PHOENIX — City leaders approved the expansion of a high school program that brings police, city officials and teens together to discuss law enforcement accountability and community advocacy.
Phoenix’s Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT) and Phoenix Union High School District's Youth Outreach Program piloted its 11-week after-school class with two dozen students at The Academies at South Mountain.
“I wanted to see why certain police officers were doing certain things and why certain people in my community were being targeted,” participant and high school senior Jayden Gutierrez said. "I wish it stays forever because it should help all the youth be confident with their community.”
OAT started in 2021 to give civilian oversight of actions at the Phoenix Police Department. This is the first time it’s been brought to schools.
Director Shannon Johanni said the program touches on a broad range of top public safety issues in the community.
“Navigating this current world with policing, with mental health, with immigration, with public benefits, with all of those things. How could we fill a gap?” Johanni said.
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Students get the opportunity to ask police officers questions about interactions with police, their rights and how they can advocate for themselves in cases of misconduct.
"It’s really important for programs like this, particularly where we’re talking about policing and different experiences with policing, to be in those communities that disproportionately experience or have more issues with police misconduct or over policing,” Johanni said.
Principal Dr. Daniel Garcia said it’s been a welcome addition to South Mountain.
"Get those experiences that typical high school students don’t is amazing. I tell them when I went to school we didn’t have anything close to this,” Garcia said. "When we talk about preparing kids for life after high school it’s not just the academic piece, it’s not just with the athletic piece, but just being good people out in the world."
Garcia said the after-school program has significant interest among students with over 60 applications.
“It gives our kids the ability to be a part of that conversation, to have a seat at the table,” Garcia said.
However, during Wednesday’s city council meeting, the program faced pushback from a parent and city councilwoman Anna Hernandez, who raised concerns about policing practices, specifically in south Phoenix.
"It teaches our youth how they need to be the ones that behave properly in the presence of police,” Hernandez said. "However, there are no guarantees that even if they behave properly, they will actually be treated safely by our officers, especially in South Mountain High School, which is in South Phoenix, which is serviced by South Mountain Precinct.”
The South Mountain Precinct has been under scrutiny recently as two former officers face kidnapping and assault charges during an allegedly violent, off-the-books traffic stop this month.
Amid the controversy, Johanni said the youth program serves as another opportunity to build trust in the community.
"It just really reinforces that need for making sure people know how police are supposed to respond and how they should be and what they should expect from law enforcement in our communities,” Johanni said. “When it’s not, then the city responds and says ‘hey that’s not what we expect from our officers.’”
The OAT youth program will expand to Maryvale High School in the spring, with additional Phoenix Union High Schools in coming years.
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