First In-Person Event in 18 Months Will Feature Soccer Hall of Famer Cobi Jones

The nation’s premiere law enforcement/community relations behavior change model will conduct its first in-person event in over a year and a half when Major League Soccer (MLS) team Los Angeles Galaxy, in partnership with the ASCSC Foundation, hosts Game Changer 120 on Friday, August, 20, 2021.  The LA Galaxy will be the first MLS team to take part in the formal training of police officers in the state of California. 

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Tamala Lewis, Senior Director, AEG’s Dignity Health Sports Park Community Affairs and Foundation, ensured that event 120 would take place at Dignity Health Sports Park by donating suite space, dinner, and game tickets to community nonprofits representing the LA Galaxy Academy Youth, Brotherhood Crusade Youth, and the Eastside Rider Youth.  Special guest speakers are elected officials Jawane Hilton (Carson City Council) and mike Gipson (California Assembly). 

Sports legend, broadcaster, Olympian, Hall of Famer, and former LA Galaxy player and champion, Cobi Jones, will headline the training event that provides CA Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and CA Standards and Training for Corrections (STC) continuing education training hours to members of law enforcement representing the LA County Sheriff Department (Carson Station) and the Inglewood Police Department. 

Up until this event, COVID-19 has prevented the 4.5-year-old model from conducting in-person operations, which trains members of law enforcement and community residents through moderated focus groups that typically occur three hours before the start of collegiate and professional sporting events.

The California Standards and Training for Corrections (STC) has joined California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) by  formally certifying Game Changer events to train members of law enforcement.

Corrections Officers and Probation Officers in the state of California will receive continuing education units in Community Policing and Communication when participating in virtual and/or in-person Game Changer training events.  As per their website, Standards and Training for Corrections works in collaboration with local corrections systems to improve the professional competence of local corrections staff in California.

Dozens of probation officers and scores of juvenile probationers and currently incarcerated juveniles have participated in Game Changer events over the years.  California probation officers will now receive POST and STC continuing education units when they participate in Game Changer events.

STC is governed by the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), an independent statutory agency that provides leadership to the adult and juvenile criminal justice systems. The BSCC sets standards and provides training for local adult and juvenile corrections and probation officers. It is also the administering agency for a host of federal and state public safety grants, including evidence-based practices to fight gangs, and works to address the overrepresentation of youth of color in the juvenile justice system.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The nation’s premiere law enforcement/community relations behavior change model has entered into a formal partnership with the nation’s most influential law enforcement association. Game Changer and the Major Cities Chiefs Association have reached an agreement that will foster consistent exposure between law enforcement representing the largest cities in the United States and Canada, the residents of those cities, and elected officials, to engage in respectful, informative dialogue to discuss problems and devise solutions for implementation – together – through Game Changer training events. 

COVID-19 stay-at-home measures have prevented the four-year-old model from conducting in-person operations, which feature training members of law enforcement and community residents through moderated focus groups that typically occur three hours before the start of collegiate and professional sporting events.

The Major Cities Chiefs Association will play a key role in bringing to the table members of law enforcement from the largest cities in the country and Canada, by encouraging the Chiefs of member agencies to have their officers participate in the data proven model on a regular basis. Game Changer is designed to bring about changes in perception, leading to changes in behavior, leading to an increase in peaceful outcomes between members of law enforcement and community residents.

 “Game Changer came to us highly recommended.”

Laura Cooper, Executive Director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association

 “Game Changer came to us highly recommended. The MCCA has and will continue to advocate for strategic community partnerships, and the idea of bringing together officers and residents to solve problems through sports is innovative and meaningful. We’re looking forward to getting started,” said Laura Cooper, Executive Director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association.

The two organizations have agreed to cross-brand and will work together to identify member law enforcement agencies to participate. The data collected from pre, post, and follow up questionnaires completed by all participants will be used to identify areas for reform and measure program efficacy.

About the Major Cities Chiefs Association

The Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) is a professional organization of police executives representing the largest cities in the United States and Canada. The mission of MCCA is to provide a forum for police executives from large population centers to address the challenges and issues of policing, to influence national and international policy that affects police services, to enhance the development of current and future police leaders, and to encourage and sponsor research that advances this mission. Source: the MCCA website.

From: Sean Sheppard (Written With Lauren Brill)

Dear Lawmakers,

We want you to show up.

