A lot of people are hesitant about having police officers as mentors,” Sgt. Kwesi Dadzie said. “Things going on, I understand people’s apprehension.
Dadzie, who is in charge of PAL, says they recently added more officers and activities in hopes of building trust with young people and their parents. This way it makes me actually a better police officer, because when you know the people in your community, you police differently, he said.
He says when kids start the program, some go into it a little nervous. Yes, I was afraid since I am an African American,” said Adriathan Crockwell, who won a prize at the “Shark Tank” event. “There’s a lot of stories about cops and brutality and everything.