An unlikely bond: Miami cop becomes mentor to teen who attacked him during BLM protest

https://news.yahoo.com/unlikely-bond-miami-cop-becomes-120000948.html

David Ovalle
,Miami Herald•November 13, 2020

The moment seemed to capture the super-heated emotions of a summer of national protest: A young Black teenager whacked a Miami police officer over the head with a skateboard during a chaotic demonstration.

The social-media jury, predictably, was outraged and divided. Either the kid was a thug who ought to be thrown behind bars or the cop, who also happened to be Black, was part of an oppressive force inflaming what had been a peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration.

But five months later, maybe a lesson — and a little hope — has emerged from the violent clash between 17-year-old Michael Marshall and Miami Police Office Raymon Washington. A few weeks ago, Washington agreed to meet Marshall in a conference room at the Miami-Dade Children’s Courthouse.

Marshall, a standout Northwestern High football player who had never before been in trouble, wept as he read a letter of apology, then peppered the officer with questions about police work. Washington, at 27 just a decade older, shared that he had suffered a major concussion in the attack, only the latest in over a dozen dating back to his own days of playing football.

They talked. They listened. They found some common ground. And against the odds, Washington and Marshall have since formed a friendship and bond, the officer now a mentor to the kid that struck him.

Today, they text frequently about football, family and life. Washington recently visited Marshall’s house to meet his family. On a recent Friday night, Washington even sat in the stands with Marshall’s family to watch Northwestern beat its rival, Central High.

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