ANAHEIM, Calif. – Officer Eddie Fletcher works a 12-hour shift for the Anaheim Police Department and then drives to the Brookhurst Community Park for a couple of hours of Pop Warner football, reported Behind the Badge OC.
Normal activity for a parent, yet Eddie Fletcher is not there to fawn over his own children, but to help coach 9 and 10 years olds on the Anaheim Rams to improve their football skills, as well as serving as a law enforcement liaison to community youth and their families.
“The mission was to build a relationship between the cops and the kids,” Fletcher says of the new pilot Youth Athletic Program under the Cops4Kids (C4K). “[The agency] wanted officers to be more involved in the program.”
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC used with permission.
Unlike many police officers that volunteer their services to coach youth sports, Fletcher arrives to practice three days a week in his patrol car. During Saturday games, he wears an APD Youth Athletic Program shirt, badge and gun. The philosophy is to integrate the police in a fun activity with the community, but doing so in a high profile manner. There is no disguising what Fletcher does for a living. One of the goals is to facilitate healthy dialogue with citizens not to mention a level of security that is helpful.
“Me being there was more of a deterrent for anything to happen with all these kids,” says Fletcher. “It’s just us getting involved with the community more and seeing us in a different light… They see us as more human.”
Initially, there was a bridge to gap. While the kids found Fletcher’s police Charger and firearm an interesting attraction, many of the parents did not. Especially mothers, who may have an unfavorable predisposition toward the police due to a husband that is incarcerated, according to Behind the Badge OC.
But once family members saw the positive influence Fletcher provided, along with his supportive coaching style, they seemed to relax.
“Now they interact, they say hi,” Fletcher says. “A lot of them just call me coach, which is great.”
Fletcher is a veteran of youth sports, as his now 18-year old son played Pop Warner for six years. In his current role, he hopes to help build confidence and motivate the young ballplayers.
“They needed a good role model,” he says. “I let the head coaches and the dads be out there yelling. … It’s been a great influence for them and also for me.”
Anaheim Lt. Tim Schmidt says Fletcher is a great role model for the agency.
“I’m not aware of any other police department in Orange County that is supporting a youth sports program like this … with on-duty police officers engaged with kids and families,” he says.
Feature photo courtesy Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC.