LYNNWOOD—The inaugural Cops versus Youth basketball event hosted by The ACCESS Project “tipped-off” on Tuesday, March 11, at Trinity Lutheran Church Gym. The event was conceived by the nonprofit’s Founder and Executive Director, Wally Webster II.
“Our goal is to bring youth and police officers together so that they can get to know each other to build trust and build relationships,” Webster said.
Webster shared with youth that law enforcement is a resource for when someone is threatening or if they need someone to speak with about insecurities.
For over 90 minutes, six students from Ceder Elementary, Brier Terrance Middle and Meadowdale High School played three sets with law enforcement from Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. The more seasoned players—aka the adults—started off strong, but by the final 30 minutes, their younger competitors were coordinated, performing alley-oops and effective give-and-goes. All-and-all everyone had fun.
“We’re a value-driven organization: Professionalism, Vigilance, and Community,” Lynnwood Police Chief Cole Langdon told the Lynnwood Times. “But of everything we do, community is the underpinning of everything. It’s the foundation of what we’re about, what we’re doing, and events like this where we can interact with community members in a non-crisis setting, just having fun, getting to know each other, this is where the magic’s at.”
One of my main objectives Chief Landon shared in his message to the city was to continue making Lynnwood “a fun, safe and welcoming place for all” which aligns with this objective of Tuesday’s basketball event.
Lynnwood City Councilwoman Derica Escamilla was coach and referee for the event. “It’s really important to support both our police and our youth,” Councilwoman Escamilla told the Lynnwood Times.
She added, “I feel like depending on where you live in your demographic, kids actually have different perceptions of police. So, to me, it’s all about positive interaction to dispel the negatives.”
The ACCESS Project is hosting seven more COPs vs. Youth Basketball events at 6:30 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church Gym located at 6215 196th St SW, Lynnwood. To register for the FREE event visit https://bit.ly/3QW7Tq2.
Below are the dates of the upcoming basketball games to have fun and break a sweat:
- Tuesday, March 25, 2025
- Tuesday, April 8, 2025
- Tuesday, April 22, 2025
- Tuesday, May 6, 2025
- Tuesday, May 20, 2025
- Tuesday, June 3, 2025
- Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Who is Wally Webster II?
Wally Webster is a retired Vice President at Bank of America and Vietnam veteran.
Webster is a staunch community servant, founding the Association for Collective Community Engagement on Safety and Security nonprofit, served on the Edmonds College Board of Trustees, is a Board of Director for My Neighborhood News Network, previously served as a Board of Director for the Lynnwood Public Facilities District, a member of the Lynnwood Chief of Police Advisory Committee, and investigated all cases involving police use of force for Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART), was a member of the Steering Committee for Volunteers of America, and is a Diamond Life Member for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Webster was awarded the Lynnwood Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year for 2024, the Companis Janet G. Newell Award for 2023, the NAACP of Snohomish County Carl Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, the Marquid Who’s Who in America Award for 2022-2023, and the City of Lynnwood Honoring Excellence – Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award in 2016.
Author: Mario Lotmore
