Teens, police join forces to assist youth
By AARON LEO
Connecticut Post Online
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The teenagers sat around a table in Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood’s office, flanked by sergeants, lieutenants and deputy chiefs.
But they weren’t nervous. They bantered like they were colleagues.
At a meeting earlier this month, the officers and the teens were planning the first “Spring Fling,” a safe party event for Bridgeport’s sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, which took place June 15 at Blackham School.
In one nonchalant exchange, Norwood asked about prizes.
Jonathan Silva, a sophomore at Kolbe Cathedral High School, had a suggestion.
“Baseball game tickets. I got connections,” he said with certainty.
“OK,” Norwood said, leaning back and throwing up his hands, apparently impressed and convinced.
Then came the next topic: the dunk tank planned at the party. The chief volunteered to be a celebrity candidate for dunking.
Another teenager probably might not have addressed the police chief so frankly. And another chief might not have volunteered to get dunked by teens.
But these are no ordinary teenagers and Norwood is no ordinary chief.
The teens are members of the Young Adult Board of Police Commissioners, founded by the chief. One member eventually wants to be the city’s mayor. A few others want to be police officers.
As for the chief, he walks street patrols and volunteered to be stung by one of the police force’s new Tasers last week. At 40, he’s the city’s youngest police chief and interested in getting everyone involved with the department, including young people.
The 12-member panel, which was established last year, was envisioned by Norwood as a liaison between the city’s youth and the police. For now, it meets once a week in the chief’s office to plan activities to help occupy city students so they’re not tempted by crime. But Norwood hopes to branch out, with community service projects and scholarships.
“They’re young adult police commissioners, and we’re sitting at the same table” with high-ranking officers, Norwood said after the meeting.
So far, the panel has thrown a Halloween party for Bridgeport middle-school youths and were on the radio talking about youth and violence. Its members would like to do more, such as issue scholarships and throw more parties, but they have to raise the money first. To help pay for the Spring Fling, they sponsored a car wash in May. They also had a video-game tournament with a Nintendo Wii game system that attracted about 400 people. There were prizes and a dance contest. Last October’s Halloween event, where Norwood also volunteered for the dunk tank, drew hundreds of children. They didn’t have to say trick-or-treat, because candy was served at the party.
The fledgling board aspires to be like New Haven’s youth police board, which is more than 10 years old. Norwood was able to see how effectively that board worked when he was assistant police chief in New Haven before coming to Bridgeport in April 2006.
“They’re very advanced, the way they’re managing everything,” said Leland Jones, the Bridgeport board president and a junior at Bassick High School. But he is optimistic that Bridgeport’s fledgling board can make as big a difference as New Haven’s. “We’re still trying to stop the negative things,” Jones said at a recent meeting. “It’s getting better and better.”
Orlando Elias, the board sergeant-at-arms, said, “We’re trying to get the people more familiar” with us.
New Haven’s youth panel has the ear of its police chief and the mayor, and also does general community service projects, said New Haven Officer Dewlyne Ponteau, the board’s adviser.
“They do everything. They speak on everything. The mayor talks to them and the chief talks to them,” she said.
Eighteen-year-old Manny Colon, the New Haven board’s president for two years and a senior at Hill Regional Career High School, said the board gives out scholarships in addition to volunteering and having activities for youth.
Bridgeport’s youth commissioners have shirts and badges identifying them, and have the chief’s cell-phone number, which they are told to use responsibly.
Even before the Spring Fling, the two boards were eager to work together, according to Ponteau.
Keeping children busy and safe is their common goal.
“They’re trying to develop things for the younger kids to do so they don’t get into trouble,” Ponteau said.
One constant issue with both boards is member recruitment and retention.
Elias, Christopher Kelly, Aikeem Boyd and Shanica Merced are all seniors. After graduation, they no longer are eligible to serve.
“We’re seeing people. We’re also taking recommendations from seniors that are leaving,” Jones said. “You want to choose people who will be good for the commission.”
Ponteau, of New Haven, said they are focusing on recruiting incoming high school freshmen.
There are also graduates who have returned to volunteer, she added. Elias, reflecting on his time with Bridgeport’s board, said he’d like to return after graduation.
“I’ve learned a lot about the city, about how it works,” he said, adding, “I still wish I could be part of this.”
Boyd, the prospective mayoral candidate, said he’s always been interested in public service.
He’s also been inspired.
“For me this is an honor. We’ve done a lot of good. That Safe Night on Halloween, we had hundreds of kids,” he said.
Both Mayor John M. Fabrizi and Capt. Leonard Samatulski praised the teens. “It’s nice to see young kids going out and organizing. A nice bunch of kids,” Samatulski said.
The mayor added, “This is a great way to get youth involved in a non-adversarial relationship with the Bridgeport Police Department,” in which they will learn virtues such as leadership, he said.
“The chief opened up a great opportunity for these young men and women,” he added.
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