We’re former gang members and hardened social activists working to rebuild the neighborhoods we once destroyed, AUA

Are you worried about violent push-back from the gang you were in?

It's always a concern. The whole idea is to provide a uniformed approach to the work that minimizes threats or perceptions to the work.

• Alfred

From what I gather, there is that balance but they treat that world with so much respect. Whether they're currently banging or out of the gangs, what I saw between the guys is the respect level shown between people in the community. People know based on their history and respect they're showing that they're legitimate and people get that.

• James

The whole goal of what we're doing is to bring normality to a dysfunctional situation to people in a state of crisis. We have committed a long time ago and clearly understand there will be sacrifices made in this process but because of the work that's done, we've acquired credibility in these communities that we serve. So those individuals in the community for the most part realize that we're assets as opposed to liabilities. Thank you for your questions.

• Aquil

Do you have any advice or guidance you could offer to teachers working in communities affected by gang violence? How do you feel they can best operate as allies in your cause?

Thank you for doing what you are doing.

School teachers play a pivotal role in the cognitive development but also the emotional intelligence development of youth. And so if they can spend the first 10 minutes of a class, particularly when they first start in the morning, simply listening to the student. "How was your day when you went home last night?" "How was it when you came to school?" What a lot of teachers fail to realize is that in some communities, young people literally leave home in fear, fearing for the very safety of their lives due to the gang violence that exists. So when we talk about the wellness of a youth, don't overlook the trauma that they probably experience outside of that learning environment. Simply by asking them how they feel, perhaps is the very hope that they can rely on and would help them to navigate how they're going to get back home when school's over. May not be a reality in the school they're teaching at, stay tuned because if America keeps going in the direction it's going, it'll soon come visit you.

• Officer Brown

To bounce off what he's saying, I want to separate the skill set between hardcore gang intervention as a specific domain of work. however a school teacher's work is very important, it's important that if they work in areas that are experiencing epidemic levels of violence, it's also important for the community to understand that children have been impacted by violence. It's vital that the child receive the proper type of care including mental health, social engagement pieces but it's really collaboration between everyone in the community who participates in the recovery of that child.

• Alfred

We learned following the stories of some of the young people in LTO that PTSD is a real issue with the youth in these areas. We think it's a problem with children in Syria and Afghanistan but it's also a problem here. Teachers need a lot more resources opened up than in the past to deal with these issues.

• James

One other thing, to piggy back on my colleagues. We clearly need to understand something in these communities. These teachers in many circumstances are the only safety net that these kids have and the most important asset that these teachers have is to understand the normality of the child that they're dealing with. What I mean by that is it's far too often that people step into roles to assist these young adults and they understand their "normal," not realizing that the child's normal is totally different. So being that these teachers spend 8 hours a day with these young adults, they understand what they're going through and they're able to pass that information on to others who want to help in this process. Lastly, the importance of that is those individuals outside of the classroom that want to assist in the process by safeguarding the children and trying to create some normality are able to at least operate with some what of a foundation as to what they are dealing with. This becomes a reference point to start with as they start to build answers and solutions to assist a child.

• Aquil

In my totally uninformed opinion, there seems to be a lot of distrust between law enforcement and citizens in many communities that have been hit hard by gang violence. In your opinion, can this relationship be repaired, and if so what can be done to repair it?

Great question. The repair has already begun almost 3 years ago when we started working to develop a curriculum involving former gang members, community activists, and community intervention workers along side with sworn law enforcement officers. It is an 8 hour class and what it offers is the opportunity for officers to have a face to face dialogue with a community, in many respects, who have been faceless, voiceless, and without representation with the hierarchy of our department. So now that conversations are taking place, we have developed two top experiences that allow the officers to meet and work on problem solving together. It is in fact cutting edge and revolutionary in my opinion.

-Officer Brown

In transforming a community to stand independently, there are 5 basic components that need to transpire. Preventative, outreach, intervention, integrated services, and a smart suppression component. Smart suppression is where you find law enforcement, emergency responders, etc. If there is going to be transformatable change in that community, these components must find common denominators from which they can work from. So the training we are talking about is to redefine the thinking process in all involved to see what can be done, what cannot, the safety nest involved, etc where we can have this holistic push for individuality and community transformation.

-Aquil

This is the type of stuff I LOVE to see on the front page :)

Keep up the fantastic work!

