"Most kids, they only see the police at bad times, and we just try to do away with that. ... That’s not all that we do." - Detective Walter Griffin, BRPD and a member of
Magnolia State Peace Officers. Photo by Collin Richie.
Mending relationships
The Magnolia State Peace Officers aim to build positive connections between the community and law enforcement, including one creative new partnership
Detective Walter Griffin was wearing his dark sunglasses. It was the first thing the boy noticed—not the bullet-proof vest, the holstered gun, the radio and other equipment he was wearing that day.
It was a sunny and brisk December weekend. Griffin and members of the Magnolia State Peace Officers Association had agreed to be “models” for a portrait project at the LSU Museum of Art’s booth at a community event downtown. Police officers posed while the kids sketched their portraits in chalk.
“It’s funny to see how kids see you,” Griffin says of the young boy who drew his portrait, sunglasses and all. “I asked him, ‘Why did you put those on me?’ and he said, ‘Because you have your cool glasses on. All cops have cool glasses.’”
Photos courtesy LSU Museum of Art.
Griffin has been a member of Magnolia Peace Officers for six years. The association began in the ’50s and seeks to connect law enforcement officers and the community in positive ways through neighborhood projects, such as school-supplies giveaways and bringing Thanksgiving meals to more than 100 needy families each holiday season.
Griffin says the past year has made their work difficult, but it hasn’t changed their efforts to mend relationships between police officers and the community.
“Yes, we are dealing with some trying times here. But at the end of the day, school still starts … we still have to get all those supplies for those kids, and there are still going to be people who can’t afford to provide a meal for their family,” he says.
And while that mission hasn’t changed, what has is that Griffin and other officers have been invited to more panel discussions, talking about things like what to do when approached by a police officer.
“If anything, this strain has helped people, I guess, be more readily receptive to us coming and speaking,” he says.
LSU Museum of Art’s Neighborhood Arts Project hosted an event with the Magnolia State Peace Officers where children could paint portraits of police officers. Detective Walter Griffin was one of the models for the event.
The officer portraits were part of LSU Museum of Art’s Neighborhood Arts Project, which provides arts activities for kids in underserved areas each summer.
“These are the most at-risk kids in these neighborhoods,” says Lucy Perera, who started the project for the museum. “So this is an opportunity for them to be engaged in something that’s positive. And then to have the officers actually in there participating—I think it’s a moment where the officers can share a positive interaction with the kids.”
That will continue this summer, with Magnolia Peace Officers set to participate in more Neighborhood Arts Project events.
“Kids are always interested in the police, regardless of what they’ve been told,” Griffin says. “They are always curious about us because we have all this stuff on … All you’ve got to do is walk up to them and say hey, and it’s on from that point on. It’s a lot of positive energy.” facebook.com/MSPOA and lsumoa.org
Read more from our cover story, featuring people standing up to solve racial issues in Baton Rouge.
This article was originally published in the June 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.
