"I don't want to be afraid anymore," Jordyn Odagwe said.

The 11-year-old was not alone. She was one of 67 young people attending the first session of this year's Teen Police Academy in Brooklyn Park, many of whom are nervous about facing potentially dangerous situations, keeping safe and wondering how the police respond when called.

The academy seeks to answer those questions.

The five-week program, held in the Zanewood Recreation Center, is an opportunity for people typically 9 to 17 years old to ask questions, but it's also a chance to see the "face behind the uniform." It is hosted by the Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center police departments and supported by Hennepin County.

"They get to see cops as real people," said Toni Weinbeck , a Brooklyn Park police officer. "They see what we're like when we're not stopping them on the street."

The academy, which began three years ago, has grown from a one-day event to one-day-a-week that spans several weeks.

It is free, and police will provide transportation to those who don't have wheels. Community members also step in to donate money toward program T-shirts and certificates for the "graduates," while local restaurants provide pizza.

"I think we're one of the few [police academies] geared toward teens. They don't have an opportunity to sit down with police and ask questions, and it's good to hear from teens' perspective," said Robin Martinson, community liaison for the Brooklyn Park Police Department.

In the coming weeks, participants will learn about gang awareness, self-defense, juvenile laws and the K-9 SWAT team.

Self-defense is one of the more popular sessions.

"I want to learn self-defense because it makes me feel safer and more confident," Jordyn said. "It makes me feel more important than just a cute girl, or an object."

It's hard to say what the young people will take away from each session, but it's usually a deep respect for police, said Colleen Bouta, the Brooklyn Center juvenile officer.

"I think that the fact that Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park recognize the need to reach out to juveniles, it will affect them 20 years down the road," she said.

Tough questions

In the days before last week's first session, two people were wounded in separate Brooklyn Park shootings, one of them a 13-year-old boy.

While they didn't bring up those incidents, many of the youths asked how police handle similar situations.

"When those incidents happen, we like to reach out to the community, to draw on those incidents, to give examples and help them understand," Weinbeck said afterward.

Police officers from both cities opened the first session with a Q&A, answering a number of difficult questions, including what it's like to be shot, what they feel if they're about to die in action, how police respond to 911 calls and why they take "bad people" to jail.

"A lot of them have had police interaction for one reason or another," said Bouta. "They are asking questions that are real to them, not just trying to be silly but actually looking for answers."

Tommy Watson was once a kid with the same questions. Today, he's the Palmer Lake Elementary School principal, but as a kid he moved from foster home to foster home while his parents were in and out of jail for drug abuse. After the Q&A, Watson gave a message of hope, emphasizing that if he could rise above his circumstances, so could they.

"A lot of people complain that kids aren't motivated, but what we need to do is spend more time building relationships," said Watson.

Watson speaks at many events about his experience, but his passion is for youth.

"Having someone inspirational saying you can be whatever you want, that's powerful," said Martinson. "We try to target kids who may not have the best backgrounds and encourage them that they can be a success."

Hannah Gruber • 612-673-4864