HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022 8-30 Free backpacks, back-to-school haircuts as Black officer's association works to build trust in St. Paul PIONEER PRESSNEWS CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Free backpacks, back -to -school
haircuts as Black officers'
association works to build trust
in St. Paul
By IMAIRA IHm GOTTIFIREEID I mgottfried@pioneerpress.com I Pioneer Press
PUBLISHED: August 30, 2022 at 6:04 p.m. I UPDATED: August 30, 2022 at 7:59 p.m.
As kids came to a St. Paul rec center to pick up backpacks and school supplies,
officer Lorenzo Lamb saw himself in them — and he and other members of the
National Black Police Association's Minnesota chapter hope the next generation
can see themselves in their shoes in the future.
Lamb was back to his roots on Tuesday. He grew up on the East Side, where the
association was sponsoring the Barbers & Backpacks event outside the Conway
Recreation Center.
From the time Lamb was a kid, he dreamed of becoming a St. Paul police officer.
That happened in October, when he joined the city's police department.
While Lamb was attending Century College, the nonprofit National Black Police
Association awarded him a $1,000 scholarship. The new officer said he's saving °e
money, so he can pay it forward with a scholarship for another student through
As much as officers, deputies, firefighters, barbers and others volunteering
Tuesday aimed to help students get ready for the new school year with the
practicalities of school supplies and fresh haircuts, they also wanted community
members to see and talk to them in a situation that wasn't an emergency.
And amid a difficult atmosphere of recruiting police officers, president of NBPA's
Minnesota chapter Brad Chin said it's more important than ever for young
people to see officers who look like them and who are giving back, while
encouraging them to pursue a career in public safety.
Chin, a St. Paul officer, said there aren't exact numbers about how many Black
officers there are in Minnesota, but he said they're underrepresented in law
enforcement. He estimated only 250 of the state's 10,600 licensed peace officers
are Black.
Among St. Paul's approximately 550 officers, 7 percent are Black and 5 percent
identify as two or more races, according to the department.
Rae Marin, a Maplewood officer and the association's vice president, said she
started college for law enforcement shortly after Philando Castile was fatally shot
by a St. Anthony police officer and she was finishing school when a Minneapolis
officer killed George Floyd.
"We had this major freeze that set us back and now we're rebuilding," she said.
HUNDREDS OF BACKPACKS GIVEN OUT
101
Fleoph e uiii ae up to recehie free backpacks and schoou suuppHes at the second alnnuau
13ariuers & Backpacks event, head ..Fuesday, Aug. 30, 2022 at St„ PauuU`s Conway IRecreatuan
Center„ a he event us sponsored I,,ay the Minnesota (".haapter of the Natlbnau Oack Police
Assodc atuon„ (Scant ll alkuushau / St.. Pau.uu Plic neelr Piress)
The National Black Police Association's Minnesota chapter gave away more than
550 backpacks on Tuesday, and will be heading to a Minneapolis elementary
school Wednesday to hand out more.
"These are my favorite things to do," Marin said. "It's really an opportunity for us
to create those conversations that, when responding to a call, we might not have
time for."
St. Paul police Sgt. Antwan Denson made his way around the crowd outside the
rec center, offering a microphone to kids to ask questions of officers who were
gathered.
Ahlaan Isaak, 10, asked, "What's it like to drive a police car?" She smiled as she
recalled Denson's answer — "The seat's are hard, so it's not luxury."
Ahlaan went to see a squad that Maplewood officer Isabel Sanchez had parked
nearby, and other kids flocked to the squad.
Sanchez said another child asked her why she'd wanted to become a police d�
officer.
"I told her when I was little, a lot of police officers would go to my home because
my home wasn't the safest," said Sanchez, a member of the National Latino
Peace Officers Association's Minnesota chapter. "... Sometimes they were rude to
us and so I wanted to become a police officer because I wanted people to feel
safe coming up to me because I spoke their language or I looked like them."
Denson also handed the mic to law enforcement, asking how the event made
them feel.
"It makes me feel hopeful," one answered.
"Hopeful — that we can all be seen in a better light than what's being presented,"
Denson added.
`VERY HUMBLE ABOUT IT'
St.. PaW upohce Officer A orenzo Il...aiml�p Deft„ chats with his mentee, bdlipafar IINuur„ 41 hlis
pairkung enforcement unliforim„ at the second annuA Barbers & 13ackpacks event. A...amb
beneflitted from the same mentersh ip pue, ram When he was un We ege and was
traini4ig to becorne a police officer. (Scott llaku.ishuu / St. Pai,fl Pioneer Press)
Officers and firefighters bought supplies out of their own pockets and some were
volunteering while off -duty, said Dawn Selle, Sanneh Foundation vice president
of external affairs and community partnerships.
The Sanneh Foundation connected NBPA with United Way and other
organizations that provided backpacks and supplies.
Chin said they can't put on such events without financial support and the places
they received it from included various public safety agencies, Target and Hiway
Credit Union.
Four barbers donated their time to give free haircuts outside the Conway Rec
Center — Terrell Smith, owner of Gentlemen Cuts; Leonard Young, owner of Next
Level Barbershop; Jamal Britt, barber at Next Level; and Ronnie Kemp, barber at
Final Cuts Sports Barbershop in Roseville.
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Tags: Pulbhc safety, St. IPaW
Mara H. Gottfried I St. Paul crime
and public safety reporter
Mara Gottfried has been a Pioneer Press reporter since 2001, mostly
covering public safety. Gottfried lived in St. Paul as a young child and returned
to the Twin Cities after graduating from the University of Maryland. You can
reach her at 651-228-5262.
mgottfried@pioneerpress.com
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