” Mckenzie said. “When I have events for my nonprofit come to that. That is where the people are. Met people where they are.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee police met with youths at a barbershop. Here's how things turned out
