Community organizers would have flooded the neighborhood if there had been a cop shooting.

Via WBTV:

At a time when relationships between police departments and local communities are under the microscope, and being put to the test, CMPD officers spent part of their Saturday afternoon reaching out to a northwest Charlotte neighborhood.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers noticed while on patrol that a neighborhood was in need of a new basketball hoop. That thought expanded, with the help of community partners, to become an afternoon of fun for Lincoln Heights children.

New playground equipment, backpacks and pizza were a way for law enforcement to help improve relations in the neighborhood.

“The area I work in is a rough area, and I think it’s important to work with the community and make those connections,” Officer Chelsea Kidder said Saturday.

A new basketball hoop assembled up by officers offers a new option for children in this neighborhood, but the long range expectation is to foster an environment of understanding. Neighbors call it an important beginning.

“It’s great for the kids and the neighborhood. It shines a different light on the police department, and with them here, it’s just great,” Kenny Maxwell, a Lincoln Heights resident told WBTV.

“I want to try to bridge that gap. And lot of times these kids, and kids in general are so impressionable, and I want them to see a good side to police officers not just a bad side,” Kidder said.

While CMPD and Walmart provided the basketball and playground equipment, Elevation Church donated backpacks with school supplies to children living in Lincoln Heights.