Every Thursday night since the beginning of February, students accepted into the Buckley Police Department Citizen’s Academy were presented with classes meant to bridge the community disconnect with law enforcement- where it comes from and what it takes.

I’ve held an ignorant and uneasy opinion about cops since adolescence and my feelings had only heightened during the perfect storm of events the past few years have brought. The offering of a Citizen’s Academy with intent to humanize police officers and teach through experience was another YOLO opportunity for me to lessen my discomfort and encourage support for my community.

Many of the classes from the first annual 9-week course were hands-on, including acting with props in mock scenarios and driving a cop car through a timed, closed course. Starting with an overview of the Buckley Police Department and hiring academy process, the classes continued with speakers like Dispatcher Leah Heiberg, Buckley Judge Anneke Berry, Puyallup Officer Cameron Olinger and his K-9 partner, Griff, and Bonney Lake Investigations and Homicide Detective Brian Byerley. We were given demonstrations on K-9 bites and Ju Jitsu defensive tactics. Students could even choose to fire a less lethal weapon and volunteer to be tased…which I did and can say it is a helpless five-second tornado of blue lightning spinal cord pain.

On the first day of the Academy, the recent situations of police brutality and officer integrity within our Nation were directly addressed.

“We need to recognize, in general, how we need to get better in those situations,” explained Buckley Police Chief Kurt Alfano. “It’s all about transparency. When someone comes in contact with the Buckley Police Department, I want it to be a fair, open, and honest assessment.”

Officer Melissa Phillips, lead organizer for the course, shared that “working in the Buckley Police Department is very desirable, given the times. Our officers have a lot of skills because we do it all. I enjoy working things from start to finish. We are more proactive than reactive. We’re playing basketball. We want to be involved with the kids.”

“That’s how we are a safer community than most,” added Chief Alfano. “I want [officers] out in the alleys, walking the schools.”

As a parent, the class on criminal and case law disoriented me like the flashbang demo: that within the legislature, it seems there is no moral obligation for youth to choose lawful good and that a child’s wrongful doing will have no consequence.

Yes, with Washington State Law being effectively amended in 2022 to require juveniles access to an attorney before consultation with law enforcement, Buckley Sergeant Adam Garrett cautioned that we would breed juveniles not to talk to the police.

“We are never going to interview a juvenile again in the state of Washington,” Sgt. Garrett spoke on his frustration about the legislation. “A parent doesn’t have the right to allow police to talk with the juvenile. We cannot ask for consent to search [their] backpack. We are fortunate to not have the underbelly of society using our youth to commit crimes.” The tactic of using children to perform the criminal activity is happening within other jurisdictions.

“It’s a game of strategy, with regards to the juvenile,” said the City of Buckley Prosecutor Will Gunderson, who’s observations through the quarantine years detail the loss of appreciate and respect for the courts as defendants would smoke a cigarette on their bed during their Zoom hearing. “Law enforcement does not have the upper hand now.”

Our country’s legislature is not necessarily out-of-hand, but things have gotten so out of whack that the basics feel extreme. Law enforcement should be the last resort, when all other means of education and compassionate community action have not worked. It’s up to us to teach and demonstrate how to do good, first; to stop putting our efforts and funding primarily into personal entertainment but instead into supporting our fellow man.

This is the COMMUNITY CATCH: Parents and youth advocates have the right to talk with, listen to, and educate juveniles before restrictions are placed when the law steps in. School staff can seize a backpack that is potentially carrying unsafe contents without consent. We can say no to giving children access to smartphones and media containing information their developing minds cannot physically and emotionally reason through.

A running joke throughout the class was to say, “These are not my pants”, as this confession prompted the State v. Blake ruling to decriminalize controlled substances. Vehicle theft has increased by 700% with House Bill 1054, and Police County thieves have a right to privacy in a stolen vehicle.

“The criminals are thinking all the time about how to screw us.” Bonney Lake Detective Nate Vance lamented. “The Blake Laws and Pursuit Laws crushed us. As of right now, a car gets pulled over, the officer gets flipped the bird, and the criminal takes off. Statewide, we cannot pursue.”

This all sounds backwards, but as Co-Responder Chantel Quintero taught on Behavioral Health and Crisis Services, there is often more to the criminal’s story, “Substance use means mental health. Mental health takes time. There is no quick cure.”

Because of legal liability, every officer must adapt and train to the ever-changing platform of legislation. We hold our police force to the highest standard of accountability with AXON cameras that activate to record as soon as an officer’s taser or weapon is unholstered. As citizens, we complain on forums that law-abiding police “just don’t care” and wash our hands of responsibility for the situation our own ignorance has put us in.

The COMMUNITY CATCH: Learn the law. An officer cannot initiate pursuit without first developing probable cause unless, for instance, the criminal appears intoxicated. Report criminal activity, especially any involving children, immediately…even at 1 a.m. while half-asleep. There is a misconception to wait 24 hours and statistics show that 90% of kidnappings have already ended in death by that time. For anything that can be stolen, including heavy machinery equipment, document all information and put a GPS tracker on it. Unincorporated Pierce County does not respond to house alarms, their resources are too limited. Anything outside of town limits is Pierce County jurisdiction, including White River High School.

Buckley P.D. is not currently hiring and does not have the ability to increase their patrol hours within the Wilkeson and Carbonado town limits. There is a backlog of cases that sit on the shelves until they can be processed. Perhaps for these reasons, Chief Alfano would like to re-establish the voluntary Reserve Officer program.

This substantiates Assistant Chief Mike Northam’s answer to the question I asked during my Ride-a-Long of whether police officers must write tickets to fill a quota.

Asst. Chief Northam’s reply, “We are not revenue for Buckley. It’s not about screwin’ people over. It’s about education.”

During the Academy Graduation Ceremony, Chief Kurt Alfano outlined, “It is important to us to get the support of our community; to change our legislature and our laws. But it doesn’t stop us from doing what we do.”

It was voiced by officers and students alike that the class created close comraderie. Many classmates determined they would apply again. For me, I must shout from the rooftops the good within the Buckley Police Citizen’s Academy and gift the opportunity to another.

In conclusion, Buckley Mayor Beau Burkett, who also was a student of the Police Citizen’s Academy, proudly expressed, “We have beyond exceptional men and women, that have their own lives and families. This is an excellent thing, to bring in the community. We are truly blessed as a community with our law enforcement. When you call in your most desperate need, they will come.”