It’s a sunny afternoon as Const. Chabine Tucker walks through an Ottawa park.
He has no gun or bulletproof vest, just a basketball jersey that says “police” across the back.
As soon as the neighbourhood kids spot him, they run up and ask if he’ll play with them. And Tucker wouldn’t have it any other way.
“When I first became a police officer, what I thought about is community engagement,” he says.
“I thought about myself, other officers, going to communities and interacting with kids. Connecting on different levels. So it’s really a dream come true.”
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The 10-year veteran of the force says he always played ball with kids, but about a year ago, he elevated the game into something more impactful.
Ottawa Police HoopStars was born – and it grew quickly.
Tucker, along with about a dozen other officers, volunteers his time to play with children of all skill levels, ages and from all backgrounds across the city. Tucker says they’re nearing their thirtieth formal event, and they get weekly requests from kids directly through their Instagram account.
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The purpose is to change negative views of police. He says initially, officers are viewed as “party crashers.” Especially in lower-income communities, kids may be used to seeing them dealing with drug busts or domestics or other crimes.
Tucker says tension is born from the feeling of the “unknown.” Seeing officers out of uniform, sharing a game and being relatable humans makes a difference.
“One of the things I really want to improve is building that relationship where everyone has an understanding of what the police authorities are, and what the Ottawa citizens’ rights are. And let’s see how that works together.”
Tucker says clashes in the community often stem from a lack of understanding those rights.
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“This helps us navigate that easier.”
Along with friendly (and sometimes serious) competition, the HoopStars offer up honesty. Many games are followed by a question-and-answer period, where kids can ask the officers anything about their jobs. And they do.
At this event, the players range in age from about 10 to 20. The vast majority are boys. Many have questions.
“Why do people say police eat doughnuts?”
“What happens if you jaywalk?”
“Do you guys, like, sometimes, like, forgive someone who does something wrong?”
“In what situation do you use a gun?”
“When do you have to show your ID if an officer asks?”
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That last question comes from 20-year-old Elijah Davidson. He lives near the park and says he’s been carded by police before in the area.
Carding, or street checks, is the controversial police practice of stopping someone to ask for information about their identity, which in a number of Canadian municipalities has seen some racial minorities be subjected to the practice more than others.
“Maybe they mistake me for someone else,” Davidson says. “I’ve never been in any type of criminal activity, so sometimes it’s just a bit frustrating to get that when I’ve been on the straight and narrow.”
In response to his question, Ottawa police officers walk him through his options. Ontario banned the practice in some cases last year. Officers explain to Davidson if someone is driving or if the officer suspects you may be connected to a crime, you do legally have to identify yourself.
READ MORE: Londoners can voice their thoughts on new police carding rules.
“If you don’t know the law 100 per cent, I would be on the safe side and just say, ‘This is who I am, this is what I’m doing,’” Const. Jafeth Maseruka advises.
“’But why are you stopping me?’ You’re allowed to ask why.”
Davidson tells Global News the explanation gives him a better understanding of police, and that he’d cooperate if he was asked for his ID in future.
“If they ask, just don’t take it to heart and show them it’s just who I am, I live right here,” he says of what he learned.
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On the court, the makeup of the police team also has an impact on him. Most of Ottawa’s police officers are white.
“I’m very astonished that there’s so many African-American police officers,” he says.
“It feels good to see somebody of my skin colour representing for us. It gives a lot of these little kids hope that they can do that too. Like a black superman for them.”
Tucker says officers get a lot of questions about race from the kids they play with – and he’s glad he can be a role model.
“If I can inspire a few kids to say, ‘OK, this is a job or an area I can get into, and it’s not something that our friends will frown on, because this guy looks cool, and he likes the things I do, and he plays the same games I do,’ then that’s a win,” Tucker says.
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For some young players, it’s about the thrill of the game.
“I just really loved playing with police officers today,” 10-year-old Hussain Rebeh says after the game.
Issues of race relations and police brutality are broad, difficult and opaque for even the sharpest of adults to digest.
Yet for 11-year-old Roni Massoud, all it took was one positive and up-close encounter with an officer for the HoopStars’ message to resonate – and for him, the message was simple.
“I actually thought they’re all going to be rude, actually, but when I actually met them, I thought, like, most of them are super nice to people,” Massoud says.
“They said that sometimes they forgive people who make mistakes, sometimes just to let them learn,” he says. “I just learned something today.”
“We already see it right now, that the relationships are being improved,” Tucker says. “Is it going to change overnight? I don’t know.
As for how the HoopStars could grow, Tucker suggests he’d like to see a formalized program on the clock.
But one thing’s for sure – the officers will keep playing basketball right across the city.
“Where there’s basketballs bouncing and kids having fun, we’ll be there.”
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