Modesto police ‘ticketing’ kids for exemplary behavior

The program is called Operation Chill, but Modesto police Officer Billy Boyle wasn’t looking for kids who were simply chillin’ on Monday morning. He was on the lookout for students modeling good, safe behavior as the school day was getting under way.

When he found kids going “above and beyond,” he rewarded them with coupons provided by 7-Eleven for free small Slurpee drinks.

“I have high expectations for school traffic safety – kids walking in crosswalks, wearing helmets while they’re riding bikes,” said Boyle, an officer in the department’s Traffic Unit. On the way to his first stop, Orville Wright Elementary, he said it’s a change to be watching for those children who are doing the right thing.

He offered an example of the kind of outstanding behavior he hoped to see. “Like if a kid drops something, instead of everybody just walking by, someone stops to help.”

It didn’t take long. A couple of moms crossing the intersection of Monterey and Empire avenues with students and strollers caught his eye. The Wright students – Ingrid Rosas, 6, Yovani Angeles, 6, and Ariana Angeles, 7 – really stepped up to help their moms get their little siblings across the street safely, Boyle said.

Speaking Spanish, he told the moms he was stopping them because the children had done so well. Crouching down to eye level with the little ones in strollers, he thanked the students and gave coupons to all the kids.

Next, he watched sixth-grade crossing guards Aracely Espinoza and Makayla Nolan perform their duties. “Not only did they stop traffic for students, but there was a disabled gentleman who was bound to a wheelchair and he was having a difficult time getting across the street, especially how bumpy it was,” Boyle said, “so they went above and beyond and actually closed down the roadway so that he could take his time getting across.”

Tim Martin, a fourth-grade teacher and traffic patrol adviser at Wright, said he wasn’t surprised the crossing guards impressed Boyle. The school consistently has had positive reviews when the district observes and evaluates traffic safety programs, he said.

Boyle next drove to Hughes Elementary, where children already had arrived for school but the week’s opening assembly was about to begin. He joined the assembly for a few minutes to thank the five student council members with coupons.

One of those honored, fifth-grader Elizabeth Romero, excitedly shared with Boyle that her own father works in law enforcement. “It felt like my dad was honoring me,” she said after receiving her coupon, “because ... he’s a correctional officer.”

Modesto police officers have 900 Slurpee coupons to give away and will be “ticketing” youth through 17 over the next few months. A news release from the Police Department said officers will watch for children who commit “offenses” like helping another person, deterring crime or participating in a positive activity in the community.

“The coupons are great for both the kids and the officers,” Chief Galen Carroll said in the release. “It encourages good citizenship in our youth while giving the officers an opportunity to make a positive impact.”

Just as it’s joined 7-Eleven for Operation Chill, Boyle said, the department has partnered with other companies in the past, like Harman Management Corp., which operates many domestic KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and A&W restaurants, to provide similar treats to kids.

“These things are crucial to build up community relationships,” Boyle said. The safety of residents and officers alike is dependent on a strong partnership, he said, and law enforcement has “seen an outpouring of support in Stanislaus County,” evident through things like a growing number of National Night Out gatherings and the local presence of the Blue Line Brigade, a community group formed to serve and protect law enforcement officers.

“If I’m out on the road fighting some parolee,” Boyle said, “I want to know” that people will come to his aid or call it in. “It’s devastating to see video of cops getting beaten up and people just filming it.”

He also hopes that activities like Operation Chill help make police officers less intimidating to little ones, he said. It’s terrible to see parents using police to scare kids into behaving, he said, telling their children that if they keep being naughty, “he’ll be coming to get you.”

This story was originally published August 17, 2015 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Modesto police ‘ticketing’ kids for exemplary behavior."