Bugg Stories vol. 5

we in the heat of summer at a campground half an hour west of nashville probably the single most diverse group of nashville teenagers gathers male female african american asian caucasian iranian jewish catholic protestant and muslim this is camp in a town sponsored by the national conference for community and justice for one week young people here face their prejudices of race religion gender and physical building in hopes of leaving with a better understanding of differences and similarities campers are given an agenda for the week so on this particular night they are unaware that they'll be talking about their stereotypes of the police lynda barry is the national conferences regional executive director why is it important because they don't trust the police and ere they need please help in a lot of situations and also they have to take responsibility if they're doing things wrong in a small meeting room jammed with fifty or so campers and counselors barry stands before a blackboard and asks the

teenagers to share their views on the police chris haney yeah yeah you see it and on it goes for almost twenty minutes until the first positive comment on the police is made so that immediately after this one voice of support from across the

room comes their pigs seventeen year old vernon dressed smartly and field figure shorts and shirt is adamant about his disdain of the police the court on seven eighteen occasions in ways we missed the bodies et only once we knew that the eighties that mubarak and his family over whether a subway lines that matters to allay those days most we're exactly what you were doing dave davies is not it is not all about why now why were roses you'd say you take our own ignorance at the police at this point linda barry tells the growing teenagers that they're about to hear from two

metro police officers they know the two as kiki and more camp counselors that much to their surprise the two now enter the room in their patrol uniforms as the laughter dies down and seven the rim begins corps officer can keep the more the works the lower charlotte joe johnston westin district and officer martin bennett who's stationed at maplewood high school you questions are really a unique environment that people have that teachers you had bad news there is there i'm back here in guinea a group of people that you have to remember now the officers relate stories of how their lives had been in danger

what weapons they wear on their belts about the city's curfew and about why officers sometimes approach teenagers with a wary eye vernon who earlier called officers pigs says he appreciates the work that key key and mara do but that this is the first time he's ever seen two african american officers and though not every incident is rodney king and they must know that harassment goes on is not also friendly and well i just did that just one industry the lonely austere was true on the day of the us as a marvelous man singing please don't write anymore their harmonies is really struggling trying to teach officers to treat it was in these wars

i know and i'm in the position to help him because that's what they need to do how maybe fall officially began at new parents have to file official complaints and make sure they go through the proper channels now exactly let's talk about that because if that officer received a number of complaints because of their attitude toward the public as to how to deal with this on a daily basis on a weekly basis we've asked why isn't there also will be dealt with the more he talks the more passionate more than it

gets he understands the pressures officers are under and he believes candidates should be at least twenty six before joining the force instead of the current twenty one they're missing lots of life experiences and that he says affects their street performance as a layla measles literally in tears you just graduated twenty one years though goes to their cabin has been much about you know relatives not have to venture out into other areas of life as far as different cultures different rates can a police officer there you go out here first thing you see when us all first line media that american grew up in january or public housing nellie mckay singing it all know it all work are different pair ha ha ha ha ha they said it

was this one he was shot adp jules treated joe know how african americans upset they are causing treaty each of the net costs are well not that well what about his twenty one year old boy and all he knows about the mountains of what he's seen a lot and i haven't had direct contact with a day job the teenagers are subdued for a moment and then began to ask more questions relating more incidents with the police after the session ends they swarm the officers and keep peppering them with questions for another forty five minutes or so martin bennett says the hope is that this kind of interchange will go along way to making these young people are more understanding that the police if you have a bad run into

police officer deal with that poll results as a person and not the whole forest is like me as people have a bad experience with the flow if a caucasian american couple that knows what after malcolm deal with that individually and don'ts and be on the whole racing vice versa and it goes with all races there's no scientific way of measuring the effects of campaigning tan except to say there's a waiting list for the camp and the students who come here are allowed to apply to be counselors and there's a waiting list for that too for nashville public radio i read about head