"We have to progress": Los Angeles detective and other officers in mariachi band connect with communities through music

Record ID: 1559789

  • Title: "We have to progress": Los Angeles detective and other officers in mariachi band connect with communities through music
  • Date: 30th June 2020
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT DETECTIVE CHRIS REZA, SAYING: "It's a way to say like, oh, look, they're kind of like us, it humanizes us to a certain way that, you know, even though we're in uniform, we're a lot similar than more than, you know, than meets the eye, so to speak. We have a lot of the same interests, regardless, you know, we do like mariachi music, and we do like, we do have parties and sit in backyards and do everything the normal person does, so it really gets you to connect that way. Even if it's through music, you get to break the ice and you're able to connect a little easier with people that might have that little bit of timidness to come and approach you."
  • Embargoed: 14th July 2020 18:50
  • Keywords: Chris Reza LAPD Law Enforcement Los Angeles Los Angeles Police Department Mariachi Los Servidores mariachi music
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Race Relations / Ethnic Issues,Society/Social Issues,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA004CKKCR47
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Community engagement has always been in the mind of Chris Reza, a detective and police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department for 19 years.
    In 2017, Reza married his love for law enforcement and his passion for music when he formed the mariachi band 'Los Servidores" (The Servants). It's a law enforcement mariachi band made up of members from the Los Angeles Police Department, Riverside County Sheriff's Department, California Department of Corrections, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol in Southern California.
    "The reception that I had received and the way the community had reacted to me, being able to sing in uniform at community events was a great way to interact with the community and build bridges that way," Reza told Reuters on Sunday (June 28).
    It is a natural combination for Reza, aged 44. His mother performed at parties when he was growing up. Law enforcement runs in the family too; his two older brothers are police officers with the Los Angeles Police Department.
    The recent demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd in the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, and widespread outcry for police reform, rattled Detective Reza, who patrolled the city's streets for 16 years and became a detective 3 years ago.
    "It was a hurtful aspect of what transpired because you're being judged not by your personal actions, beliefs or anything that they know about you, but you're judged, you're being judged as a whole. But that's common in law enforcement, where we're judged by our uniform, from day one they tell you, don't take it personal, it's not you, it's the uniform and we're all have, but we're all human beings and we have hearts and we have emotions. So it was a little disturbing, so, but you have to rebound and dust your stuff off and get back to work," said Reza.
    He believes that police reform is an every day duty and change is needed.
    "We do have a job to do, but it is something that's at the national forefront, is something that people want to see change, and we're able to do that. We've been doing as the department, I don't see it, I don't see something that's going to be negative. It's just something that we need to focus a little more on certain things and as long as we keep on the right path, you know. I think everything should continue to progress, and that's what we do, we have to progress as a department, we have to progress as a society, and that's what we strive for," said Reza.
    The Mariachi band "Los Servidores" is not for profit. Reza says that it's a challenge to coordinate schedules to rehearse and perform with the band, but their ultimate goal is to come together at public community events.
    "Even if it's through music, you get to break the ice and you're able to connect a little easier with people that might have that little bit of timidness to come and approach you."
    (Production: Sandra Stojanovic, Norma Galeana)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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