By Police1 Staff
RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin has always known how to react to police situations.
His father, Doug Baldwin Sr., a 35-year veteran of the Pensacola Police Department who later worked for Homeland Security, taught him about how police encounters can go wrong and laid out a plan for his sons to follow, according to ESPN.
“Regardless of what the situation may be when he’s stopped, whether he feels like he is right or wrong, compliance is the key,” Baldwin Sr. said. “Always comply with what the officer tells you to do. Make sure that your compliance is visible, and articulate it to the point where there’s no doubt that you’re doing anything other than being compliant and that you’re able to come home the next day or that day or that night and be able to tell me the circumstances so we can go from there.”
Baldwin leads an initiative off the field called the “Building Bridges” campaign. The campaign aims to bridge gaps between police officers and the community. The publication reports he asked attorney generals from every state to review training policies and “put a higher emphasis on de-escalation tactics and crisis management measures.”
Baldwin decided when the season began that he was going to use his athlete status for change.
Becoming increasingly frustrated with the news of officer-involved shootings, he researched, spoke with his father, and focused his efforts on improving police training.
“There’s a breakdown of communication,” Baldwin Sr. said. “There’s a lack of bridging those gaps and understanding the different cultures that exist and the different mindsets of people that exist today opposed to what they used to be back say even 10 years ago or 20 years ago.”
Baldwin Sr. told ESPN that because of the platform athletes have, they can instill real change.
“I don’t want my son growing up in an environment where he fears law enforcement. His father is a law enforcement officer. Both of my boys grew up around their father wearing a uniform, representing something good and something to be proud of,” Baldwin Sr. said. “I think he has taken all this personal because he doesn’t want his brother or his children to grow up in this type of culture. And I think that’s why he’s so passionate about it.”