Talk A Mile pairs police officers with students to foster connection and community

One of the many training programs the Portland Police Bureau requires before officers go out into communities on their own is a simple exercise called Talk A Mile. Police officers are paired with high school students of color and sent off to walk around the track together with four different topics on a note card for each of the four laps in a mile. Justin and Erika Fogarty started the program with a pilot in 2022, which their teenaged son Liam participated in. The Bureau immediately incorporated Talk A Mile as part of the curriculum for officers in the advanced academy as part of their probationary period. We talk with the couple, along with past participants high school junior Elija Graham and Portland Police Officer Danielle Wilson, to hear more about the program’s intentions and outcomes.