By Richard Kaufman
Sentinel Reporter
Last Friday, over sixty 5th through 12th graders from the Torch and Keystone Clubs at the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich gathered for a panel discussion and presentation, “Know Your Rights,” given by the Greenwich Police Department.
The panel featured GPD Chief of Police, James Heavey; Sgt. Sean O’Donnell; Det. Michael Rooney of the Special Victims Section; Carlos Franco of the SVS; and Steve Hickey, Director of Safety for the Club and former GPD officer.
The 90-minute event focused on police policy and procedures, and juvenile rights. It also stressed the
importance of being comfortable around officers of the law, whether it be during a motor vehicle stop or just during everyday life.
“Because we wear this uniform, sometimes it’s kind of a barrier to people approaching us. We’re just like everybody else. We don’t want to be the boogey man,” Heavey said, encouraging the kids to introduce themselves and say hi when they see police officers out on the street.
The panel showed a video titled “Breaking Barriers,” which depicted the points of view and attitudes of civilians towards cops and vice versa and centered around having respect for each other.
The second video, which will be shown in drivers’ education courses around town, re-enacted a motor vehicle stop from start to finish in a suburban setting.
The video laid out several tips on how to interact with the police during a stop, such as: do not make sudden movements; do not reach for documentation right away; calmly retrieve documents when asked for them, and follow instructions word for word; do not argue and be respectful; ask as many questions in order to understand what is going on.
“We’re stopping you for a reason,” Franco said. “A police officer has to see a violation in order to pull you over, or we have a call, so we have to look at that. You have to do something wrong to create a violation for us to stop.”
Heavey noted that the town of Greenwich issued more tickets and conducted more motor vehicle stops in 2017 than they did in 2016, and that it helped curb the amount of accidents on the road. “There’s definitely a correlation,” he said.
Rooney added that police officers also pay attention to the driver’s attitude, and record it on the summons. He reminded the kids to be positive during stops, in order to ensure things go smoothly, and said that officers are similar to parents or teachers; when they ask you to do something, do it.
“Don’t think, ‘Oh, here are the cops, they’re pulling me over, I hate cops, my brother had to deal with the cops, my parents had to deal with the cops.’ It might have all been negative for them, but that doesn’t mean the experience for you guys is going to be negative,” he said.
The panel then took questions from the audience. The first asked what would happen if, during a motor vehicle stop, the driver alerted the officer that there was a gun in the car?
O’Donnell compared going to school to attending the police academy. “They teach us at the police academy, you always want to see the people’s hands. If I can’t see your hands in the car, I’m concerned for my well-being, and also yours. Whenever we have our hands that are visible, we both know that we’re comfortable,” he said.
Franco and O’Donnell acted out the scenario and the proper steps involved with disarming and securing a weapon. “I’m always interacting; I’m always aware of what’s going on,” Franco added.
The panel was asked to define the worst part of their job. Franco said it’s arresting teens when they make a mistake.
“I know that teenagers do make mistakes.That’s a part of growing up,” Franco said. Heavey then outlined an alternative to juveniles getting arrested with the Juvenile Review Board, a diversionary program in which juveniles sign a contract promising restitution.
“Say you vandalized a building. You’re going to clean it up and do some comunity service. In the course of six months, if you behave and you don’t commit any other crimes, that could go away,” Heavey said.
Heavey also told the kids to not give up if they do get arrested. “If you make a mistake, don’t make a second mistake thinking that you’re no longer valuable and there’s nothing you can do now. It’s never as bad as you think.”
Franco, who works as the resource officer at Greenwich High School and deals with all juvenile matters in the SVS, outlined juvenile rights.
“If you’re a victim of a crime, we, as SVS detectives, can interview you and can talk to you because you’re a victim of a crime. We have to talk with you to get the full story,” he said. “If you committed a crime, you have rights. [You and your parents] have to sign your [Miranda Rights], and be made aware of what you did wrong, why you’re being questioned.”
The officers also touched on the rights surrounding the searching of vehicles and probable cause, and gave the smell of marijuana as an example. The officers stressed the importance of choosing friends
wisely, so that the mistake of one doesn’t affect many.
O’Donnell then urged the kids to go online and educate themselves on the law and the various Connecticut state statutes.
“The law establishes criteria in order for us to charge someone with a crime,” O’Donnell said. “I encourage you to go online and educate yourselves. You can be incredibly intelligent under your own initiative and go and learn what is the criteria of the law. That’s knowing your rights.”
Afterwards, the kids gathered around the panel for a group photo. The officers hung around and interacted with everyone to further build the relationship between Greenwich and its police department.
