The 13 Gwinnett County high school students sat up with their eyes fixed on Snellville police Sgt. Rain Nieddu as she explained the rules on her PowerPoint slide titled “Uh oh … It’s the Po Po.”
Don’t slam on your brakes. Don’t reach for anything or move around. Don’t reach for your wallet if you’re sitting on it.
“We all get nervous with the police,” the nine-year veteran told the students. “But there’s no reason to make bad decisions that can possibly ruin your life.”
Nieddu was in a Gwinnett courtroom Friday as part of a program started by a team of educators and law enforcement officials this summer to teach students how the law works. The students said the eight-week class has changed their outlook on the criminal justice system at a time of high tension between law enforcement and minorities, particularly young people.
“This program has shown me it’s not just about putting people in jail,” said Deborah Esowhode, 16, who will be a junior at Central Gwinnett High this fall.
The students mostly listened, but asked Nieddu several direct questions about policing African-Americans. Nieddu said the facts are often lost in debates about policing. She conceded, like any profession, some officers act like “jerks,” but encouraged the students not to lose their tempers with those who are unprofessional or racially biased.
“I can’t go after you because you’re a black male. I can’t go after you because you’re a black female. That’s crap,” she said.
Organizers started the program, called Gwinnett Summer Mentoring Internship in Legal Education, to expose the students to the real legal system, not the one seen on television. Prior sessions have included a tour of the county jail. Speakers have included prosecutors, defense attorneys and a recovering heroin addict. The subject matter of Friday’s session was arranged before the recent shootings that gripped the nation’s attention.
“We just hope we can expose (the students) to a wide range of perspectives,” Gwinnett State Court Chief Judge Pamela South said of Friday’s session in particular and the program in general. “We don’t want to give them one set of ideas. For us, the goal is let’s make this a conversation.”
Gwinnett has not been a flashpoint for controversial shootings, but many in this diverse county are paying close attention to such issues. A few hours after the session, a retired Gwinnett police official organized a prayer vigil for peace at the courthouse.
Gwinnett leaders patterned the program on DeKalb S.M.I.L.E., an effort started in 2012 to get more girls involved in the legal system. South said Gwinnett officials wanted to start their own program small in order to make sure it was effective. Educators with legal backgrounds looked for students in two schools, Central and South Gwinnett high schools. Both have fields of study that include the law. The lone requirements were that students attend the summer sessions and that their attire be business casual.
While the program’s goal was to show students how the criminal justice system works, South and other legal professionals say they have learned from the students as well.
“My biggest thing is there are still healthy relationships between (students) and the law enforcement community,” said South Gwinnett High School teacher Rebecca Streetman. “It’s inspiring to me.”
In interviews, the students said the program has made them more cognizant of what they described as one-sided conversations in social media about the police and news media accounts that primarily focus on incidents where the assailant and the victim are of different races. Most of the students are considering legal careers. A graduation ceremony is set for Thursday.
Streetman said she hopes to expand the program. South Gwinnett High rising junior Angelic Showalter, 16, had another idea.
“There should be a program like this for adults so that they don’t feel so disenfranchised,” she said.
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