NYPD, civilian theater group created after Eric Garner’s death marks 10 years

NEW YORK – Every year, seven NYPD officers and seven civilians team up to create theater, and build bridges. 

The project started 10 years ago as a reaction to the infamous Eric Garner case. Gwen Carr, Garner’s mother, was a VIP guest at a recent rehearsal. 

Whether NYPD or civilians, the performers are not actors, but they’re getting training in performance and improvisation during a 10 week workshop called “To Protect, Serve and Understand,” or TPSU. The message is when people collaborate, talk to each other, and really listen, opinions can change.

“I am so proud of them” 

“I never had a good interaction with a member of the NYPD,” participant Robert Jenkins said. 

“I always wanted, even as a cop, the community to understand that we are human,” one officer said. 

Terry Greiss is the founder of TPSU at Irondale, in partnership with the NYPD. It began after he saw the video of the 2014 police chokehold death of Eric Garner. Greiss invited Carr to one of the dinners that begins each workshop, and she watched a recent rehearsal. 

“Art is a part of healing in my life,” Carr said. “I am so proud of them to have done this 10 years.”   

“I wanted a different outlook” 

CBS News New York’s Dave Carlin asked Greiss what the officers learn through TPSU. 

“For me to police more effectively, I’ve got to work past that impediment of my uniform,” Greiss said. 

And what does Greiss think the civilian participants take away?

“Cops are human,” Greiss said. 

“I wanted a different outlook as a civilian,” another participant said. 

“We do need to have meetings of the mind. We need to bridge the gap,” Carr said. “We have to stay mindful. We have to keep pushing forward.”

The public is invited to attend, and it’s free. 

The showings of “To Protect, Serve and Understand” are Friday and Saturday evenings, Jan. 17 and 18, in The Space at Irondale.