Barber shop offers up new twist on conversations with police

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Gee's Clippers on Milwaukee's north side was packed Wednesday night with a program that's five years in the making.

'Clippers and Cops' bills itself as a safe space for police to hear the concerns of the community.

Amid the buzz inside this busy Milwaukee barber shop, conversations get deep.

"We have some of the best conversations at the barber shop. We talk about everything under the sun, so why can't we talk about citizen and police engagement?" said Tyrone Dennis, Clippers and Cops founder.

This night's delivering something extra at Gee's Clippers, something that's been done in a number of cities, thanks to former Atlanta police officer Tyrone Dennis.

"Clippers and Cops is something I thought of eating a bag of Doritos on my couch," said Dennis.

Clippers and Cops invited people of all ages to get a haircut, eat together and then open up. They talked about community policing, and why more regular friendly visits would help.

"But seriously she's like come see me, come see the block and then when you come around then it doesn't look like I'm telling on somebody. Exactly," said one of the speakers at the event.

Clippers and Cops began in Atlanta back in 2018. And when Milwaukee Christian Center's Health Relationships Manager Arleta Slaughter heard about the program, she asked the founder to bring it here to Milwaukee.

Slaughter was at the event Wednesday night, and helped have the conversation about fear in traffic stops and how to get past that fear.

"You know when I get stopped, I'm very friendly. If you get pulled over just do what you do, make your hands visible, get your registration out so that there isn't an issue in that encounter," said community member Arleta Slaughter.

"First thing the young people ask us is why you all keep killing us? And we have to explain to them each situation is different. The stuff we're dealing with, you guys deal with, we're dealing with all over the country and so the only way we can do and try to change it is do something different," said Dennis.

At the end of the day, organizers just hope talks like these work to build a strong community.