Basketball teams comprised of youth and teens from across the Twin Cities will lace up their shoes on Saturday for the 6th annual Inner Hero basketball tournament, hosted by the Inner Hero Organization.
The tournament at 43 Hoops Basketball Academy in Hopkins seems mostly normal, other than the fact police officers from departments across the metro will also be lacing up their shoes to play as well.
"We have a half dozen officers, myself included, that are going to participate," said Edina police chief Todd Milburn. "We're going to give it our best effort. It's all about the community building aspect of it. It's fun for us and it's also another opportunity for us to engage the community."
The Inner Hero Organizaiton
The Inner Hero Organization is a community-based 501©(3) that works to connect communities with law enforcement through sports, meals, and community discussions.
Ambrose R. Russell founded the organization 15 years ago.
"Our mission is to create space where everybody can thrive, have a stability of peace, and have youth and young adults become more productive citizens," Russell said. "We've been working with law enforcement for all these years and have made some good impacts and relationships."
Millburn's been the Edina police chief for nearly one year. He came to Edina from the Brooklyn Park police department after almost 29 years of service.
During his time in Brooklyn Park, Milburn connected with Russell and the Inner Hero Foundation. That connection was something he wanted to continue in Edina.
"Ambrose is very engaging with the community and has this aptitude to work with the police department for positive interactions and outcomes," Milburn said. "When I came down here we stayed connected and it just made sense to continue this work."
Russell says he sees firsthand how sports, and food, can bring different communities together.
"We develop facial recognition and social interaction so our goal is when police take that call at 2 or 3 a.m. hopefully there is de-escalation from those previous interactions through sports or a meal."
In total, 24 teams are signed-up for Saturday's basketball tournament in Hopkins. Five teams are made up of law enforcement.
"Agencies across America are struggling to recruit and retain officers, or find talent. It's no different here in Edina," Milburn said. "This is an opportunity to engage youth and find those who might have an interest in becoming a police officer. This is a great way to do that."
While teams will compete for prizes on Saturday, Russell says there's a bigger goal they hope to reach once the final buzzer sounds.
"This gives communities access to police to learn and see police out of their uniforms," he said. "They see that the chief is not in a uniform and that he takes off the uniform. That's the clarity we're trying to bring to the younger generation, that police are not robots. They're human beings just like us."
