Page 57 - October Newsletter

“Everything was gone when we left. I suspected some peo- ple came back twice, and that was fine,” Crawford joked.
Crawford grew up on the city’s South Side as a boy who didn’t always have positive run-ins with police. After returning from military service, Crawford said he was “pulled over quite a bit in my nice car.”
But, eventually, he took the test to become a police officer. Since then, he’s become a big advocate on social media for showing the better side of policing that is often overlooked.
Crawford said he got tired of seeing negative attention about police, and “it made me want to post about the positive things in the 5th District.” One of the keys to making a better con- nection with the community is reaching the youth, he added.
Programs like the “No Crime Day” help boys and girls get to know police. It’s a chance for them to learn some of the offi- cers’ names and short-circuit a mindset about avoiding police.
“The importance of this is that some of the young people now know some of the officers’ names,” Crawford said. d
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