Community, police conduct peace walk to honor beloved rec center employee killed, connect with residents

Jennifer Lee
·2 min read

MILL CREEK - A peace walk was held in Philadelphia’s Mill Creek section on Saturday.

The Philadelphia Police Department’s 16th District partnered with the Tiffany Fletcher Recreation Center and community advocates to meet with neighbors in the surrounding area.

"Hopefully less gun violence and more connection with the community," said Dawn Wilkerson, President of the Mill Creek Advisory Council and Neighborhood Block Captain.

Captain Paul Brown, of the 16th District, said they hold town halls and meetings with the Police District Advisory Council and PSA, but the peace walks provide an opportunity for police and community leaders to meet people right in their neighborhoods.

"I like to do peace walks, and it’s not about a rally, but it’s about communicating with the neighbors and the communities that we serve and try to get an idea what the problems are so we meet them where they’re at," said Captain Brown. "We want to go to each community in the 16th District. We want to walk. We want to talk to our neighbors and find out what the issues are, so we can better serve them as the Philadelphia Police Department."

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The group made a special stop at the homes of Tiffany Fletcher’s family. She is the 40-year-old Philadelphia Parks and Recreation employee at Mill Creek playground who was tragically killed by a stray bullet in September 2022.

A mother of three sons, one of them Zymir Bessellieu, is now set to graduate high school in several weeks with plans to attend Albright College this fall.

Bessellieu said the community outreach is encouraging. "It’s a good thing to me. I feel as though it’s bringing more peace to the city. That’s what the city really needs, for real," said Bessellieu. "[My mom] will be happy for it. She’ll be happy because, you know, she didn’t really like violence herself, so she’ll definitely have a positive reaction about this."

The Philadelphia Anti-Drug Anti-Violence Network (PAAN) also joined the walk to share their mission of preventing, responding to and ending violence and drug abuse among youth and families.

"Even when you come from a bad situation, there are other routes to take, and there are people you can talk to in the city. PAAN is one of them that can help you overcome the situations, because they helped me overcome them. So before you make a bad decision, just come down, holler at PAAN. We’ll help you out," said Shawn Ivery, Community Crisis Intervention Program Advocate, PAANt.

A community building walk Captain Brown and Wilkerson hope to practice on a monthly basis throughout the 16th District.