The New York Civil Liberties Union was invited to teach the seminar by East Side Community High School Principal Mark Federman, The New York Post reported on Sunday.
Federman told the newspaper 'We’re not going to candy-coat things - we have a problem in our city that’s affecting young men of color and all of our students.
'It’s not about the police being bad. This isn’t anti-police as much as it’s pro-young people...It’s about what to do when kids are put in a position where they feel powerless and uncomfortable.'
Students' police encounters were cited by Federman as the reason for the NYCLU-taught course, The Post reported.
The newspaper revealed that the 450 high school students learned about both stop-and-frisk as well as the use of the Fourth Amendment.
The Post reported that 'NYCLU representatives told kids to be polite and to keep their hands out of their pockets. But they also told students they don’t have to show ID or consent to searches, that it’s best to remain silent, and how to file a complaint against an officer.'
Two high school male students told The Post they had been previously questioned by police.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Eugene O'Donnell criticized the program, telling The Post 'It’s unlikely that a high school student would come away with any other conclusion than the police are a fearful group to be avoided at all costs.'
'Education is the key, but are Civil Liberties going in with an agenda or to educate? I think we deserve equal time and should have the opportunity to follow up with the same platform to explain exactly what police do and what we think is the best way to deal with the police,' president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association Ed Mullins told the newspaper.
'This is not about teaching kids how to get away with a crime or being disrespectful,' NYCLU Associate Director for Advocacy Candis Tolliver told The Post. 'This is about making sure both sides are walking away from the situation safe and in control.'
'We hope it includes information about the hundreds of police officers who have sacrificed their lives to get guns and drugs off our streets,' Patrolmen's Benevolent President Pat Lynch, who has not looked at the brochures, told WPIX.