Children bond with cops at fishing tournament

Bradenton police Officer Emily Parsons stood beside Destiny Dunbar, 17, with a wide smile. It was late Tuesday morning on the Green Bridge, and Destiny turned her reel handle. She had caught a crab.

“See if you can get it up,” Parsons said, peering down into the water. “See if it’ll come all the way up.”

“It’s gonna come at me, though,” Destiny said cautiously.

Officer Parsons and Dejenae Lindsey, 17, encouraged Destiny to keep going. The moment didn’t last very long — after a few seconds, the crab was able to escape.

The officer and teenagers cried “awwwww” in unison. Just beyond Parsons and two teenagers were more law enforcement officials with youth. They leaned on the ledge, their eyes following fishing lines to the water below to see if any fish took bait. Other officers showed children the proper way to hold a fishing pole.

It was a form of fellowship between about 55 hand-selected Manatee County children and local law enforcement agencies, part of a fishing tournament hosted by Manatee Bridging the Gap Inc., a grassroots organization of community leaders from groups throughout Manatee County. For Manatee Bridging the Gap president Arthur Huggins, the event was a way for law enforcement to develop relationships with local children.

“We actually had this initiated a while back — that they would come together and get to know our kids a little bit better,” Huggins said. “And our kids get to know them better.”

Members of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Bradenton Police Department, and Palmetto Police Department were present.

The event was organized long before the police killings of black men Philando Castile and Alton Sterling and the killing of five Dallas police officers during what had been a peaceful protest. And long before three officers were killed in Baton Rouge, La., by a Missouri man just 10 days after the shootings in Dallas.

“With all the shootings going on right now with police officers, little kids will have bad input on what officers do,” Dunbar said. “This is going to help them build a better relationship with the police officers.”

Dejenae agreed.

“It’s not everyone that’s bad,” Dejenae pointed out. “It’s only certain people that are doing bad things.”

Officer Parsons said Tuesday’s event was a good experience for children.

“They get to have an experience with law enforcement that’s positive for them, and have some fun fishing while they’re at it,” Parsons said. “But also it’s positive for all of us participating as law enforcement officers because we do experience a lot of negativity on the road on a daily basis.”

Nearby, Bradenton police officer and longtime fisherman Todd Freed helped 14-year-old Timarus Foulks with a fishing pole. It was Timarus’ first time fishing.

“Growing up as a black male, we grow up learning that we shouldn’t interact with most police officers,” he said, sealing his approval of the event. “I think it’s because our parents, growing up, had to struggle to get where we are, to have the opportunities that we have so I think they’re worried about us having to face the same challenges that they did.”

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Children bond with cops at fishing tournament."