I have invited you several times to join us, but, for the most part, you have yet to come.

So, we’ve been busy changing the game without you.

It all started back on November 22, 2014. I turned on the TV and there it was – another story about an unarmed black person killed by the police. This time it was a 12-year-old boy. Yes, a 12-year-old boy – just a child with a whole life ahead of him. Tamir Rice was shot in Cleveland, Ohio while playing at a park with a toy gun.

Tamir is among John Crawford III (Dayton, Ohio,) Michael Brown Jr. (Ferguson, Missouri), Ezell Ford (Florence, California), Dante Parker (Victorville, California), Akai Gurley (Brooklyn, New York), Rumain Brisbon (Phoenix) and Jerame Reid (Bridgeton, New Jersey) – who are just some of the black men who were unarmed and killed by the police in 2014 alone.

That year, 2014, I felt overwhelmed with rage, hurt and anger. Often, I found myself venting on social media. The hurt was not only from the killings of unarmed black men. It was also from the silence of many of my white friends.

I knew we needed change and I decided I had to help make it happen.

The hurt was not only from the killings of unarmed black men. It was also from the silence of many of my white friends.

From 1993 – 2000, I worked in collegiate athletics as a strength and conditioning coach. During my time at San Diego State University, we had two offensive linemen on scholarship.  One was a black kid from Compton, California, who grew up around mostly black people. The other was a white kid from Utah who had never been around any black people. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, they had common goals, which was to win and get better. Since they played the same position, they spent a lot of time together, watching film, working out in the weight room and doing homework in study hall. First, they became friends. Then, in their second semester, they decided to become roommates. By the end of their sophomore year, they were best friends. After college, they each were the best man at each other’s weddings.

Their friendship perfectly exemplified how sports have the power to break down huge barriers and create change – not only in people’s individual lives but in the world.

In 2016, I created a program called Game Changer. At a Game Changer event, community residents and law enforcement come together for a moderated focus group. We discuss problems and devise solutions. After the discussion, we head to a sporting event, a casual environment where we cheer on a team and get to know each other as people.

At our first event, a member of law enforcement and a community resident engaged in a somewhat contentious conversation during the focus group. However, when we went to a San Diego State men’s basketball game together immediately after, the two realized they both were bourbon aficionados. Suddenly, they were laughing, joking and exchanging stories. I knew at that moment this was it, that this program could and would make a difference. Through sports and quality time together, we have allowed people to see each other’s humanity – to see each other not as enemies but as human beings. We establish a sense of respect, putting us in a position to work together to solve problems.

The hurt was not onlyWe have allowed people to see each other’s humanity – to see each other not as enemies but as human beings. from the killings of unarmed black men. It was also from the silence of many of my white friends.

Data collected shows that law enforcement members who participate in Game Changer recognize the value of spending more time outside of their squad cars and getting to know people in the communities they serve. When pulling people over, they also see the added value of introducing themselves, saying their names and interacting with motorists person-to-person when circumstances permit.

Throughout Game Changer events, our participants have identified several problems, including a lack of communication and personal relationships between the community and law enforcement. One solution includes creating a national traffic stop protocol and putting it on the driver’s exam.  Another solution is to have rights and responsibility cards that we keep in our vehicles, so we know our rights and law enforcement knows what our rights are and vice versa. Our participants would also like mandated long-form psychiatric evaluations for all officers in the field on a bi-yearly basis.

Game Changer solutions are not one-sided. They are crafted by both sides, who are coming together to develop a better world for each other.  There are people on the outside of law enforcement AND on the inside who are showing up to do the work because they want a more peaceful and safer society.

Game Changer is changing culture, perspectives and behaviors.

However, we also need to change the laws, creating and enforcing a system that effectively protects and considers everyone – not just those who contribute to election campaigns and police officer associations. That’s where you come into play.

Now, we do events virtually. Law enforcement is showing up. Members of the community are showing up. But I keep inviting you, our lawmakers, and most of you have yet to join us.

In four years, we’ve had 1,500 participants and only two of those participants have been lawmakers.

It is time for you to suit up with us, so you can identify your opponent and work with all of your teammates, which includes the community and law enforcement.

At Game Changer, we are already making changes without you. But to continue to move forward, we need you to help us rewrite the rules.

We are ready when you are.

This post originally appeared on The Unsealed.