I have to wonder if the "results" of the Durham PD internal investigation on the Blinco's Cook beating (alleged) aren't coming out in the next 7 days.
Barry Saunders did a piece this past week defending Police in general and going on about how hard of a job they have. The piece was very UNlike Saunders. The article doesn't fit with his past diatribes.
The Durham Herald today had a prominent story by BriAnne Dopart on Durham Police officers taking underprivileged Durham kids camping. BriAnne Dopart did some of the sympathetic (sympathetic to AV) reporting early on in the duke case. She also did a couple stories on what the family thinks and what they've gone through, etc.
I think these articles may be preemptive and ammo for those that say that will invariably defend the DPD when the "results" are released.
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Another DPD Puff Piece this morning...
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-760938.html
Durham police officers give kids from pubic housing trip with father figures
By BriAnne Dopart : The Herald-Sun
bdopart@heraldsun.com
Aug 13, 2006 : 11:58 pm ET
DURHAM -- Rashad Higgs won't forget the first time he went camping.
Perched on the roof of an out-of-commission National Guard tank, taking in a night sky sparked with thousands of stars, Higgs, 13, and friends Algie Burch, 13, and Adrian Perry, 12, were far from the Durham housing projects they call home.
Seven of the eight boys Durham police officers took camping this weekend at Camp Butner in Granville County don't have father figures in their lives.
In fact, most of them don't have any male authority figures to look up to or to go to when they have a problem, according to Durham police officer Ben Parrish.
"Streetlight to Starlight," a program started years ago by former Durham Public Housing officer Steve Hall and restarted this summer by Parrish and housing officers Jerry Elliot, Nate Thorpe and Shawn Bromell, is intended to provide the boys with just that.
The National Guard allowed Parrish, also a National Guard sergeant, access to camping space, as well as tents and bathroom facilities. Durham Parks and Recreation donated some dining equipment and neon-colored T-shirts for the kids. Additional expenses are covered by the officers, who don't hesitate to pay out of pocket for what they feel the kids need.
Parrish said officers also paid for the propane grill on which they cooked the boys' meals.
"These kids have tried us all weekend," Parrish said proudly while arranging dinner for the eight sweaty campers Saturday night. "Rough-housing, wrestling, stuff like that. The thing is, a lot of the males in their lives are like grandfathers or an uncle, but for the most part, they don't have anyone."
A father himself, Parrish said he recognized the need for father figures in the lives of many of the children he saw on a day-to-day basis patrolling public housing communities like McDougald Terrace.
"My personal perception was, they were reluctant to speak to us at first," Parrish said. "But since we've gotten this off the ground, we've seen more kids in the park, more kids just coming up to officers in general just to see if it's one of us."
The camping trips, three of which the officers have held for different groups of children this summer, are the main event of a program the unit would like to continue year-round, Parrish said.
In the spring months officers take the kids to dinner and a movie. The officers hope to arrange more events for the kids this fall.
During the camping trip, which lasted from Friday night until Sunday morning, Parrish said he and the other officers tried to emphasize discipline as well as basic social skills.
As the boys got ready for a dinner of grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and Gatorade Saturday night, Parrish and Elliot could be heard coaching them on basic etiquette.
"What they're exposed to [in public housing] is so negative," Elliot said. "Every other word they hear is the f-word. They're calling each other n-word this and n-word that."
Elliot, who first joined the housing unit in 1995, when he said there were no programs offered by the police department for needy kids, said he was skeptical about the needs of children in housing projects until he began working in one himself.
"When I came I saw what they went through and I just got a soft spot -- I'd do anything for these kids now," Elliot said.
Not a fan of rap music, Elliot brags that he now has some of the boys listening to Elvis.
"I want to take 'em to a NASCAR race next year," he grinned.