Percussion with the Police: Decatur Youth Symphony program connects students with officers

Apr. 18—Straddling the cajon drum, Sgt. Jamie Jones joined the circle of young musicians.

"OK, y'all are going to hear me offbeat, so go ahead and get your laughs in," Jones said with a chuckle. "I always wanted to learn to play the drums, but never had that rhythm. I'm just going to try to keep up with y'all."

Outside the drum circle, Emily Davis watched the interaction between the Decatur police officer and the students, which marked the debut of the Decatur Youth Symphony's Percussion with the Police program.

"With everything going on in the nation and negative sentiment around law enforcement, we wanted a way for our kids to connect with the officers. This is a time for officers to come talk to the kids, get down on their level, drum with them and just have fun," said Davis, director of the Decatur Youth Symphony.

Percussion with the Police kicked off Tuesday at Charlotte Bradley's Kidz, Tweenz, & Teenz after-school program at St. Paul's Lutheran Church — one of Decatur Youth Symphony's five drum groups, which reach 60 youths across the city.

Aaron Plunkett serves as the symphony's percussion program director. Along with Kidz, Tweenz, & Teenz, Plunkett leads drum groups at the Third Street Boys and Girls Club, Oak Park Boys and Girls Club, Decatur High Developmental Center, and Decatur Youth Services, which has its program at the Alabama Center for the Arts.

"It's good for the kids to form their own opinions about law enforcement instead of just believing what they see on TikTok or Twitter," Plunkett said. "In this program, the kids are able to get to know the police officers as people and develop a relationship with them."

For Decatur Police Chief Nate Allen, the Percussion with the Police program ties into the department's community outreach initiative.

"There's so many bad things going on around the country and nationwide. The kids, they really don't know what to think, how to react when it comes to the police officers," Allen said. "Whenever we can meet with the children and talk with them and show them that we're their friends and we're there to support them and help them in any way, that's always good for us to do."

Jones, the supervisor of the Police Department's school resource officers, knows firsthand the importance of positive interactions with law enforcement.

"Growing up, I had one interaction with the police. I was about 6 and was at the Grand Prix in Detroit with my dad. I was really interested in the officers working the event. They agreed to take pictures with me. I still have those pictures," the 40-year-old Jones said.

During his time with the students, Jones talked about his brief stint as a trombonist in an elementary school band, his love of writing poetry, and playing football, chess and golf at Decatur High.

"Getting involved with different things helps you become well-rounded," Jones said. "Take golf. My mom and I were living in North Memphis, the bad part of Memphis, in a duplex. We struggled a lot. She put me in a summer youth program to keep me out of trouble. That's when I fell in love with golf. When you get a chance to become more well-rounded, please do it."

Jones also talked about the role of resource officers at the schools.

"If you have any problems, like bullying or someone picking on you, make sure you let your principal, counselor and parents know, but make sure we know too. That's what we are there for, to make sure y'all are safe," he said.

Davis hopes to build the Percussion with the Police program into one of the symphony's staple programs and have officers visit each of the musical groups at least once a year.

"Our mission is changing lives through music. Along with that, we have a strong focus on community collaboration. This program allows us to highlight our police department and get our students engaged with them. That is what makes us stronger as a community," Davis said.

— cgodbey@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2441. Twitter @DecaturLiving.