SC Police Chief greets students and parents on first day of school

Santa Cruz’s new top cop is getting out of the patrol car in hopes of giving people a different perspective toward officers. Recently, Chief Andrew Mills was spotted along with volunteers cleaning up the San Lorenzo River, playing soccer with kids at Depot Park and talking to faith leaders at the local Islamic Center.

On Wednesday, Mills visited Bay View Elementary in Santa Cruz on the students’ first day back. The veteran officer knows he’s the new guy in town. He also knows sometimes people are afraid of him and fellow officers.

“We make a lot of contacts every year, in the hundreds of thousands and normally it’s under adverse conditions and then it’s reinforced by behavior that sometimes is very bad on behalf of the police,” Mills said.

Chief Mills believes he can change that perception through a series of events and gatherings, though he knows it is going to be an uphill battle. When asked how he plans to change people’s minds about police, Mills said, “That’s tough, because historically, if you look back to the 60s when people were marching over the bridge to Selma, who were they met by? They were met by the police. This is going to take generations to change.”

Mills said he understands that the barriers won’t be overcome with just one school visit but hopes eventually, with more positive interactions, the walls will be chipped away.

“I am saying to police nationwide and here locally, let’s tear down this wall,” Mills said.

Some people were surprised to see the chief greeting parents and students, but his presence was appreciated by most.

“So happy to see it, to feel more secure about our kids going back to school, so it’s a good feeling,” parent Lily Jimenez said.

The department and the new chief certainly have some work ahead of them in a community that often struggles with problems associated with drugs and homelessness. However, Mills is optimistic that events like these could unify the city and allow officers to better fight crime.

“It builds trust, it builds openness and transparency. Those are the exact things we hear from the community (on what) they want, and so this is just one small way of doing that and we have more to come,” Mills said.