Detroit police officer plays with kids while patrolling on city's west side

Officer Darren Weathers joins kids for basketball, race

DETROIT – When Darren Weathers was a kid in Detroit, he would always stay away from the police because he knew they were usually looking for someone.

Today, Weathers, 25, is a police officer in the Motor City, and he doesn’t want kids to have the same reaction to officers that he did.

"Growing up in Detroit I know how tough it is and I know how it is on the streets,” Weathers said.

He saw some kids playing basketball with a volleyball near Fenkell Avenue and Snowden Street. They told him their basketballs kept getting stolen.

Weathers asked them if he could join, but they didn’t believe him until he pulled his car over.

“I hear them saying, “He's really coming, he's really coming,” Weathers said.

He played basketball and raced the kids before having to get back to patrolling.

“Sometimes kids don't have good role models in their families. If I can reach out in any type of way then I feel like I won,” he said.

Watch Weathers playing with the kids below.

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About the Authors:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.