By Matthew McLaughlin

Somerville teenagers recently had an encounter with police that resulted in some harsh words being exchanged.

“Racism!” one youth shouted.
“Gangs!” an officer yelled back.
“Respect!” another teen hollered.
“Graffiti!” Another cop proclaimed.

The verbal exchange was not part of a street fight, however. Both groups were shouting assumptions people make about cops and teens. This was one of many activities Teen Empowerment, a non-profit organization in Somerville, used in a three-day workshop to create greater dialogue between two groups that are often at odds with each other. Police from Somerville, Medford and Everett participated in the event.

Wendy Weiser, program director for Somerville TE, said the forum strives to create a better understanding by finding a common ground between cops and kids.

‚ÄúThe things we can talk about are the things we have in common.  Like what your favorites sports teams are, or what your favorite food is,‚Äù she said.

Police Chief Anthony Holloway, said he thought the event was positive because it allowed police to see teenagers in a different light.

“Nine times out of ten, cops talking to kids has a negative context,” he said. “So it is nice to get together and put a personality behind the faces.

Jenny Cermeno, 18, also said she thought the event broke down some barriers of communication.
“A lot of times kids look at cops like they’re the bad guys,” she said. “I hope both people will make less assumptions.”

The two groups discussed everything from what their favorite sports teams are to what neighborhood they are from. They also participated in games that encouraged teamwork and acted in role reversals where cops played teenagers and vice versa in everyday encounters on the street.

Many of the performances and conversations revolved around teenagers hanging out at a park and being approached by police, a common occurrence in the city.

‚ÄúThere are less things for kids to do,‚Äù said Greg Rego, 18.  ‚ÄúThe movie theater is closed, Goodtimes is getting closed. The only thing really to do is to go down to the park.  If you kick us out of the park, where are we going to go?‚Äù

Several officers said that while they have to enforce park curfews, they actually prefer kids in the park than out on the street.

“I personally want the kids down at Lincoln Park,” said officer Jim McNally, who patrols around Union Square. “Now I know where they are all the time.”

McNally said there are occasions when teenagers are not doing the right thing at the parks and he has to enforce the law. But he also said he will occasionally get calls of people breaking the law only to find someone called to police simply for seeing teenagers.

‚ÄúSometimes older people automatically call and say ‚Äòoh they‚Äôre breaking into cars‚Äô and ‚Äòthey‚Äôre selling drugs.‚Äô‚Äù he said.  Incidents like this contribute to tensions between well-intentioned cops and teens. Tanya Joseph, 15, said she has been approached several times by police without provocation.

‚ÄúYou come up to me as if I‚Äôm already doing something wrong, so I already have that tension in my  chest,‚Äù she said. ‚ÄúPolice don‚Äôt really know us personally.‚Äù

Holloway said he hopes community interaction will increase in the coming months when the police   department reorganizes to a new structure that will feature more community policing. But while police have to be more engaging in the community, teenagers also have to take a leap of faith as well, he said.

“You have to make that step also and communicate with us,” Holloway said.

At the end of the dialogue, Teen Empowerment members and police signed an agreement to strive for better interactions with each other. Police agreed to give teenagers the benefit of the doubt and teenagers agreed to manage their own behavior and break down the us versus them mentality. And both agreed to have more events like the one they attended in the future.