My question:
Do you ever run into old "affiliates" of yours and if so do they ever cause issues. ie: call you weak, or traitor or anything of the sort?

Once again thank you folks for you work!!

Yeah, of course. In the line of work that I do as a former gang member, you still have individuals in the community that still pose a threat to the community and still want to play on the community. I have been threatened, called all types of names, been accused of being a snitch, being accused of working with law enforcement cause people don't want to see change. There are a lot of individuals in the community that are hardcore gang members themselves. I was one myself so I know how that looks and plays in the community. The ones that know what I do, I try to make a better community. I got guys sitting on life in prison, sitting on death row, that respect the work I do and continue to tell me to keep doing what I'm doing. So I'm not going to allow no one on the street to tell me something different or take on rumors, I continue to do the work the best I can and be real for the guys in the neighborhood because I don't cross that line. That means not going to the other side and working with law enforcement in a way that's going to jeopardize my work as an LTO.

• Reynaldo

We have to be clear on something. Those of us that really do this work and know this work, everyone here does. We don't go into the community to judge what's going on. When I talked earlier about bringing normality back to that community, it's not just for the residents, it's for everyone in the community. If I can transform a banger's thinking process, a community stakeholder, an emergency responder or just average community resident to realize they need to take ownership in restore what's perceived as a dysfunctional community for the betterment of all, that's my job. Now there's going to be degraded negative situations and individuals that if you're really on the ground, you're going to encounter in this work. Let me emphatically say this work is not school work, it's not fun and games. This work is hard. This work is sacrificing. And this work tears you apart. This work creates mental degradation, physical turmoil and times again, just the thinking process of "are we accomplishing anything in terms of where we are in these streets." So understanding the work really becomes imperative that you realize what type of work this is. I guess I can best say that by we all realize we're all at war. In war you're going to have casualties, faced with victories as well as defeats, you're going to triumphs and you're going to have down moments. I respect all my colleagues because they've been through this, understand this, and know this. And lastly, again when we stepped into this role, we signed up to where we realize we're going to have to face adversarial opponents and situations. But we all knew if we were going to truly be successful, we'd have to have the passion and drive to not personalize and to go out there and put our best foot forward to try to make change in these communities and the individuals within them.

• Aquil

What was the major turning point in each of your lives that made you decide to drop crime and pursue becoming social activists? As well, has it been hard to pursue such a cause?

It was a long journey. I was surrounded by people later in life that showcased a different lifestyle that i fully embraced and as a result years later became involved in this movement known as intervention...Now I sing kumbaya and know what a s'more is. And I drive a Prius.

-Alfred

My situation is much different, in that on July 17th 2009, my only son was murdered at the hand of a gang member. It was a major turning point in my life and so I was approached by a colleague Sgt Curtis Woodle. He became my mentor and asked if I would join him in this cause to help introduce and present gang interventionists to our law enforcement community. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have met the likes of James Lipetzky, the individuals that I share this room with today, and the opportunity to share with an audience that I can’t even see, but I trust the sincerity of the dialogue. I was quite happy being a drill instructor and training officers; in fact I wanted to retire as being a drill instructor. This cause is much greater than that, and I have humbly accepted this destiny.

-Officer Brown

Man...these guys all sound commited and earnest, but I am loving Officer Brown's perspective.

So much respect for you, sir, to take such an awful and personal tragedy and turn it into a personal impetus to do great work.

Thanks to all of the folks doing this AMA for manifesting the very best part of our humanity.

We need to head out but I appreciate that response. I'm deeply touched by it. Just know that I'm not the only one within the law enforcement community that feels this way. Though you may not often hear our voices, please note that the work that needs to be done on our end is being done. We are committed to it, until we take our last breath. So appreciate you and hopefully something has been said today and shared that will provide a sign of hope and encouragement in light of all the craziness that's going on in the world right now.

• Officer Brown

I just want to thank everyone for taking the time to have this conversation. I would be at miss, if you were inspired by the words of these men today, to watch the film and see their stories played out in real time in a real community under real circumstances. And know that whenever you hear a story of gang violence or police violence, that there are stories of inspiration and change out there and we need to spread those words and support these men and women with their work.

• James

Thank you to everyone for your curiosity. I personally want to thank my colleagues: Alfred, Stinson, Wiz (Reynaldo), and all the brothers and sisters out there doing the work who aren't here. I want to thank James, Omelet, for giving a small vision of the work that we do and all the support that we do, for getting this pertinent message out so people can realize the complexity of the things that we do to solve some of these issues.

• Aquil

What kind of response have you got from other people working in this area, like social workers, probation, youth support groups?Do you think they respect the personal experience you bring, and do you find that they trust you and are willing to take advice on how to improve their work (and what is that advice)?

Well everything is based on perception. We have different degrees of intervention workers doing the work. We have the professionals, we have the non-professionals, and we have those who are in the work for their personal benefit. The professionals have real credibility, they're usually trained significantly and they operate from protocols and standards. When the other professionals realize that their interventionists are working with a structured format, they tend to be far more respectful of the work in considerate of a profession. Just as equally important is the credibility of work that's being done by the interventionists, which the community validates. Those two components combined usually dictate if the interventionist is a professional who will be respected as a professional and knows what they're doing.

• Aquil

For law enforcement, the sign of measurable effectiveness at the end of the day is when you see the dialogue, the handshake, and the embracing between the interventionists and the law enforcement officers. Because I trained police officers for 8 years as a drill instructor, I best understand the culture and sometimes the walls that we create in this profession and so to see the evolution and witness the paradigm chance, I know that these young officers will take that experience back to the police car, locker room, roll call room, and the streets. And that gives the intervention organizations, like brother Aquil said "those who have structure," it gives them the credibility that's needed to really allow them to work at their best practices. Many of law enforcement personnel are totally oblivious to the work and the commitment they have to restore normality to a community that has been besieged by this ugly thing we call violence.

• Officer Brown

My observation was that this began working because the city of Los Angeles lost their ego to say "you know what, what we were doing wasn't working" where as most cities have established bureaucracies and power structures by people who are being paid to say there's "not a problem." And if people's egos would allow them to work with people who come at a problem from a completely different perspective more often, I think we could start seeing more results in cities across the United States. People are too often interested in defending their little piece of the pie.

• James

How has the gang epidemic in LA evolved over the past 20 years in terms of getting worse, better, or somewhat stagnating?

Compared to back in the 80s when I was out in the streets gang banging, it was at its high. We had more gang homicides. Then until intervention work really started to spawn off, I know I can speak on my area where I come from in West Athens, to where the enemies that we used to oppose on (and they opposed on us) the violence dropped due to cease fires and as our understanding of each other and the communities got better. In other neighborhoods in LA, other intervention workers have been working very hard to resolve issues and that's why you see a decline in gang homicide. It's still bad based upon the murders going on. Are we getting better? I say yeah. But I still believe there's a lot more work to be done. More individuals need to be educated, individuals that want to get into this work that have certain skill sets should get involved in this type of work to help reduce the violence in the communities.

• Reynaldo

To me, what gets lost in this glorification of violence is that the violence erupting becomes the headline. People don't want to talk about community restoration and providing hope, which is what all of these men and women are about. They need help. The schools need to be improved, economic development needs to be created in these areas. There's only so much these individuals can do until we come up with a better way to reintroduce felons into the communities to give them something productive to do. These men and women are holding back the dam from breaking but a lot more needs to be done to make it healthy again.

• James

To echo James' point, the gang environment has become more sophisticated to be clear. There are tow basic mentalities. You have the average street gang and organized crime. When it happened in the past, these two have been separated. In the last 10 years, you got more criminal gangs being utilized by organized crime. A big part of the rationality is because of the transnational capabilities of these venues to hook up. On the surface, it does seem like violence has decreased because of typically what is seen as street gang engagement has become more sophisticated. So some of what you see out there, like human trafficking and other components of this nature, you have organized crime involved in this. The workers have become way more sophisticated and not limit themselves to just criminal gang engagement. That's also why so many of the gang members have become so blazant because they have that larger support system behind them. another infusion is the girl gangs, they've become much more independent and vicious and for the most part they're not necessarily aligning with the gang members of the past. Lastly, in terms of the old criminal gang structure, you got a lot of these younger bangers/shooters that don't give a damn about the old structure and caste system of the gang environment. The old concept of the OG or OOG or OOOG laying down the law is not as impactful as it used to be in the past. These youngsters are off the hook. They're not apologizing and they don't have no problem doing damage so it's a whole different environment, some things remain. There's been a transition shift in terms of sophistication and thinking process. That's why it's so imperative that the people doing this work have true credibility during the constant state of learning and as it was mentioned earlier, constantly being supported and stabilized because of a constant influx of new dynamics on a daily basis.

