Cool Cars May Open Doors For Cops, Kids

Keith Beesne and three friends slumped low in the white leather seats of Beesne’s 1963 Impala.

The 17-year-old showed off the hydraulics which lift and tilt his low-rider car while the four posed for a picture.

Beesne’s Impala was one of 45 cars, 14 trucks and five bicycles on display during Saturday night’s 21-and-under car show as part of Cops and Kids Night in downtown Spokane. The two-day event was a chance for youths and police to mix in a non-threatening environment.

“(Police) can see we’re not out here to cause trouble,” Rob McKinley, 18, said. “We’re here because we like to do this.”

His green, 1983 Mazda 626 featured a color television set, complete with Super Nintendo, in the back seat. Characters from the video game Donkey Kong Country danced across the 9-inch screen.

Tinted windows, fancy lettered windows and custom wheels were the norm as youths who usually cruise Riverside polished their cars and parked them in a lot at the corner of Riverside and Washington. Bass from various car stereos boomed above the music played by a local radio station.

Gordon Grant, a Drug Awareness Resistance Education officer (DARE) who’s organized the event for the past four years, danced to the sounds of ‘90s rock blaring on the speakers and raffled off DARE jackets.

Attendance for the two days was expected to reach 2,400 youths.

“It gives them a chance to have hand-to-hand contact with officers and see that we have things in common,” Grant said. “We’re not all business all of the time. We want to connect with them.”

Richard Anderson, 15, said he came down to “meet the people, and I like the cars.

“There are real nice people here, even the police.”

The event is geared toward 16- to 20-year-olds - an age group of youths who often find themselves “in a void,” Grant said.

“There’s not enough for people in that age group to do in Spokane,” he said. “Even if this is only for two nights a year, it gives them options. And it’s a good spirit-booster right before school starts.”

This year’s Cops and Kids event comes at a critical time, in light of several recent bursts of youth violence, Grant said. Two teenage girls were killed and another injured during a recent shooting in Hillyard. One of three youths injured during a shooting last weekend in Millwood remains in satisfactory condition at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

With so many teenagers getting killed and injured by gunfire, mingling with youths is especially important.

“We go out there on their turf, to hang out with them,” Grant said. “What we usually find is they like us and accept us. It makes a difference somewhere down the line.”

At least 600 hot dogs and 1,200 cups of soda disappeared on Friday night.

Ruth and Chuck Hensley displayed their white 1928 Model A Ford.

“The kids really seem to enjoy the cars,” Ruth Hensley said. “They ask us ‘Does it go fast?’ Do you have flames?”’

Katie Campbell, 10-1/2, squealed and squirmed at the front of the crowd, hoping against hope Grant would call out her ticket number to win a jacket.

“She’s dying out there,” Grant said.

“I really want one,” Katie said.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Brian Coddington and Kristina Johnson Staff writers Staff writer Bonnie Harris contributed to this report.