The event at the Cloverdale basketball courts brought out officers from the U.S. Capitol Police, Maryland State Police, Baltimore Police, Johns Hopkins University Police and Maryland Natural Resources Police.

Forever Athletics, a nonprofit sports league in the city, and Leader Breeders, a nonprofit that works with Baltimore youth on academic and career development, recruited the children, ranging from middle-schoolers earlier in the day to high school students later. Participants competed in teams of three, some with two youths and one police officer and others with two officers and one child.

“The kids love it and then the adults love it as well because a mission of BPD and a mission I think of a lot of our law enforcement agencies is to change how we are policing,” Beckford said.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley came out to watch some of the games and said the event was an example of the work the department is doing to build trust.

“We have to find other ways to connect with our young people, and this is a perfect example,” Worley said. “Down the road, it may help you at some point or may help a kid. A kid may have a problem, and he may not have a parent but if he sees the officer and has a connection, he could go to that officer.”

Community policing can involve any kind of positive, casual interaction with children, homeowners, business owners or anyone in the community, Worley explained.

“We’ve got to build a relationship because it was it was seriously damaged years ago. It’s going to take years for us to get back where we need to be, and we’re not there yet but we’re getting there one day at a time,” Worley said.

There has been longstanding distrust between Baltimore Police and city residents. A U.S. Department of Justice investigation launched after Freddie Gray’s 2015 death in police custody found that the department had engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests, excessive force and racially discriminatory enforcement. Those findings led Baltimore Police to enter a federal consent decree in 2017 that required department reforms intended to ensure constitutional policing and rebuild community trust.

The consent degree is ongoing. The department has reached sustained compliance in 5 of 17 areas being monitored, according to the Baltimore Consent Decree Monitoring Team’s latest semiannual report, which was released this month.

The goal: ‘mutual respect’

Baltimore Police Detective Darius Harris was one of the officers who volunteered to play Saturday.

“[This is] why I joined the department: to help [kids] out … to not just suppress but to help rise above, typical statistics and stereotypes of, you know, young kids in Baltimore City and one way to connect with kids is through sports,” Harris said.

Harris said he and the other members of law enforcement approached playing with the kids by treating them like equals.

“Just because I wear the uniform doesn’t make me better than anybody. I’m still a human at the end of the day and treat people with respect as you would want to be treated. So, I approach [policing] just like basketball. You find something that you have in common, make a rapport, and then from that day on out, if you see that person in passing over and over again, you have that mutual respect,” Harris said.

In addition to the games, Baltimore Police gave out backpacks filled with school supplies, provided free food and hosted a resource fair featuring the Mayor’s Office of African American Male Engagement, Living Classrooms and Youth Advocate Programs Inc.

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