• Aquil

What was it like trying to do your intervention work while the documentary was being shot? Did the presence of a camera complicate things (i.e. were some people unwilling to be filmed)?

I would say from a director standpoint, I had promised all the intervention workers that respecting their work came before their story. I couldn't put myself, the crew, or their work in danger to get a shot or something that I thought looked "cool." And I was less concerned with showing the violence, which I think we all know what that looks like, vs. really dealing with the aftermath and the impact on the communities, which is really what these guys specialize in. I think that story has been under told. I realize there had been times I could go forward and times I could step back. There was a dance being in the moment.

• James

The difficulty of filming that part was especially during the funeral. There was someone going through real grief in real time. It was very emotional for one thing, to let a family know that their story and their lost loved one means so much to all of us in our community. His story and his life and what happened to him is a tragic situation, like so many others in our community who have lost their lives through gang violence, that we needed to show that part in the film to give a real life of loss in our community. It was a sad situation but I think that was the hardest part for me, was filming that part.

• Reynaldo

The filming aspect was really about the relationship building in the community. It was good to see that after years of serving the community that the buy-in was at ever level of the community, which made it a lot easier to film, as opposed to coming in not knowing anyone. That made a big difference.

• Alfred

What is something a completely average guy like myself can do to help the city I love? (Baltimore)

I would say my observation would be this: Start simple by mentoring one at-risk youth. Showing that you are there for that child, that you love that child, and that you believe in that child...that will go a long way. It’s very simple, but is something that is needed.

-James

If you are willing to spend quality time, money, and share your life experience, then you have an opportunity to impact one young person who will in turn share that experience with at least 100 other young people.

-Officer Brown

We have been to Baltimore a couple of times to assist. Baltimore has some great components in place. You don't need to duplicate what they are doing, but rather align yourself with organizations that are already working and need support and need stability. I'm sure you have expertise, as everyone does, that can be added to a holistic system of change. Whatever your expertise, you will be able to assist and if you make yourself available, let people know you are there to help, and commit to this... those are the best steps you can take. It also gives you the opportunity to learn the environment and the need of the community you want to serve.

• Aquil

As being a former ganger member myself and dealing with people of the community, I believe all of us can make a difference in some way or fashion. Get to know the community you want to serve. Get to know public leaders, law enforcement, and school officials. These are all resources that can help you know what you can bring to the table. Come into your community willing to offer your personal skill sets, and you will be successful.

-Reynaldo

What was it like when people tried to be role models for you when you were gang members and does that change your approach when you yourself tries to intervene now?

There was very little positive role models. I was really entrenched in gang culture. Understanding now that for some children, I might be the only positive role model in their lives, but unfortunately LA is one of the biggest gang cities in the world. Being able to know that I can affect and change a child’s perspective is important and leave me with a sense of peace.

-Alfred

I didn’t have any role models. My role model was my “big hommie.” I can remember in my prime gang years passing by a school in my car with the rims and music and a kid saying “What’s up” to me. I stopped and said “whats up hommie.” His friend asked, “Who's that?” and he replied “Thats my big hommie.” When I pulled off I realized that kid idolizes me. I remembered the exact same thing happened to me when I was in Jr high. It made me feel so go good. Over time I knew I had to be that person but for the right reasons.

-Reynaldo

You need to remember the generational distance. Back then my gangs were very militant. The government was our enemy. I had the individuals that demanded the best of me. The tactics we utilize and what we did, let me be blunt, were very unapologetic for the stance back then. I say that to say this. Whether you have bad leadership or good leadership, when you become the leader you are chosen. You don’t become a leader by chance. Leaders are chosen. Once you are chosen you have a supreme degree of responsibility. You have to hold yourself to an higher standard that you didn’t even expect of yourself. You realize that those you serve are filtering everything you do, watching everything you do, watching your behaviors. It’s not what you say, it’s what you do that wins them over or has them distancing them selves from you. So you push yourself a lot harder. You end up and taking more blows so at the end of the day when you realize your role is extremely temporary. What you have to do is make sure those you mentor, those you try to guide, have some type of platform to stand on when you are removed from the picture. So you work a lot harder, you are more serious about what you do, and have a truer sense of integrity, because you realize what is at stake.

