When Dr. Alisa Carter talks about traffic stops, her voice carries both memory and urgency.
She grew up in Pennsylvania at a time when parents — especially parents of color — drilled their children on how to survive an encounter with police. Hands visible. No sudden movements. Ask permission before reaching for a wallet or glove box.
“One wrong move could be a matter of life or death,” Carter said.
Carter, the wife of a pastor and a longtime community organizer, worries those lessons are being lost — replaced by fear, mistrust and panic. That concern is what prompted her to organize the Safe Encounters Community Summit, a public safety and education event designed to prepare people for real-life interactions with law enforcement.
The summit takes place Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Transformational Center, 1530 Madison Ave. SE in Grand Rapids. Doors open at 12:30 p.m., with programming from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Small-plate hors d’oeuvres will be served.
Held during Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, the event is intentionally positioned as a solution-driven community forum. Its goal, Carter said, is to replace fear with preparation by educating adults and youth on what to expect during police encounters — including traffic stops, door knocks, street interactions, arrests and time spent in a police station — while also creating space for open dialogue between community members and law enforcement.
“This whole event is about how to have safe encounters,” Carter said. “So many people in the community have a fear of law enforcement. We want to bring law enforcement and the community together and talk about it.”
The program begins with hands-on training led by the city of Grand Rapids, focusing on what officers expect during traffic stops and other encounters. The training will also address how individuals should respond if police approach them while walking, knock on their door, or place them under arrest.
Immediately following the training, two moderated panel discussions will reinforce the material and allow attendees to ask questions. The first panel centers on legal rights and navigating the justice system. It includes attorney Steven R. Drew, lead counsel in the Larry Nassar civil litigation; Tracey Brame, assistant dean at Cooley Law School; Dr. Nikki Smith, a criminal justice professor at Grand Rapids Community College; and Kory Drake, a Kent County Circuit Court probation officer. Panelists will walk through what happens after a police encounter, clarify common misconceptions and explain how understanding the process can reduce fear and escalation. Smith will also distribute traffic-stop kits to attendees, including envelopes designed to hold required documents so drivers can keep their hands visible during stops.
A second panel brings together law enforcement and community leaders for a conversation about communication, expectations and accountability on both sides. Participants include Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom; Brandon Davis of the Grand Rapids Office of Oversight and Public Accountability; and Pastor Gregory Amunga of Uptown Assembly of God. Amunga leads Fishing with the Po Po, a youth program that brings police officers and young people together for shared activities aimed at building trust and understanding. Mental health professionals will also be on hand throughout the event to address trauma related to police encounters and connect attendees with support resources.
Carter said the idea for the summit crystalized after hearing a story — shared as hearsay — from Grand Rapids’ Boston Square neighborhood. According to the account, three youths were crossing Kalamazoo Avenue when a police car approached. Two froze, unable to respond. The third ran. The officer chased and tackled him, later discovering the youth had no weapon and had done nothing wrong.
“The kid ran because he was scared,” Carter said. “Fight, flight or freeze. That family still has to deal with the trauma of that.”
Carter is careful not to present the story as verified, but she said the reaction behind it — fear — is something she hears repeatedly from parents and young people.
“More and more, kids are viewing police as adversaries,” she said. “Even when they’re innocent, running feels safer than staying.”
She worries that many families are no longer teaching children how to safely navigate police encounters, lessons she remembers clearly from her own childhood.
“My dad used to tell me to keep our hands where officers could see them,” Carter said. “Ask permission before you reach for anything. I’ve learned people don’t teach kids that anymore.”
Carter believes preparation benefits everyone involved, including officers.
“This helps our officers, too,” she said. “If people know what’s expected, that lowers tension on both sides.”
She also hopes law enforcement gains perspective.
“They forget that even a law-abiding citizen gets nervous when a police car pulls up behind them,” she said.
The summit is hosted by the Grand Rapids Business and Professional Women’s Club, part of a national organization rooted in the philosophy of Sojourner Truth. The group selects programming based on current community needs and recently hosted emergency preparedness training in response to growing public concern.
Partner organizations include the NAACP, the Urban League, Browns Funeral Home, Sisters in Development, Mayers Strategic Solutions LLC, West Michigan Sigma Pi Phi Boule and Legacy of Love LLC.
Carter said she hopes families attend together, particularly those with teenagers.
“If a police car pulls up behind you and those lights come on, panic sets in,” she said. “We want people to leave knowing what to do — confident, prepared and safe.”
She doesn’t expect every attendee to leave transformed. But she believes many will.
“Someone is going to go home and not need therapy after a traffic stop,” Carter said. “Someone is going to be alive. That’s the goal.”
For Carter, holding the summit during MLK weekend is intentional.
“We talk a lot about Dr. King,” she said. “This is about doing something — something that could save a life.”
The Safe Encounters Community Summit takes place Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Transformational Center, 1530 Madison Ave. SE in Grand Rapids. Doors open at 12:30 p.m., with programming from 1 to 4:30 p.m. This event is for everybody and is free to attend.
