Boy becomes a unofficial connection to community

MANKATO — In the Somalian community where Marian Omar grew up, dealing with police could be a dangerous endeavor.

It wasn’t uncommon to be taken away, whether you were on the good or bad side of the law. The men in uniform weren’t trusted and their authority was heeded for all the wrong reasons.

Omar admits she was a little confused when her 9-year-old son, Ibrahim Ibrahim, became quick friends with an officer who visited their Hilltop Lane apartment complex frequently. It’s a friendship she encourages now, saying it’s helped her and her extended family better understand the role police officers fill in Mankato.

“My family is scared of the police because, back home, we were not sure about them,” Omar said. “Ibrahim told me, ‘Mom, they’re good people. You don’t have to be afraid of them.’”

The relationship between Ibrahim, who was born in Mankato a couple of years after his mother moved here in 1999, and officer Melissa Myers began with a routine investigation. Myers was attempting to contact a driver who had left the scene of an accident. Ibrahim helped out.

“Then it never ended from there,” Myers said.

It’s a friendship that grew stronger and spread to more officers during a tragedy. One of Ibrahim’s relatives was baby-sitting at a Hilltop Lane apartment when a baby died as a result of sudden infant death syndrome. Police had to keep people away while the incident was investigated.

Ibrahim was there again. First, he wanted to know why his extended family had to stay back. Then he helped explain to the others that the officers were there to help.

“Now, every time we see him, we meet more kids,” said Cmdr. Amy Vokal, who got to know Ibrahim that night. “He’s just a great kid. We’ve learned a lot from him. There are a lot of cultural differences, and it’s easier to learn those things when you make friends with a 9-year-old.”

Earlier this year, while Ibrahim was learning how to write a business letter in Amy Edelstein’s third-grade class at Kennedy Elementary, he decided to send his letter to Myers. He told her she was a nice person, a good police officer and asked her to join him for lunch at school. Myers accepted.

Vokal, who Ibrahim also knows by first name, joined them at Kennedy’s cafeteria for french toast, tater tots, sausage and fruit juice. It was Ibrahim’s chance to show off to his classmates as he sat between the officers.

“He’s a gregarious student who loves adult attention,” Edelstein said. “They’re obviously a positive influence for him. He’s been excited about this.

“He took the time to write to her and she followed up.”

Matt Westermayer, Public Safety Department deputy director, said there are many things department employees and Mankato’s growing Somalian community are learning from each other. Building simple friendships is one way to make that process easier and more productive.

“One of the things we are trying to overcome is the negative stereotypes some of these people have about law enforcement,” he said. “It’s simple. We’re here to serve the community. The community is diverse and changing, so we have to change, too. And that’s how you learn, by getting to know people.”

There are both simple and complex public safety issues that Somalians, and others moving to Mankato from other countries, don’t always understand, Westermayer said.

One simple example he cited involves smoke detectors. The easiest way to deal with a smoke detector chirping over burnt food is to pull it off the ceiling and take out the battery. That isn’t the best, or safest, way to stop the unwanted noise, though, Westermayer said.

A more complex example is understanding the role of police officers in the United States compared the role of law enforcement officers in other countries.

In Somalia and other places, the police officer sometimes fills the role of prosecutor and judge. When that’s the case, issues are often resolved immediately.

Somalians who are newer Mankato residents don’t always understand that police here don’t have that power. And, sometimes, someone involved in a physical confrontation has to go to jail. That can be required by law in domestic disputes that turn violent.

For the person being arrested, the thought of being taken away by police is easier to deal with when they realize they are going to have an opportunity to appear before a judge and tell their side of the story. Being arrested, or watching someone being taken away by uniformed officers, can be very frightening for someone who comes from a place where everything ends with the police, Westermayer said.

“But, when you break it all down, most of us all want the same thing: a safe community where we can raise our kids,” Westermayer added. “What I have found is we have more things in common than we have differences.”

By Dan NienaberFree Press Staff Writer
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Source:- mankatofreepress.com

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