Updated ‘You & The Police’ brochure released

Joined by supporters in the legal, government, faith and educational communities, Black Political Empowerment Project President Tim Stevens has released an updated version of the “You & The Police” brochure he and state American Civil Liberties Union Legal Director Witold “Vic” Walczak created following the death of Jonny Gammage during a traffic stop by Brentwood police in 1995.
Walczak also contributed to the new version and attended the press announcement on March 16 at Freedom Unlimited in the Hill District, as did Citizen Police Review Board Executive Director Elizabeth Pittinger, who also contributed. But no representative of the police was present.
“When we originally did this, it was a time when police-community relations were strained as they’ve ever been,” said Walczak. “This is not just about informing citizens of their rights, but to remind them that in these encounters police are also rightly wary and sometimes don’t follow the rules. The main point—don’t try to fight it then and there because you will never win that encounter.”
Given the recent local incidents involving police encounters with Jordon Miles, Dennis Henderson and Leon Ford, and the heightened tensions between police and Black communities on the national level, Walczak and Stevens thought it was time to resurrect the document.
The major difference this time, they said, was receiving cooperation, input and sponsorship for the brochure from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. However, neither Cmdr. Rashall Brackney nor Cmdr. Eric Holmes, both contributors to the revision, could attend the press conference.
“Chief (Cameron) McLay is out of town and couldn’t be here but he sent me an email saying he is in full support of our efforts and wants to help, and is making sure his officers are informed of its contents,” said Stevens. “And the fact that the city and the city police are co-sponsors should not be underestimated.”
As for getting the brochure to the young African Americans who might find themselves in potentially volatile police encounters, the brochure has already been distributed to every school and to all 6-12 social studies teachers by Social Studies Curriculum Director Michael Dreger.
“I told them to print it and give it to all their students because this could be lifesaving. There’s stuff in there I didn’t know,” said Dreger. “I mean, when I get pulled over, I reach for the glove box to get my registration. Wrong—an officer can see that as a threat.”
In addition to recommendations about how to act during a traffic stop, there are also sections on what to do if the police come to your house or encounter you on the street. Some of these include:
•Keeping your hands visible;
•Not arguing;
•Not making sudden moves; and
•Never touching a police officer.
Erikka Fearby Jones, special assistant to Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Linda Lane said the district is also looking to distribute the brochure via social media since that is how most young people are communicating these days.
But how can people like Leon Ford, who are older and out of high school be reached? Reverend Maureen Cross Bolden, a member of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network and associate minister at St. James AME Church said she’ll go wherever she must.
“I have no aversion to going into bars, barbershops or beauty parlors, or stopping people on the street to tell them about this,” she said. “We also have it in our church bulletin we’ll be forwarding it to the bishop in Columbus, Ohio, so we’ll get it out beyond the city into about 100 churches.”
Pittinger has also already taken it beyond the city to McKeesport in the Mon Valley.
“We adapted to the Mon Valley simply by changing the important contact number in the back,” she said. “We’re also hoping to involve organizations like Mad Dads and One Hood, and we’re working with (software) developers on an interactive phone app, to make it as agile as possible.”
A digital copy of the brochure is available for download and reproduction at the police review board website, www.cprbpgh.org.
 

 
 
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