Aloha Coach! We love you
June 4th, 2009
Local police officer uses football to rehabilitate convicts.
By Anand Rao.
An honest Police Officer as the best man in a gangster's wedding? Hardened criminals saying, "love you coach" This is not fiction; this is the real story of a detective who has shown how football and a little love can be more powerful than cuffs or guns.
SLCPD Gang Detective Break Merino has just achieved what was considered improbable by many of his peers and predecessors. "I started off doing things like how it's always done," says Merino. "Pick them up and throw them in jail. I was frustrated because the offenders weren't getting any better. As I got closer to them I saw that they were all suffering." Merino then proposed an idea of a football team for the convicts. Like all new and innovative things, there were initial hiccups. "It's hard to convince people in the police department when you can't show quantifiable results and prevention of crime cannot be quantified," says Merino.
Merino's wish for quantifiable results may now be reality. According to him, in just two years, about a hundred and eighty kids have come under his new program, and many of them have shown complete turnarounds in their behavior and life. The encouraging results have earned him support from his department and the state.The Salt Lake City Exchange Club awarded this years Officer of the Year Award to Detective Merino and last September, he was named "Officer of the month" by the SLCPD.
Now he not only teaches football and helps kids rehabilitate their lives, thanks to Merino's relationship and trust with his players, he receives phone calls about criminal activity well before it's otherwise reported, averting many serious gang crimes.
It has never been easy for Detective Merino. "The families never thought it could work," he says. Getting the convicts to take him seriously was another major hurdle. "The first day of practice," Merino recalls. "None of the boys spoke a word. They were all glaring at me, obviously trying to intimidate. Over time they warmed up to me and started asking for help."
The efforts of the program are beginning to bear fruit. One of the boys in the team who was frequently getting incarcerated for drugs and alcohol was recently selected to join the Marine Corps. Merino proudly mentions that his boy is scheduled to start boot camp in July. Previously unthinkable, many are now on their way to universities across the nation.
Merino is very proud of the achievements of his boys. He calls them his surrogate sons. "They do it all by themselves," says Merino. "I tell them that they are big boys who don't need any hand holding. I only show them the road to success."
Read the other parts in the Cradle of Crime series
