The Violence Project

Dr. Ron Rufo is a crime prevention speaker with the Chicago Police Department. His police work mainly focuses on juvenile crime and speaking to various students about the dangers of joining gangs. In March, Rufo was stationed at Crane Technical High School the day student Ruben Ivy was killed.

Below, Rufo talks about a boy who learned the consequences of gangs the hard way.

Dr. Ron Rufo

Transcript:

So then I talk about paralyzation. I talk about dying. I talk about paralyzation. Then I talk about a young man that I actually tried to help when I was in the ninth district. I get a little choked up sometimes telling this story because it’s true. This young man was a good boy, but he lived in the heart of a gang on Morgan Street.

He said to me, “Officer Rufo, I don’t want to join a gang, but they’re pressuring me.”

One September when I was going to a school I happen to see this young man and his mom was pushing him in a wheelchair. He had got shot

He said, “Didn’t you hear what happened to me?”

Because that was my old beat.

He said, “Didn’t you hear what happened to me?”

I said, “No I didn’t. Can you tell me?”

He said, “Well, a couple guys got shot.” A rival gang, which is down the street, came over and started shooting.

The one guy he mentioned got killed, and I didn’t know about that. Another kid got shot in the leg…or like the lower leg by his ankle. And he got shot in the back. He said, “I’ve been paralyzed since.”

That’s what I tell these kids.

He asked me what I was doing. I said I was in preventive programs. I go out and teach kids about not joining a gang. He said would you mention my name and mention this to them:

“I didn’t listen to you and look where I’m at. My mom has to clean me, bathe me, and do everything else. My so-called gang, my so-called family never came to see me at the hospital, and they walk across the street while my mom is pushing me. “

Now, he’s got to be about 21.

He said, “Where are they now? I gave my life for them, and look what I have to live for: Nothing, and this how I’m going to be the rest of my life.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 10:50 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous, chicago, gangs, schools, violence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.