Houston student making life changes early
As a young boy growing up in Houston, Kerry Carrier, 17, did not have much admiration for law enforcement. But after he was moved to a disciplinary school for getting into an altercation with another student, Carrier was given a chance to see police officers in a different light.
Houston-based Teen and Police Service Academy (TAPS) has teamed up with the local police authorities to clean up the streets and build relationships between police officers and at-risk youth. UHCL Associate Professor of Criminology Everett Penn founded TAPS in 2012 with Houston Police Department Assistant Chief Brian Lumpkin.
Since 2012, TAPS has expanded throughout Texas, across the nation, and is now moving into other countries. Locally, TAPS works in an alternative, disciplinary Houston ISD school called the Beechnut Academy, where Carrier is currently enrolled. Carrier’s time at Beechnut in the TAPS Academy has helped him shed his younger mindset.
“My perception of police officers was like, I don’t want to say, it was like me being disrespectful towards them,” Carrier said. “And you know, now I have a different perception, but at first it was just crazy. You know it was like ‘Oh there go the police. Ya’ll better move around.’ But now, I’m good now; I’m good now. My mind has changed like completely, done a whole 360 about it.”
Carrier’s progress in the program and his change of attitude has not gone unnoticed. Beechnut Academy P.E. teacher Elliott Harris said Carrier has transformed from his first-day personality.
“When he first got here, he was kind of loud, a little more boisterous, and I’ve seen his character and his attitude calm down a whole lot,” Harris said. “He’s become a lot more mature than he was when he first arrived. Kerry is a very intelligent person. I knew that the moment I met him, and he’s transformed a lot since he’s gotten here.”
Part of Carrier’s transformation can be attributed to simply growing up and gaining the maturity that should come with age. Harris points out that being enrolled at Beechnut Academy and in the TAPS program is a positive influence for teenagers.
“I think the added structure of Beechnut Academy and the familiarity with police has given him information he didn’t have before as how to act in public with the police and adjust his attitude toward dealing with people in general,” Harris said.
Carrier now sees that not all police officers are who he thought they were and that he can coexist with the officers in a peaceful manner.
“The ones I’ve met, they’re good, you know; they’re nice,” Carrier said. “I would love for them like, they can come to my Thanksgiving dinner, you know. I’ll invite them over. They’re cool. They’ve shown me that not all police officers are the same.”
Although he is still paying for the consequence of his altercation with another student, Carrier’s time at Beechnut has given him time to think about his actions. He knows he made mistakes and can see things differently now.
Carrier said he volunteered to join the TAPS Academy during his time at Beechnut because he was ready to make a change for himself.
“I decided to join TAPS [because] I wanted to do something different,” Carrier said. “I wanted a change, you know. I wanted to see something different because when I first came here it was like, I joined to be the bad kid, to be the little rebel who doesn’t want to do nothing and doesn’t want to listen. And then I got a different perception. I was like, ‘You know, maybe I’ll just try something different, step out of my boundaries and just try to see how it works.’”
Carrier has hopes of sharing his experiences in the TAPS Academy with other youth who cross his path.
“I think it will help me in the future like if I could tell other teenagers, ‘Just chill out,’” Carrier said. “I think it would be helpful for me to talk to other teens and let them know just give [police officers] a chance sometime. Don’t just always jump off what you’ve seen. Because the news, they lie too, so you would just be like, ‘Oh OK. Maybe the police are all bad.’ But no, they’re actually not.”
Carrier plans to pursue a career in fashion, modeling and dance in the Big Apple.
“I will actually take the program with me to New York because I’m going to New York,” Carrier said. “I will actually introduce them into the program and be like, ‘you know ya’ll should try the TAPS program I learned from Houston. It’s a good program. It’ll help your teens.’”
For more information about the TAPS Academy, visit: http://tapsacademy.org.
Video shot and edited by The Signal reporter Renny Mason.
Other UHCL The Signal articles about TAPS:
- High schoolers ‘tap’ into college experience
- Program unites youth and law enforcement
- Houston academy working to change lives globally
- TAPS Slideshow
