Page 37 - February 2020 FOP Magazine

If there is
a conclusion
to draw, per-
haps it’s that
for many of
these kids,
police of-
ficers can
have the
same in-
fluence on
their lives
as teach-
ers and
coaches.
Chicago Police Officers are teachers and
coaches. And for some kids, mothers or fathers, big sisters or big brothers.
You better believe that Chicago Police Officers take every single interaction with the city’s youth personally.
“I just think it lifts our spirits,” Iza confides. “You hear all the time that all we ever deal with are the bad people. That the firefighters are the heroes. But once the kids know we’re not here to do bad, they enjoy it. And I think that makes a huge difference for us.”
To say that the opportunity to impact the kids in the city is a high point of the job is an understatement. Chicago Po- lice Officers anticipate getting unequivocal backing from the Department for the initiatives that make a difference. Peer juries, chess with the cops and other programs have bubbled up from districts to go citywide.
Martinez hopes one idea he is working on will be the next big thing. He is calling it “First Stop with a Cop,” a two-hour visit to schools structured for students to meet with officers in 15-minute rotations. Youth officers, senior officers, school officers, patrol officers, detectives, supervisors, command- ers, female, male and all ethnicities will participate. The ob- jective is for every kid to find some way to relate to an officer, and the outcome is unconditional.
“I feel like we are in a battle for these kids on the streets,” Martinez announces. “The gang-bangers,
they don’t sleep. The drug dealers don’t take time off. We need to be out there as much as we can. Other kids may make fun of them
at the first inter- action. But the second time, the third, the fourth – what are they making fun of? We don’t stop until we engage them on every
level.”
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ FEBRUARY 2020 37