Retired Black Police Chief Debuts Short Film to Teach Safety & Survival During Police Encounters

A new online short film (pronounced Hashtag, Humans) #Huemans: A Guide to Get Home has been released to the public for free to increase the likelihood of safe encounters between police officers and the communities they serve. Produced by Beverly “BJ” Council, a retired Deputy Police Chief and the founder of You & Five-O, LLC (YFO), the short film emphasizes the importance of looking beyond labels and stereotypes and acknowledging the human being on the other side of the interaction. The film can be viewed on the You & Five-O YouTube channel.

Council comments, “We produced this film to equip young people, individuals, families, communities, and police officers with more information and guidance to safely navigate law enforcement encounters and to get home.” The film focuses on the importance of communication and cooperation between police officers and the communities they serve.

Founded in 2015, You & Five-O provides customized training for police officers, community organizations, schools, and individuals to assist with improving relationships between police and the public they are sworn to protect and serve. YFO was created in response to numerous high-profile cases highlighting deadly encounters between law enforcement and mostly Black and Brown – and often unarmed – individuals. Training sessions address the current lack of trust, communication gaps, problem-solving, Constitutional rights, and potentially devastating consequences of inadequate relationships between the public and the police.

You & Five-O training programs offered for residents and community organizations pay homage to the merits of cooperation, communication, and compliance with officers of the law. The primary objective is to promote mutual respect between law enforcement and citizens, with the ultimate goal of survival. Topics range from knowing individual rights to traffic stops and searches, overviews about local police departments, reporting police misconduct, and current events.

For more information about the You & Five-O Community Policing training model, visit YouAndFive-O.com or send an email to training@youandfive-o.com

This news first appeared on blacknews.com