Police Academy for Lynn teens mixes fun, discipline

LYNN – They started off as a ragtag group of high schoolers, but four weeks into the Student Police Academy, 40 teens have been whipped into shape, have been certified in first aid and have a whole new perspective on the city’s police force.”It’s really made us appreciate what cops go through on a daily basis,” said Travis Fleuriel, 17. “People think all they do is ride around in cars all day but they don’t.”Fleuriel’s remarks prompted as smile from officer Mark Lee.”I swear I didn’t ask him to say that,” he said.Lee, along with officers Ryan McDermott, Bob Hogan and Greg Brotherton, have put academy members through their paces for four weeks and he said he is impressed.”We had 70 apply but we only had room for 40,” he said. “And there haven’t been a lot of absences.”The idea of the program, Lee said, is to get kids to see the other side of police work.Thursday morning the kids, dressed in gray or black T-shirts and khakis, mill outside Lynn English High School but when McDermott calls “Attention,” they respond with military precision. Lee said each day begins with roll call and Thursday’s included inspection. During inspection he and McDermott stop before each student, ask them if they have a water bottle and binders, elicit a few Mona Lisa smiles and move on.The days consist of field trips, classroom time, physical training and discipline, Lee said. In four weeks the kids have learned about criminal law, city ordinances, drug and alcohol awareness, domestic violence and have been CPR certified, Lee noted.”They went on a field trip to the State House, Patriots’ Training Camp, the Middleton Jail, Lynn Woods and the court houses,” he said. “They’re great kids.”And Lee said he believes they are getting a lot out of the program.Anlik Elswick, 13, said she was surprised to hear statistics surrounding domestic violence and Tyler Culp, 15, admitted he knew nothing about the city’s knife ordinance.Lee said every hour of the kids’ day is planned, and the academy walks a fine line between instilling discipline and keeping things fun.”You don’t want them to dread it but they need structure, too, and I think we’re doing pretty well,” he said.As the kids file into the school following roll call a number of them greet Lee with fist bumps and head nods. Inside, the kids file into a classroom set up like a college-style lecture hall. Sheriff Department officials are on hand to give a brief description of their duties but before that gets underway they share their thoughts on the program.”It’s great,” is the collective response.Fleuriel said he never realized that officers were required to write incredibly in-depth field reports for incidents they respond to.”They spend hours on them,” he said. “They have to recall every detail because it will be picked apart in court.”When asked if he planned to become a police officer, he said “yes ma’am,” without hesitation. In fact, when asked who was considering becoming a police officer nearly every student in the academy raised their hand.Xiomara Escobar admitted she only applied for the program because her sister made her, but now she is intrigued.”I had an extra application and I had spilled ketchup or coffee on it,” Arely Escobar said. “I asked her if she wanted to apply and gave her the dirty application.”Xiomara Escobar said that was true but she also noted she was accepted first into the program and is now considering a career in law enforcement.”Everything they do looks mad interesting,” she said.Not everyone was sold on the program, however. Michael Nunez thought he might want to be a police officer but how he’s thinking architect.”At one point I wanted to [be part of a] SWAT,” he said, referring to the Special Weapons and Tactics Unit. “But there’s all those rules they have to follow. Too many rules.”McDermott said some of the kids definitely take the program more seriously than others but all seem to be enjoying it.”They’re good kids and I think they really try to get the most out of it,” he