Teh One Who Knocks
05-23-2016, 12:44 PM
By Carol Robinson - AL.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPEhSFvsfiA
Police called to halt a game of soccer in the parking lot of an eastern Birmingham business instead joined in the match, and have a message for the person who has repeatedly complained about the kids in recent weeks.
"Please stop calling the police telling us to tell children to stop playing outside. This will be the result every time,'' East Precinct Officer Jordan Burke posted on Facebook. "The soccer game that followed, was intense. Unfortunately, my team lost. But my partner and I won new nicknames "Woody" and "Buzz". Apparently running with all this gear on makes it look like there's a snake in my boots"
The 25-year-old Burke, who works the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift, said they received a call late last week about the kids – ages 6 to 10 – playing in the parking lot of a tractor supply business in the 5300 block of Messer-Airport Highway. "This has been going on for a couple of months,'' Burke said. "It's ridiculous that someone is calling on kids playing in a parking lot when they don't have a playground."
When Burke and about four other officers pulled up, the kids stopped what they were doing and cautiously waited to see what would happen next. "They were just staring at us,'' Burke said. "One of them had a football and I motioned to him and asked him if he wanted to play catch. He just lit up."
The game of catch with the football then turned into a soccer match. "I'm not ashamed to say they kicked my butt,'' Burk said.
The officer, who has worked for the Birmingham Police Department for four years, said they kids knew someone had been calling the police on them for a while. But their options in that area are limited – the closest play area is too far for them to walk. "They know what's going on,'' Burke said. "They were just happy to have someone to play with."
Burke and the other officers played with them for about 10 minutes, and then had to respond to a police call. After they finished, they went back and played some more. They've continued to return during their lunch breaks and in between calls. "We've been trying to go back on a daily basis,'' Burke said.
"That area, there is not much out there for them to do,'' Burke said. "There are a lot of burned-out buildings, and I'd rather them be playing soccer in a parking lot than playing in a burned-out building."
Burke said his biggest pet peeve is when parents or any adults try to use police as a way to scare or discipline children. "You get these little kids who see us and they're bawling crying and it's heartbreaking,'' he said. "Our job is to help people and it's hard to help people if they're scared of us."
"It would be great if people see us as people who are there to help you,'' he said. "We want your kids to run to us, not away from us."
Burke said he and the other officers are looking into getting some nets, and other toys for the kids. He's thankful for the attention the impromptu soccer match is getting. "It's good to balance out the negativity,'' he said. "There's no one cops dislike more than bad cops, so it's great to show not all guys are out here messing up."
Birmingham police Chief A.C. Roper said he is really pleased the officers are engaging those children in a positive manner. "As I look across the nation there are numerous stories about police departments and their communities having troubling relationships,'' Roper said. "Our officers do understand their priorities and only engage in these activities when call volume is low."
"I think we can all agree we want the children to feel comfortable approaching our officers when there's a problem,'' Roper said. "We might lose the soccer game but we win something even greater when building relationships."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPEhSFvsfiA
Police called to halt a game of soccer in the parking lot of an eastern Birmingham business instead joined in the match, and have a message for the person who has repeatedly complained about the kids in recent weeks.
"Please stop calling the police telling us to tell children to stop playing outside. This will be the result every time,'' East Precinct Officer Jordan Burke posted on Facebook. "The soccer game that followed, was intense. Unfortunately, my team lost. But my partner and I won new nicknames "Woody" and "Buzz". Apparently running with all this gear on makes it look like there's a snake in my boots"
The 25-year-old Burke, who works the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift, said they received a call late last week about the kids – ages 6 to 10 – playing in the parking lot of a tractor supply business in the 5300 block of Messer-Airport Highway. "This has been going on for a couple of months,'' Burke said. "It's ridiculous that someone is calling on kids playing in a parking lot when they don't have a playground."
When Burke and about four other officers pulled up, the kids stopped what they were doing and cautiously waited to see what would happen next. "They were just staring at us,'' Burke said. "One of them had a football and I motioned to him and asked him if he wanted to play catch. He just lit up."
The game of catch with the football then turned into a soccer match. "I'm not ashamed to say they kicked my butt,'' Burk said.
The officer, who has worked for the Birmingham Police Department for four years, said they kids knew someone had been calling the police on them for a while. But their options in that area are limited – the closest play area is too far for them to walk. "They know what's going on,'' Burke said. "They were just happy to have someone to play with."
Burke and the other officers played with them for about 10 minutes, and then had to respond to a police call. After they finished, they went back and played some more. They've continued to return during their lunch breaks and in between calls. "We've been trying to go back on a daily basis,'' Burke said.
"That area, there is not much out there for them to do,'' Burke said. "There are a lot of burned-out buildings, and I'd rather them be playing soccer in a parking lot than playing in a burned-out building."
Burke said his biggest pet peeve is when parents or any adults try to use police as a way to scare or discipline children. "You get these little kids who see us and they're bawling crying and it's heartbreaking,'' he said. "Our job is to help people and it's hard to help people if they're scared of us."
"It would be great if people see us as people who are there to help you,'' he said. "We want your kids to run to us, not away from us."
Burke said he and the other officers are looking into getting some nets, and other toys for the kids. He's thankful for the attention the impromptu soccer match is getting. "It's good to balance out the negativity,'' he said. "There's no one cops dislike more than bad cops, so it's great to show not all guys are out here messing up."
Birmingham police Chief A.C. Roper said he is really pleased the officers are engaging those children in a positive manner. "As I look across the nation there are numerous stories about police departments and their communities having troubling relationships,'' Roper said. "Our officers do understand their priorities and only engage in these activities when call volume is low."
"I think we can all agree we want the children to feel comfortable approaching our officers when there's a problem,'' Roper said. "We might lose the soccer game but we win something even greater when building relationships."