Youth join MPD for "listening circles" to bridge gap between groups
MILWAUKEE (WITI) – Youth joined police officers on Wednesday, January 30th for a round table event to help bridge the gap between police and teens, and work to put an end to violence.
Several high-profile incidents involving youth and police officers in the recent past have raised concerns about the tension between the two groups.
A federal probe has been launched more than a year after 22-year-old Derek Williams died gasping for air and asking for help in the back of a police car and charges have been brought by the district attorney against four Milwaukee officers for conducting illegal cavity searches on people thought to be hiding drugs.
These developments, along with a few other controversial issues involving MPD have added to the already existing mistrust that the community, and especially youth have for police officers.
Safe & Sound and the Milwaukee Commission on Police Community Relations, joined by Captains Michael Brunson and Jerome O’Leary, of Districts 3 and 4, are addressing this problem by planning a series of "listening circles" designed to help youth and police work together to increase understanding and positive relationships between them.
The listening circles launched on Wednesday at Neighborhood House, 2819 W. Richardson Pl., and will continue Thursday at Agape Community Center, 6100 N. 42nd St., in the Berryland Housing Development.
The circle will include 15 people made up of eight youth, three police officers, a judge, a member of the MCPCR, and two facilitators.
The listening circles will follow a restorative tradition of peacemaking circles, a structured process used to bring people together where everyone is respected and everyone is equal. The purpose is to help groups better understand one another, build and strengthen bonds and solve community problems. Modern cultures are “rediscovering” the power of circles for healing, community building and peacemaking.