-James

Hey guys, I just noticed your AMA and really interested in your story. I will have to check it out later but don't want to miss the opportunity to ask you a question. What are your thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement? Personally, I feel that (what gets broadcasted anyway) it's been a very one-sided debate on the brutality and systemic racism on the part of the police department, and not a lot of acknowledgement that there are issues within the affected communities as well. I find it's pointless to focus all the energy on the "how things got this way", but rather spend a lot more time on the "well this is how things are, so let's focus on making changes on both sides of the fence." I wish there was more activism and changes made from within the community, which would be so empowering for the individuals involved in those communities to stand up and make changes from within.

We had training not too long ago. We also have LA county sheriffs who shared some of that 8-hour training with us. There was a deputy who posed a question to the interventionists "so how do you feel about the Black Lives Matter movement and how do you influence them?" To the best of my recollection, the response was "with all due respect, we're not here to talk about Black Lives Matter. We're here to talk about the lives that matter to us in terms of what's going out day and night, just trying to prevent the bloodshed happening on these streets." Though Black Lives Matter has raised the eyebrows perhaps of many community members on both sides of the fence, it is hard to ignore that throughout the country from the confines of law enforcement, 7% of those individuals who have lost their lives at the hand of law enforcement do not compare to the 93% or more homicides that occur within a given community. I would have to agree with the question or concern that there needs to be spent equal time on both sides with regard to how did we get here, and then what do we do to get a better understanding when there's police contact, what's expected during that contact to minimize the possibility of a use of force incident that could possibly escalate into deadly force. We have spent numerous hours speaking to community groups, church congregations, on college campuses, and even at police stations. Trying to teach, model, and mentor young people (particularly of color) how to conduct themselves during a police contact. I find it interesting that when you invite Black Lives Matter activists to a use of force training event, that often times they don't show up. And not just Black Lives Matter but there are other outspoken community activists who have declined the invitation to stand in front of a computer screen in a safe environment and be introduced to the force option simulator and be confronted with a stressful scenario that is real life for law enforcement 24/7, 365 days a year. Now I would be remiss to sit here and not say that in some situations, locally and across the country, that when it came to deadly force that there were not in fact other options that could have been considered. I say that as a law enforcement officer 29 years+, as a compassionate human being who chose forgiveness over bloodshed, and I say that as a man of god who believes there's a high force that governs this whole universe.

• Officer Brown

I think my colleague expressed some very targeted points. I want to address this as a social activist who has been birthed out of the movement of the 60s. Black Lives Matter is a movement and as with most movements, they're caused because of extreme dissatisfaction whether it be a social, political, or communal change that's wanted by the people in the movement. The dissatisfaction has reached a point to where they feel they can only be satisfied by creating internal/external change through revolting. The end cause of any movement is the most important aspect of the movement. Now while I respect highly the Black Lives Matter movement for stepping out and attempting to address pertinent issues related to police abuse, police dissatisfaction etc. does that mean we'll always agree upon tactics? As a movement grows, tactics change. Tactics are usually driven by the end outcome of what the movement is trying to achieve. So in that process, it becomes imperative that you have the ability to converse, sit down, and engage with every component of what's causing that dissatisfaction. So I would be cautious in closing the door to any group involved in that process by making that group become so defensive that they don't want to continue to dialogue because at the end of the day it's going to take dialogue, psychological shifting, tactical repositioning to achieve that end result. Lastly, if they stay focused on the end result and make sure that the deliverable from the end result drive the process, they're going to be a far valuable asset to the communities they're trying to change as well as the adversaries they're trying to alter.

• Aquil

In your opinion, what should be priority #1 when addressing the root cause of gang violence in poor communities? I realize that there are no easy answers, but if you had to pick one single, easy to digest facet of the problem that you feel affects people the most in making the decision to join a gang, what would it be?

Firstly, provide options. Provide viable options. Fundamentally, from my humble experience, basic needs are not being met. Whatever those needs are. Number 2, there’s no, or very few, sustainable anchors in the life of the individuals stepping into the environment. What I mean by that, is that there is no anchor that holds them in an anchored position to stabilize. Third, and this is crucial, I’ve seen this in about 90% of people that have come out of my environment: lack of fundamental hope. Lastly, the accumulation of the degree of respect that offers the individual the ability to realize a sense of greatness and self-worth is unavailable.

