ACCESS Project’s Youth and Cops basketball comes to a close, more events planned through summer

LYNNWOOD—The ACCESS Project’s weekly Youth vs Cops basketball character building events came to a close on Tuesday, June 17, but its founder Wally Webster II says similar sporting events are planned through the summer – including volleyball, soccer, and flag football.

The ACCESS Project was started in 2022 as a collaborate movement bringing together government officials, educators, faith leaders, community organizations, and wellness professionals to support and uplift youth in Snohomish County.

One of the initiatives the ACCESS Project sponsored was to create a Cops versus Youth Basketball Game, an event purposefully designed to build trust, foster meaningful relationships, between law enforcement officers and youth.

“I love this because I’m a basketball guy,” Lynnwood City Councilman David Parshall, and former basketball coach, told the Lynnwood Times. “One of the reasons I liked coaching, both girls and boys, is that I knew how important it was to help keep some of these kids in school, work hard in their classes, and stay out of trouble.”

Refereeing several of the games was Lynnwood City Council candidate Dio Boucsieguez who told the Lynnwood Times on Tuesday that he had a “wonderful” time and thanked Webster for the opportunity.

“Seeing the kids get to know to the cops and vice versa over the course of the games made me happy,” said Boucsieguez. “Developing good relationships with our police is exactly what our Lynnwood boys need to keep them busy with good fun and out of trouble. I’m looking forward to refereeing more games in the future.”

Since April, youths have been squaring up with local law enforcement officers at Lynnwood’s Trinity Lutheran Church every Tuesday. Through that time many of the participants shared that they felt more connected with local law enforcement officers and were able to dispel feelings of fear toward them, now seeing them as just people.

“I feel more connected with the cops in my community. I feel more comfortable with them, and I’m no longer scared,” said Sai, one of the youths participating in the event.

The program particularly aimed to attract individuals who were introverted or lacked mentors who they could confide in with life’s challenges.

Deputy Marquies Moses, with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office, shared that when the program first started there was some hesitancy among kids, and parents alike, believing that it was a setup to take the kids away. But they made it an effort to ensure the kids, and parents, knew that law enforcement were there to just have fun and be a continued support system for the kids.

“This place gave me somewhere to go every Tuesday to play basketball. It gave me a chance to meet police officers and learn to not be scared of them like I used to be,” said Axel, another youth basketball player.

Marisa, a mother whose child was involved in the program, shared that among people of color there is often a disconnect between community members and law enforcement, that often when they “see something they just keep quiet.”

“This is a really good program. Giving our kids the confidence in our authorities is really, really, important, because they feel safe and they feel like they have someone they can call on just in case,” said Marisa.

A.J. Burke, Lynnwood Police Officer, said that when he was younger, he probably wouldn’t have joined a program like this because he lacked the life lessons and support at home to see “everyone as people.”

“What I hope everyone got from this is being able to see Police Officers as just people. People that you can talk to, just like your uncles, or cousins, or big brothers, your dad. We all go through the same things. When we’re on the court we’re all equal and that’s how it should be,” said Burke. “I’m not here to jam you up or get you in trouble, I’m here to help so come talk to me.”

Officer Luther Russell, with the Mountlake Terrace Police Department, added that at the end of the day cops take off their uniforms and spend time with their families, just like many of the youths who were playing basketball through the ACCESS Project’s program.

“We’re trying to be the stop before something bad happens. I don’t want to see your name on an arrest report. I don’t want to have to be the one who brings you to jail – that would literally break my heart,” said Russell. “Because when I look at you all I don’t just see some juvenile who wandered in off the street, I see my kids and other kids out there.”

Russell added that if there’s one takeaway, he hopes the kids walked away from the program with, it’s integrity matters; It’s doing the right thing when no one is watching. He also encouraged the kids to find a purpose in their lives because they only have one youth, and one life, to live.

Many of the police officers playing ball with the youths gave their personal cell phone numbers to the kids so they could be reached if they ever needed to talk or need a first contact before dialing 911.

“This event touched my heart. It touched my heart because I grew up in the rural south under Jim Crow. The laws were enforced by the Ku Klux Klan and most of the time the police officers were police officers during the day and clansmen during the night,” said Webster. “I was taught to fear in order to survive. To have this meeting, and this union between youth and police officers, helped me to dispel these emotions and those fears in a constructive way.

The purpose of the event, Webster added, was to provide youth with someone who they could call to prevent a criminal activity.

“There is a major difference between a video scenario and life. You cannot do what you see on TikTok, shut the screen off, and go to bed. If you do those same things in life, it will impact your life forever and ever. Think of the relationships you have with your friends, your community, with officers, with other adults who care about you so that you will have a long, productive life,” said Webster.

Back in April, Webster and the ACCESS Project’s Youth vs Cops basketball program was recognized by the Snohomish County Council with a resolution sponsored by Snohomish County Councilman Jared Mead.