It started with an email about a Sports Central Program that provides sports equipment to kids!
That’s when Acting Staff Sergeant Kelly Lang asked Southeast Division Squad 3 if they wanted to get involved? “They were all for it,” he says, “all the members were like, yeah, let's do something to give back to the community.”
A/Sgt. Lang reached out to a nearby out-of-school daycare, and before long, members found themselves engaged in a spirited soccer skills session and game with 13 children aged 6 to 12.
Jiaca Fernandez, a coordinator at the daycare says, “it’s so important for the children to have this community interaction because some kids might see an officer and think I'm scared because when they see officers they think of crime. But it's nice for them to see that, oh yeah, they are fun to hang out with and fun to play with."
A/Sgt. Lang agrees and wants to see more of this community-centered positive interaction, “they can be small events with community stakeholders and expose that other side of policing, hopefully breaking down those barriers between community and policing."
