File:Kids, COPS and Canoe event, July 23, 2019, Cpl Jacki Druktenis and Tessa Kersh on the Potomac River.jpg

Summary

Brunswick police pair up with local youth for a day of fun on the Potomac River By Jeremy Arias from The Frederick News-Post, July 24, 2019 Photos by Graham Cullen

In Photo: Cpl Jacki Druktenis and Tessa Kersh on the Potomac River

As the sun peeked out from behind a thick, hazy blanket of clouds Tuesday morning, Brunswick police Cpl. Jacki Druktenis shaded her eyes and looked back toward her cruiser in the Brunswick Family Campground parking lot. “I think I probably should bring my sunglasses,” the corporal said with a laugh, turning to her partner for the day, 12-year-old Tessa Kersh. “I’m sorry, I’m going to be running back and forth to my cruiser until we leave.” A few minutes later, Druktenis was smiling happily as she adjusted the sunglasses on her face. Keeping step beside her, Tessa looked up at her partner as the two made their way back down to the boat launch ramp. “Better?” Tessa asked. “Much better,” Druktenis replied. “I’m ready now, let’s do this!” Tessa and Druktenis were one of several teams, each made up of an off-duty Brunswick police officer and a local middle or high school student, who launched from the campground in two-person canoes shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday for a 2½-hour trek down the Potomac to Point of Rocks. The brainchild of Brunswick Police Chief Milt Frech, the Cops & Canoes event that was first held in 2017 was supposed to be an annual outing, but uncooperative weather and dangerous river conditions forced the department and its partner, the Knoxville-based River & Trail Outfitters company, to cancel the event last year, Frech said. Despite two days of violent storms leading up to Tuesday’s planned excursion, Frech was delighted that the event moved forward as planned this year. Knowing how hard it can be for young people to have positive interactions and form trusting relationships with police officers, Frech said events like the Cops & Canoe trip were aimed at rectifying that. “The first year it was just a good way to get our officers out with the kids in sort of a different setting, when the officers are out of uniform,” the chief said. “The hope is that, maybe down the road, if [the kids] are having a tough time with something, they’ll feel comfortable enough to approach our [school resources officer] to talk to them about it, or vice versa, if an officer notices something, they will have enough trust built up to walk up to that student and say, ‘Hey, talk to me for a minute. What’s going on?’” Even for those youth who have had previous positive interactions with law enforcement, the laid-back atmosphere of Tuesday’s event, with the seven volunteer officers wearing water shoes and bathing suits rather than pressed uniforms and badges, was far more comfortable. “I’m looking forward to just getting out of the house and being out on the water with people who are out of uniform,” said 14-year-old Brunswick High School student Allison Wade, who was partnered up with Officer Eric Bittner for the day. “I’ve known the chief for a long time and I’ve met a lot of the officers before, but it’s always a bit scary when they’re in their uniforms.” Allison smiled as Bittner, wearing a pair of camo shorts and a floppy green bucket hat, helped drag their canoe into the muddy water near the bank in preparation to shove off. “Even if I’m just talking to the officer at our school, it sometimes feels like I’m being interrogated,” Allison said. “But today’s different.” While regular community events like career days or the annual National Night Out events many departments hold each summer are also good for building community support, Frech said he hopes more personal interaction like Tuesday’s trip will help form even closer bonds. Fortunately, sharing a canoe is about as close as two people can get in terms of bonding, said Katie Anderson, the River & Trail Outfitters river guide for the group. “In a canoe like this, you have to communicate with the person you’re in the boat with, otherwise you’re fighting both each other and the river the whole way,” Anderson said with a laugh. “The trip is about 6 miles and it will take us about two and a half hours, so they’ve got plenty of time to get to know one another and learn to work as a team.” Having already established a rapport with her partner, Tessa said her main concern for the next few hours on the river was the rocks that jutted up from the water every so often. Having determined that Druktenis would steer the boat from the back seat, Tessa was designated the forward lookout. “I’m just worried about going too fast and not being able to stop in time, because that’s when you can hit rocks and tip over,” Tessa said. Undeterred, Druktenis flexed her bicep and grinned, confident in her and her partner’s abilities. “We’ll be all right,” she said. “No problem!”