By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — Local high school student Tameek Williams got a taste of life as a police officer Wednesday through the NYPD’s Commanding Officer for a Day program.
Williams, 18, met Police Commissioner Ray Kelly Wednesday morning and then shadowed the real CO of lower Manhattan’s 1st Precinct, Capt. Edward Winski.
Williams is a senior at Chelsea Career and Technical High School in SoHo, where the students often get into confrontations with police officers. He won the CO for a Day opportunity after he wrote an essay about how the NYPD could improve deteriorating relations with teenagers.
“Everybody is under pressure,” Williams said. “Teenagers see cops and they panic. Cops see teenagers and they panic. People do stupid things.”
In his essay, Williams, a Flushing resident, criticized NYPD officers for what he believes in their practice of targeting minorities, and recommended that both police officers and teens not rush to judge each other.
While Williams said he was intrigued by his day at the 1st Precinct — he got a front-row look at Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the Brooklyn Bridge — he said he is sticking with his plan to become an IT specialist.
As for his advice to the NYPD, Williams said he feels like they heard his points.
“Everybody is different,” Williams said. “No one should be jumping to conclusions about other people.”