Violence is a process – some use it as a science. The groups I came from were anti governmental, and revolutionary. Back in the day, I was a hardcore enforcer for all the venues I was in. With that said, we used certain tools; the more I used them, the more I got used to them, and the more acceptable they became. It turns a point where that becomes the arsenal that works for you and gives you success. Thus, that is where the success of breaking the cycle begins. Something I’d like to point out, is that white communities go through the same thing- even influential ones. White communities have the same destructive elements that have caused so many communities to become dysfunctional. The major difference is that they have more empowering safety nets and services to create some sense of balance. They have the proper networking in place to catch those youngsters and young adults before they get too far gone. Usually, in the impoverished communities you don’t have any of that. So then an individual falls right into the hole and becomes a product of dysfunction.

• Aquil

There is a mental health component that is overlooked. Less than 5% of gang members are involved in violence – when you look at that 5% you will see that there are commonalities mentally. The commonalities are that they have been victimized to high levels of violence and thus participate in acts of violence. It’s important to get a clear snapshot of who all is involved, because according to studies, 95% of gang members are not violent. The groups that I work with ARE engaged in violence. This is because my experience at a young age - I experienced a lot of violence, began to self-medicate at the age 9 years old, began to drink and do drugs at the age of 12 years old– without the proper diagnosis (PTSD).

What comes to mind is the first piece, identifying the mental health component and working towards breaking the cycle. The next is that there is a normalization that occurs during the breakdown of a community that is ravished by violence. Without proper resourcing and intervention, unfortunately violence becomes normalized. Our whole goal as interventionists is to prevent that normalization in that we use our influence in the community to steer young kids away from that normalization. When I was younger, there was a glorification of violence and we didn’t have what we have now – individuals who are able to guide children towards the light.

• Alfred

In my humble opinion, one of the root causes of gang violence is a generational curse and stronghold. Generational because it has been long accepted in view that one’s response to how the larger society sees them triggers, or at least fosters, the idea that it is perfectly okay for a group to act this way. It doesn’t however become a problem or issue until it shows up at the doorstep of those that represent the larger society. The stronghold is culturally my grandfather was a Crip, my daddy was a Crip, my uncle was a Crip, and probably at some young age. It starts at 5-8 years of age, young boys and girls are being introduced to the gang way of life. This is because they don’t see themselves as part of the mainstream of society. So when you are left to create your own world of acceptability, you will often times get, unfortunately, a person who is so damaged mentally, physically and spiritually that we do ourselves a disservice to think to believe that we can academically resolve the issues.

• Officer Brown

It is truly a matter of lack of resources. When you boil down to it, there is simply a lack of resources in our community.

• Reynaldo

In these stricken communities, the narrative is always about a person getting out of the neighborhood. However, what does that imply? It implies that there is no help, no hope, no love, nothing to build on – so they HAVE to get out. We should focus on people wanting to belong, wanting to restore their communities.

• James

Thank you all for a very in depth response. There's a concept in sociology that I subscribe heavily to. Crime is an indicator of a need for social change. Moreover, crime is a solution to a lack of legitimate opportunity. People will seek out illegitimate opportunities where no legitimate opportunities exist.

I have a question in particular for Aquil. You mentioned that the people you ran with had specific political or idealistically informed goals. How common is this among gangs in the US? I think that a lot of people (myself included, which I'm realizing may have been a prejudiced and not entirely accurate viewpoint) see gang members as mostly uneducated and uninformed about politics, and that most gang related crimes are opportunistic in nature or otherwise centered around profit. Do you see that aspect as something which was more of a rationalization, or was it an overriding and sincere force which motivated your gang?

This thinking process was more prevalent back in the early 60's and 70's. Most of the socials movements that created the revolutionary change which occurred in this country was spawned out of the gang environment which existed at the time. Most of the militant organizations' ranks were filled with members of the gang environment. For the most part, the hard core organizations which believed in armed engagement recruited from the ranks of the gang culture. For the most part, we were the only ones who had the backbone to stand up and go toe to toe with the establishment which attempted to keep oppressive policies in place at the time. Mind you, our gang culture was not bent on self destruction like in the 80's, we had beef but we were more focused on extreme social change by any means necessary! We were ready to die for those beliefs and we went to the extremes to change numerous oppressive conditions which were seriously handicapping our communities in that period.

