I remember the night vividly. I had spent the evening with a group of young people at my house working on a theatre production that illustrated the stories of violence survivors. For years, this had been my way of mentoring youth on the west side of Chicago and a way for them to feel a greater sense of purpose. My goal was to keep them off the streets and on a path to success.
That night ended like many others. We wrapped up rehearsal, said our goodbyes and the youth proceeded to pile into one of their cars to go home. A few minutes later, I got a text message from one of them saying something along the lines of:
“The cops are outside. They are about to arrest Will.”
From the time I swung my front door open, I could see the red and blue flashing lights circling the neighborhood in front of my house. Will, who couldn’t have been older than 17 at the time, was a mere silhouette with his arms stretched up on the side of his car as the officers proceeded to frisk him. The other kids stood around anxiously, not knowing what to do as the officers proceeded to question them and search the vehicle.
From what I remember, he had a missing tail light.
As I approached the group outside, one officer shouted loudly for me to “stay back!” My boyfriend at the time had come outside too and spoke up loudly, explaining why the kids were there and that they were not making trouble. The situation appeared to be escalating quickly as we attempted to get involved. I was only when he shouted that his Dad was a high-ranking officer on the force that the officers backed off. They never found anything illegal in their vehicle.
This is just one of countless experiences that I have had with police officers that left a bad taste in my mouth.
I have spent my career in media, youth development, and tackling issues of social injustice. Like many, I have been surrounded by videos of police officers throughout the country using unnecessary force and shooting people for holding a cell phone. It messes with your mind and your perception of the police.
More recently, I spent years working on a news and public affairs show that followed instances of police brutality in Chicago. Our camera crew and I were there covering the community forum at Kennedy-King College where city officials discussed the new Police Accountability Task Force. The event and search to replace former Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy resulted in a screaming matching as people in the audience declared that this initiative would be no different. It was hard for anyone on the panel or in the room to argue with that.
Even though my undergraduate degree is in Justice studies and I went to college alongside many cops who were in class with me, I never really understood the desire to be in law enforcement. My passion has always been imbedded in the strength of media and the ability to heal and empower people through shared experiences. The day that I was assigned to help produce a recruitment video for the Chicago Police Department was the day that my perspective began to change.
Eva Green 
Wow! Can’t wait to read the rest!