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Agreement reached between activists and city officials

Posted October 23, 2007 11:00 pm

Karen McDonald

City officials agreed to throw out tickets issued to students of Manual and Woodruff high schools for walking in streets in exchange for them attending assemblies designed to teach values, respect and the letter of the law.

That resolution follows weeks of protest from the African-American community fueled by allegations of police profiling and racism in the wake of a crackdown on jaywalking teens. In all, 32 students - of whom all but three are black or a minority - were issued $75 tickets Sept. 28 in an effort police said was to teach students about safety and improve the quality of life of residents who live near schools.

The agreement is not an indictment that police wrongfully issued the tickets to students walking in or across the middle of streets bordered by sidewalks as they left school, Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard said Tuesday. But an eyewitness stands firm in her statement that students were not walking in the middle of the street outside Manual and were unjustly punished.

"I think there's always going to be some difference of opinion … and what we agreed to is that we move beyond that disagreement and move forward and look to the future," Settingsgaard said. "The place that all of us in the room wanted to get to was a clear understanding amongst our youth as to what is expected and a safer environment …"

Assemblies will be held in all District 150 middle and high schools likely before Thanksgiving and no tickets will be issued until after then - unless students clearly are intimidating or impeding traffic. Previously ticketed students who attend the assemblies will have their records cleared of the jaywalking offense, officials said.

Though assembly details haven't yet been finalized, City Manager Randy Oliver said the purpose will be "to instill values and allow students to obtain a better understanding of the rules and develop a respect and understanding for each other."

"This gives us an opportunity to reach out to all students … we all want to make sure that (motorists are) safe. We also want to make sure that no child gets hit," Oliver said. "If a child gets hit on the street at school, somebody's going to come and say why weren't the police there? Why didn't they stop it?"

None of the parents of students ticketed could be reached for comment Tuesday.

City officials met with community leaders Monday to resolve the issue - which prompted a protest outside the police station, a planned protest outside City Hall and debate about whether students actually were walking in the middle of the street and whether racial profiling played a role.

Settingsgaard said the purpose of the citations was not to generate money, but to change behavior.

Dr. Rita Ali, who witnessed the police crackdown outside Manual and filed a formal complaint with police, said the meetings are the "beginning of important dialogue" that needs to take place in the community.

City leaders and police plan to continue to meet with others including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the King Holiday Committee, District 150 officials, parents and students to develop a long-term strategy to address issues in the city and among youth.

Karen McDonald can be reached at (309) 686-3285 or kmcdonald@pjstar.com.

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