Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4022 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JANUARY 2017 by Nora O’Connor C ops & Kids, the NYPD-run c o m m u n i t y outreach pro- gram founded in 2006, held a flag football event in the Bronx this past November. The NYPD partnered with the Police Athletic League (PAL) and the New York Jets and got 120 kids from all over the city on the football field. Over 20 NYPD offi- cers volun- teered their time to coach and run the event. “We have s o m a n y people work- ing together to make this event possible,” said Officer Victor Matos, one of the event’s primary organizers. “Fordham University opened their doors to us and the Police Athletic League has been awesome with the partnership. They pay for the uniforms and referees. The NYPD cops who vol- unteer are the coaches.” Matos went on to note that having players from the New York Jets show up to help out was a thrill for the youngsters and the cops. “It’s a great partnership, and this program is going to grow and get even more kids involved,” Matos said. Matos and his partner, Of- ficer Maggie Chu, also serve as youth outreach officers at the 48th Precinct in the Bronx,where 157 local kids have already registered for the pro- gram. “They have so much fun with this and it’s an amaz- ing thing be- cause some of these kids have never played foot- ball in their lives. When you see the smile from ear-to-ear, it shows the program is work- ing,” Matos continued. “It’s opening the door to the community so the neighborhood gets to know who the cops are and the cops get to know who the kids are. And it’s really just a win-win.” Victor Matos first got in- volved with Cops & Kids as a recruit at the NYPD’s 33rd Precinct, where he met the PAL Director of Sports and Recreation, Danielle Mad- den-Buck. Matos says he and Madden-Buck share a passion for sports and youth outreach and have been co- organizing the program for two years now. “We started by holding individual events here and there and now it’s grown into a league,” Matos ex- plained. “We have two more weeks before the football league ends, and then our basketball league starts. And in between, we’re running volleyball events because we also want the kids to have an open mind. We say, ‘If you love basket- ball, that’s great! How about you try volleyball, or try fencing, too?’ “We want them to be exploratory with different events and sports. “The motivation here is really that we want to reach out to the youth. We want these kids to know that we believe in them and we want them to succeed in life. “And we want to show them that if you can run, you can hustle to catch that ball, you can believe in yourself. “You can do great in school and be whatever you want to be in life, as long as you be- lieve in yourself. We really just want them to leave with feeling like, ‘I am somebody, I can be somebody — and the cops are cool.’” NYPD and NY Jets inspiring the kids NYPD 48th Precinct and Police Athletic League event organizers (left to right): Officer Matos’ son Kevin, Officer Maggie Chu, Officer Victor Matos, PAL Director of Sports and Recreation Danielle Madden-Buck, Dep. Inspector Timothy McCormack, and Sergeant Elisha Rivera. Above: Jets Linebacker Taiwan Jones and Offensive lineman Wesley Johnson Sergeant Bonilla coaches his undefeated team, the Jaguars, to another victory. NY Jets offensive lineman Wesley Johnson and kids.