VCU student and aspiring police officer Kyle Jacobs with Richmond Police Sgt. Carol Adams (Photo by Jay Paul)
Kyle Jacobs had a bias against anyone connected with law enforcement.
His adversarial relationship with police began when he was about 13. His old neighborhood in North Philadelphia was notorious for crime and violence, and he says that whenever police responded to calls for help, they tended to be overly aggressive toward perpetrators and bystanders.
“I hated cops,” he recalls. “I didn’t even want to talk to them.”
But just this week, Jacobs took his police force entrance exam.
Jacobs’ views about law enforcement changed after moving to Richmond in 2011 and meeting several police officers through the Young Adult Police Commission, a youth advisory board sponsored by the Richmond Police Department and Richmond City Council.
A junior majoring in homeland security at Virginia Commonwealth University, Jacobs says that if he is accepted into the police academy, he will continue his studies at VCU at night. He credits his former Armstrong High School assistant principal, Lamont Trotter, and Richmond Police Sgt. Carol Adams with redirecting his path.
When Jacobs arrived in Richmond seven years ago, he says left behind “an abusive father” and life in Philadelphia’s foster care system. Although he had moved in with his grandmother in Richmond, Jacobs' disruptive behavior led Trotter to steer him toward sports and the YAPC.
“I really thank [Trotter] for helping me,” says Jacobs, who became president of YAPC during his second year in the program in 2013.
Created in 2010, the YAPC has about 20 youth participants representing every high school in the city. To join the board, students must be in the 11th or 12th grade and be recommended by the school principal and the Richmond Police school resource officers.
For Jacobs, who is estranged from his mother, meeting Adams was a much-needed lifeline.
“She was the sweetest lady,” he says, adding how she and YAPC changed his perspective about police. “At first, I was worried about the image of police officers, but I learned that they genuinely want to reach out and help ease tensions.”
Adams, who leads the police department’s community care unit, says the program is an investment in the future of youth such as Jacobs. Having endured the trauma of domestic violence at age 17 after her father killed her mother, Adams believes it’s only natural that she help others because people invested in her after her mother’s death and her father’s imprisonment.
“Twenty-four/seven, that’s what this is all about,’ she tells me in between giving directions to fellow officers about youth-centered activities that were about to begin that day at Richmond’s Calhoun Center and John Marshall High School. “Adults have to be invested … we’re missing so many parents, and as a result kids get caught up in the streets.”
Ticking off a list of outreach programs in which her unit is involved, Adams is notably proud of YAPC. Since the program started, about 90 percent of its participants have gone on to college or enlisted in the military, Adams says. Career and safety fairs are a big part of the program, which takes place once a week after school. Besides learning problem-solving techniques, students also tour the city and visit local colleges and universities. “We try to create intimate settings for them to complete scholarship applications and essays,” Adams adds.
Other activities that help participants gain social skills include poetry slams, Board of Education discussions, teen forums and town hall meetings.
Aware that younger students also can benefit from learning about law enforcement, Richmond Police recently partnered with the Greater Fulton Civic Association to provide a six-week summer Police Youth Academy in the East End community. Topics include drug and gang awareness, gun safety, bullying and how to interact with police.
On a recent day hovering in the high 90s, eight students listened to the Richmond Police Department’s crime unit officers Kimberly Cheatham-McClarin and Juan Tejedo explain various policing strategies. They also tried on police gear such as bulletproof vests and body cams.
Zuri Hill, 11, a student at Albert Hill Middle School, says she didn’t have any perceptions about police before attending the academy. “I’m enjoying the program and having fun learning about their jobs.”
Desaré Mickens, 16, a student at Varina High School who is working as an office assistant for the Richmond Police Department and helping with the academy, agrees.
“If I didn’t have my own major planned for college, I’d consider becoming a police officer,” says Mickens, who wants to study social work.
Cheatham-McClarin and Tejedo are familiar faces throughout Richmond churches, schools and community centers.
“Much of our work is social work more than anything,” says Cheatham-McClarin, who joined the police department 24 years ago. “Programs like this help bridge the gap and build a relationship between kids and police. Most of [the students] just need to see that we’re people — just like their moms and dads. We just happen to have this job and wear the uniform.”
Registration forms for the RPD/Greater Fulton Civic Association’s summer Police Youth Academy may be obtained by calling 804-226-4366, or by stopping by the Neighborhood Resource Center at 1519 Williamsburg Road.
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