You're very correct in your assessment that crime is an indicator that social change is necessary. Most crime stems from "basic wants" not being met. Individuals usually are forced to do what they do for survival reasons because options are not available. Property has always been a "sister" to crime and a "brother" to the gang life. Many individuals go in the direction of the gang culture and the violent lifestyle in general as a survival tool, and far too often, once in their life, its extremely hard to get out. Often times, even if they can get out, without viable options to alter the dysfunctional thinking process, there's nowhere for them to go, so the life becomes their normal. I am not excusing the many of the negative behaviors associated with the lifestyle, Im just trying to provide an understanding of some of the rationale behind the thinking process. Be clear, I'm generalizing. Some individuals enjoy the power, fear, dominance and many in the culture are mentally warped, but this is usually the exception, not the norm.

• Aquil

Do you think you will ever be able to do enough good to outdo the bad you did?

That's a great question. I don't think I could ever change the bad I did and I need to be careful that I don't work in an environment that is emotionally attached to reversing the wrong. It's important for me to stay centered and balanced in this work so that I can focus on the needs of families and children in the community that are constant. I believe that focusing on the given moment and helping is part of the atonement process but I also have to be careful that I don't get dragged into an emotional workspace. The work can be tremendously challenging emotionally and I don't think that we as workers, as fathers, as husbands, understand the severity of going from crisis to crisis and seeing people that we know in the community killed through the years. It really affects us in a very profound way.

• Alfred

Things that I've done in my past and I know I asked god for forgiveness, all I can do is continue to do good and save lives on these streets. When I was in the streets, I was 100% in and everything I believed was right at the moment by being a gang member and looking at the perception of that lifestyle and what I was going was all wrong. To do this work, it's 100% in and that means 100% in to the day I die. I believed that when I was going the gang and the destruction I played in my community, the work that I do is never going to be enough. But if I can save a life, if I can turn a kid around from being at risk to getting into college and being a better person, that's turning things around. But like I said, I can never undo the things I've done to my community, all I can do is continue to do good to my community.

• Reynaldo

I'll go one step further. The past does not equal the future. I don't know anybody in life who has walked on water and hasn't gotten wet. With that said, all one can do is take ownership of what they have done and move forward in the process. We have na old saying "let it go so you can grow." People in life are going to be judged by the legacy that they leave. It's the same thing in the street. People don't care about what you've done, they care about what you're ding int the current. Whoever it is, if you stay focused on trying to make people better and not bitter, you stay focused on trying to create a viable constructive and healthy environment, that's what you work with. You do the best you can with what you have to work with in the moment. I don't think any of us would be sitting here if we didn't feel like our efforts in the moment were going to turn out a viable better product and what we've done has not been successful.

• Aquil

In the film, I didn't dwell on the past of what these men and women did because violence robs a person of their sense of self, of their identity. And from what in helping to tell their stories, I felt it was a sense of discovery for themselves and who they were at the core of a person. In this later part of life they were finding their essence of who they are and what they were meant to do, it was something that had kind of been robbed of them.

• James

There was a part in the film where I'm seated in my residence and James is interviewing me. There was a conversation about forgiveness. When I came up on the line between good and evil, I had a choice. I had a choice to carry out retribution for the loss of my own son against a community where there would have been a lot of bloodshed. But when I turned down the volume of life to hear the voice of god, I chose forgiveness, I allowed myself to experience faith and a higher being that I had never experienced before. Aquil has been with me a long time, way before we started this relationship and working with law enforcement. When you have people on the outside of my world from the streets, from the prisons, from the military, from law enforcement who say "how do you want to handle this? Because whatever you decide we got your back" it was scary for me. I didn't realize that many people cared enough or loved me enough to say "in your brokenness, we'll try to help you fix this." That is indeed the common thread of everyone here. We've all been broken, we've all been faced with the challenge of crossing the line or staying behind it. Or do we choose to fulfill our god-given destiny.

• Officer Brown

Other than Los Angeles, what steps are being taken to take this movement across the country?

