The Tulsa Police Department has announced it's first community resource officer in its history.
The Department has assigned Officer Amaley "Popsey" Floyd to the area near 61st and Peoria, where a vast amount of crime has taken place over the years.
In 2013, four women were murdered execution style at the Fairmont Terrance Apartments, now the Savannah Landing Apartments, by two brothers, James and Cedric Poore. Both have been sentenced to life in prison.
An area, plagued with gun-violence and one of the city’s most infamous homicide, is now given a chance to mend it’s reputation.
Floyd is making it his goal to change the way other’s view the area.
“All I see is the potential when I come out here,” Floyd said.
Come Monday, Floyd will hold the official title as the Police Department’s first Community Resource Officer.
“There’s kids out here that are on honor roll, straight a students, and they don’t necessarily fit this description when you think of this area,” Floyd said.
The officer knows firsthand, because for the past three weeks, he’s proven his title of police officer means so much more than wearing a badge.
“That's the first time that I've seen,” Linda Jones, an area resident said. “And I've been here since 2011 and never seen an officer interact.”
Floyd said becoming a part of the community is important for an officer.
“Often times people think that’s just hiding behind a bullet,” Floyd said. “But, man if you’re stopping and saving a kid’s life from them joining a gang or them going the wrong direction… that’s saving a life as well.”
And it’s not just the perception of the area he hopes to change, it’s his own image as well.
“This area over here,” Floyd said. “I used to pull up and everyone would take off running. Now, I’ve met a few people that will stop people from running and be like 'Hey, he just wants to talk to us.'”
And his hard work, seems to be paying off.
“He wants them to know that the police is not... he's not there enemies,” Jones said.
"So what I want them to know is that we are real people and not only is this just a job for me, but they can call me,” Floyd said.
The officer has handed out his number to several people in the area, in hopes they will call him for anything. He is known to take people to the market and to even get their nails done.
But at the end of the day, he wants his message to be clear.
“61st and Peoria can be what you make it,” Jones said.
And Floyd agrees. He said that he wants people to know they don’t have to fit the stereotype of the neighborhood.
“You can be great, you can be the next president, you can be the governor, you can be the chief of police, you can be a lawyer… all that from this neighborhood,” Floyd said.
He hopes soon, that’s what will come to mind when you hear about the neighborhoods near 61st and Peoria.
Officer Floyd is assigned to the areas of 56th to 71st, and from Riverside to Lewis. He said he’ll report to those areas permanently for the next two years.
Floyd made headlines in September following the fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher. Floyd posted a message on his Facebook page that was shared more than 5,000 times about finding solutions and change during the tense days following the shooting. Watch our interview with Floyd from September below.
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