PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — High school students in Port St. Lucie will soon be learning more about how to interact with police officers during traffic stops.
The Port St. Lucie Police Department is the only agency in the state to receive a grant in order to make the Officer Steve Brown Model Traffic Stop Program possible.
Brown was a school resource officer at Treasure Coast High School before passing away in 2019 from a heart attack.
He was well known for the positive relationship he had with the student body.
As students hit the streets, many of them for the first time behind the wheel this summer, it's important that both they and officers know how to react in the event of a traffic stop.
Over the next few weeks, school resource officers will be visiting tenth grade classrooms in Port St. Lucie to teach students about how to react when getting pulled over.
"There's really nothing that they need to be scared of if they just simply do what it takes and apply the brakes," said Gretchen Raziela, Program Coordinator at PSLPD.
The B.R.A.K.E.S. is an acronym to help teach students the program and stands for the following.
- Be prepared.
- Respect is key.
- Always follow instructions.
- Keep your hands visible.
- Explain your actions.
- Save it for later.
"On the side of the roadway, that's not where you need to argue whether or not you feel that is a justified traffic stop," said Raziela. "If you get a citation, it's an invitation to court."
Raziela said there is a portion of training for officers in the program.
It's based on the concerns provided by teenage drivers.
"That's the first thing that we did," said Raziela. "We went out and we talked with students the students and a lot of them just had this misconception that every single officer is biased and they're not going to get a fair shake no matter what."
Raziela said the department eventually plans to share the program with all high schools in St. Lucie County and the state.