I didn't allow James or any of the filmmakers to get any of our negative encounters. I didn't think it was necessary and I felt the story could be told just as effective without those scenes. Far too often, documentaries want to highlight that negativity and they give the community no bridge to get out of that negativity and what we wanted to do was show answers and solutions, to provide hope. I think that was accomplished with the documentary. In terms of the national movement, when we started to work decades ago, we clearly understood that if you did not and could not build replicable templates od change, that the work would be insignificant and would implode. So our whole structure and method was to make sure whatever answers and solutions we were able to secure, that we would build a systematic structure where these things could be implanted in other besieged communities. We also had to think on a broader scale because communities are different. We needed to build a skeletal structure of common denominators but leave enough flexibility for individual adaption for the community we were trying to step into. So with that said, we formed the PCITI and let me be real clear here, I and my core people have been on the ground and doing this dang work as practitioners for decades. There's a false myth when you build and train that that is somehow alleviated from actually doing the work. The only way you'll be effective is to be involved, have been involved, or be associated with the actual coach. With that said, we have created a model that has been replicated throughout the united state in city after city from the east coast to the west coast, as well as internationally: China, London, Africa, Argentina (I can go on and on). Our model is being utilized. Lastly, that brings us to Geneva where we are working with the World Health Organization and the United Nations to teach a team as they build the Urban Safety infrastructure for international cities. We were able to position the LTO to be premiered there as an example of an extremely effective safe practice. SO the international community will be able to look into the scope of the work via the documentary and just see that a very revolutionary structure has been put in place.

• Aquil

I believe the LTO film project provides the perfect platform where there can be some real discussion and research done with regard to police departments across the country, if not the world. Better embracing and working with those individuals who do the job and work without a badge, without a gun, without a vest but possess a deep desire to see others healed and restored even at the risk of their own lives. For me as a law enforcement officer, when I retire next year -- June 1 -- I have plans on consulting wherever I'm invited along with brother Aquil and a few other individuals to represent the change that I want to see within the file and rank of policing and how it's done in this country. Please understand there's a different between police occupation and police services.

• Officer Brown

my question is for alfred. what was the turning point that made you think "this is not how i want to live the rest of my life"?

I was fortunate to have met a outreach team that assisted me in my recovery from drugs and alcohol. That began the process for my recovery and then ultimately to helping my community.

• Alfred

What is the bigger problem; racial inequity or economic inequity? I know the two are connected but in your opinion which side do you fight first to fix the larger problem?

Economic inequity is a much bigger issue than racial inequity. With economical balance, one has the ability to alter and improve their standard of living. Economical equality gives the person or the community the chance to define their direction, to become self reliant and to chart a course of self-determination. Securing racial balance is needed, but we can be racially even all we want, true power comes in the form of being able to chart your own course in life, with economical sustainability, this cannot and will not happen.

• Aquil

I think addressing racial inequality in America is a conversation that's well overdue. If we are honest with one another, every nationality represented in this country enjoys the spoils of this society and takes advantage of services that in a large part should be reserved for those who built the infrastructure for this nation via slavery and free labor. This is not about playing the race card, but instead it has to do with that fact that slavery in this country yielded the slave owners and share croppers major dividends at the expense of people of color. Can anyone besides me see the economic inequality in this?

Black people are the only race who work hard on assimilating themselves into the customs and practices of the ruling class of America and spend very little time embracing the black diaspora that speaks to self worth, academic achievements and cultural significance. Values related to ethnocentric culture and contributions only matter if you play sports or are an entertainer. In which case you get worked like a 'slave' and the only difference is there are no chains or yolks around ones neck, instead it creates the type of distractions that rob so many people of their own true destiny.

Now let me the first to admit that the more I read and study history, the more I realize there have been some significant history omitted in order to promote and guard the intentions of the ruling class. Here is what I sincerely believe, today's generation has the opportunity to challenge and perhaps re-write the laws and customs that have created a racial divide in America. I believe the millennial are smarter, stronger and more resilient than any other generation that has been born into humanity. This country is on the brink of experiencing one of the most egregious racial conflicts ever in history. America, wake up and take the mute off your heart and recognize that we can never be the great nation promised by the founding fathers -- together we stand, divided we fall. Thank you for reading my response.

• Officer Brown

What do you think about the movie Predator?

In some respects, the movie is similar to the psychopathic behavior of something very foreign to that particular environment but to the Predator, it's very normal. So when you look at the men and women, boots on the ground, in the trenches dealing with rumor control and interdicting the next act of violence, they have been opposed to the predatory nature on a daily basis. So if you're going to have a conversation about the predator, then we must be willing to take a very honest look at ourselves and ask ourselves, "have I ever been a predator?" Entertainment is one thing but often times there's a lot of truth within the script and acting out of characters on the screen. When you get past being amused and you really look at yourself and what's being portrayed there, let me speak for myself, I try to find that common thread that touches all of humanity. By the way, the movie was great.

• Officer Brown