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player ready...The acronym SO SAD was perhaps a bit too negative for a community event Saturday that stressed education and confrontation avoidance as ways to address a bad year for police shootings and race relations.
It stood for Saving Our Sons And Daughters, a forum sponsored by the Zion-based Women of Influence Setting Examples (W.I.S.E) and was held at the Community Action Partnership Building in Waukegan.
Positive thinking, goals, education and faith primarily held sway over anger at the event.
An audience ranging in age from adults to young children listened to speakers including Zion Police officer Matt Thornton, Waukegan Alderman Sam Cunningham and former Chicago Bear and current Vernon Hills resident Rev. Anthony Morgan.
The primary message from the speakers was that no matter who is right or wrong in a confrontation between police and civilians, perhaps especially minorities, patience and restraint is something that must be taught by parents and practiced by all.
Thornton acknowledged that the April 4 shooting death of black teen Justus Howell by a Zion officer has made the streets edgy for police and civilians alike.
“It’s been hot in the street with the tragedy that’s happened,” Thornton said. “The stress level is through the roof. But it’s what I signed up for.”
Thornton said he is “unbiased” and that he answers first to “King Jesus,” a comment that drew cheers from the room, but asked people to understand that the constant flow of “misinformation” and negative information on social media is promoting attitudes about police that do not reflect most officers.
“I think the perception that we see on social media every day is bad, bad, bad, but it’s not the totality,” he said, adding that a few bad apples have made life harder for police, and that “a police officer dies every 53 hours in this country.”
Asked by audience members how they should react when they are pulled over, Thornton said that he has “lost count” of how many guns he has found during traffic stops, and that the most important thing is to keep your hands in plain sight and not to make sudden moves.
He said once you are pulled over, you are “officially detained and not free to leave.”
He said motorists, if requested, are obligated to give police their name and a photo ID if they have one, as well as proof of insurance.
He said that for an officer to even ask to search your car, he must have reasonable cause to believe something illegal may be found. He said the odor of marijuana or open alcohol are among the reasons for such searches.
He said people have the right to speak and ask questions and that he personally tries to avoid escalating an argument even if someone he stops is verbally combative. “Unless you are under arrest you can talk all you want. But you have to do what he says, otherwise it’s obstruction.”
Audience member Blossom Masini of Zion asked how parents can educate young people about police when they hear so many bad things.
Thornton suggested bringing youth to visit the police station and meet officers as one way to give them another perception about police. “Bring them to our station. I’ll give a tour.”
Cunningham said parents have the responsibility to increase their children’s safety by teaching them patience and restraint, even if an officer is wrong. He said public officials and community groups can help lodge complaints about unnecessary force or abuse, but that it’s too late once someone is facing several charges.
“I always caution them to safety,” Cunningham said. “(Let them know) you can’t be talking to folks the way you want to talk to them. Are there going to be situations where the officer is wrong? Yes. But you can’t win a fight in the street with an officer.”
Cunningham also noted that Thornton made a comment about going home to his child, and said that police officers are weighing their desire to go home to their children against what may be happening during a stop. “If you start acting crazy, he’s going to make a decision about ‘do I have to go through this guy’ to go home to his baby.”
“When young people make decisions it will probably be the wrong one. Protect our sons and daughters,” Cunningham said. “You shouldn’t be disrespectful to that officer. You shouldn’t be disrespectful to anyone. If you don’t (teach) it, no one else will. You do it with education. get them in schools. That is the ticket to our success.”
Morgan said despite his celebrity as a professional football player, he and his wife were targeted by several officers in his hometown leaving a bookstore after a white woman told police they had stolen books.
He said that while he was furious at being made to sit on the ground while police searched their vehicle and possessions while they had done nothing but read at the store, he kept quiet until they realized nothing had been stolen.
About the time the officers figured out who he was, Morgan said, he asked for their cards and told them they would be hearing from his lawyers.
Morgan also had positive comments about possibilities for race relations. He said when people ask him what the best thing about being a football player was, he always responds it was the huddle.
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“You look around and there are black people, white people, Hispanic people, all with one goal — to get into the end zone,” he said.
Now Morgan said faith is the most important part of his life, and that as a reverend, he much prefers presiding over weddings than funerals.
At the end of the forum, Beverly Curry, a member of W.I.S.E, said she wants kids in the community to know “we are here for you.”
“You may not be able to talk to your parents. You may not be able to talk to your friends. You have another outlet,” she said.
Curry said adults or youth interested in more information about the Women of Influence can contact the group at [email protected].
Twitter @jimnewton5