A hundred kids in Akron will begin passing out palm cards this week on how to deal with police. It's thought to be a first-in-the-nation program.
The “You and the Law” cards were developed by the city’s anti-violence youth group called the PeaceMakers – by kids troubled by officer-involved shootings in Ferguson and Cleveland.
The cards begin with cautions such as “The best way to avoid conflict … is to stay out of trouble.” But they include specifics like don’t bad mouth cops and do sign traffic tickets. And they include ways to file complaints against officers.
Akron’s Community Relations Assistant Billy Soule says the goal is a simple one.
“Right now, it’s so important to us that we tell our young people and others how they should respond so that we don’t have another Tamir Rice situation, so that another family won’t be mourning,” he said.
The cards were developed with the Akron Police Department and will be distributed first to middle and high school kids, then to churches and other community groups. They’ll be followed by a more detailed booklet this spring.