WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — It’s that time of year again for Cops and Cleats in West Valley City. It takes place at Hunter High School, and this marks the fourth annual opportunity for local teenagers and young people to interact with local law enforcement in a fun and positive way.
The fact that these interactions happen on a football field instead of at a crime scene, or potentially in the back of a squad car, well, it’s huge, according to West Valley police Lt. Jason Vincent. “You can’t place enough emphasis on it. So every single interaction could be that one interaction that can turn the tide. You just don’t know.”
What the kids like, 11-year-old Jeremiah Ventura knows, is that this is a lot of fun. “Then I started getting along with everybody, and everybody was like nice to me, and everybody they were paying attention. It’s just fun here because it’s football!”
Besides the X’s and O’s of football, the cops and coaches try to impart some life lessons like teamwork and getting along with each other.
Hunter High is just a few miles away from Centennial Park, where a gang-related mass shooting happened last month. The prime suspect is a 16-year-old who should be getting ready to enter his junior year of high school.
That’s not lost on some of the teenage participants, like 16-year-old Baula Makaafi. He’s getting ready for his junior year and a new season of varsity football, all while having a positive interaction with police. “I really love what they’re doing for the community. With these past couple weeks and past month, tragic stuff happened, and this is a great opportunity to have people connect again and have his whole community be good.”
Lt. Vincent, who at one time was himself a school resource officer at Hunter High, calls Cops & Cleats one of the best things about his job. “It just provides a foundation that kids are already comfortable in, and when we can integrate police officers, it brings about a harmonious environment.”
This cops and cleats event is one of four that happen throughout the year, where West Valley officers interact with local youth. They’ve already done chess, soccer, cops and cleats, and next month it’s basketball.
