CHAPEL HILL- Students spent Friday getting an insightful lesson on how to interact with police.
B.J. Council visited Phoenix Academy Alternative High School with her program "You & Five-0." She said she started the program last year after seeing many people lose their lives while in police custody, especially black men. Council was Deputy Chief for the Durham Police Department before she retired.
"We need each other to have a better, safer community," she said.
Council also taught students about their constitutional rights. Many community advocates applaud the program but said police should also undergo training. Council admitted there are some bad apples on the police force.
"Millions of contacts that do go on a daily basis. Millions. And police officers across the country and nobody sees or hear anything about it. It's just that one percent every now and then that's going to happen."
But she said her message is still for people to comply now and complain later, saying one can only make a difference if they're alive.
"In order to do that, we both have to be here at the table trying to figure out how to improve the relationship."
Council has also taken her program to South Carolina and Washington, D.C.