An act of Hercules

Like many Americans, Hercules Gaines is concerned about the violence between police officers and black men like himself.

Gaines, owner of A Thin Line Barbershop in Coeur d’Alene, isn’t responding with provocative social media posts or organizing protests. But he’s not standing idle either.

“I want to do some preventive maintenance instead of damage control,” he said. “And if we do that, we have less chance of it happening here.”

Gaines is partnering with the city’s police department to host “Your Life Matters,” an educational forum that will take place Thursday from 5-7 p.m. in the Community Room at Coeur d’Alene Public Library. It’s open to the public.

He and other speakers, including several Coeur d’Alene police officers, will discuss proper procedures for citizens to follow when they’re approached or pulled over by police.

“I can’t say enough good things about what he’s trying to do by opening up this communication,” said Coeur d’Alene Police Detective Jared Reneau, whom Gaines approached with the idea of the forum.

A 16-year resident of Coeur d’Alene, Gaines said he was motivated to reach out because he comes in contact with many young people through his barbershop.

“I hear the anger and the disgust. People are mad and they don’t even know what they’re mad at,” Gaines said. “I just feel that it’s going the wrong way.”

He said he thinks the tension and anger are driven by a lack of communication and understanding. With the help of his wife, Angela, he’s working to encourage positive interactions between police officers and community members. He wants to help kids learn they don’t have to be frightened when they see a policeman.

Gaines said he knows, as a black man, what it’s like to be stereotyped.

“I feel like with all of this going on, we’re doing the same thing to police,” he said. “It’s just not right.”

In his opening statements at the forum, Gaines said he will make it clear to the audience they’re going to take a positive approach to the situation, and they will discuss solutions.

Gaines acknowledged he has had his own run-ins with the law in the past.

“When I first got here, I was a straight-up knucklehead,” he said.

The police knew him well and so did the judges and others working in the judicial system.

“But they’ve seen me grow into the person I am today. They tell me they’re proud of me,” Gaines said. “We have a certain level of respect.”

But Gaines said he always showed respect for law enforcement personnel, even back in his “knucklehead” days. He said that’s why he was never shot by a police officer. He also learned to take personal responsibility for the choices he made. And that’s not about bowing down to anyone.

“It’s all about self-respect. If you don’t have any respect for yourself, you can’t have respect for anyone else,” he said.

Gaines has viewed the videos of controversial police shootings.

He said he does not condone the officers’ actions, but he noted the men who were shot were either arguing or struggling with the police.

“If the police are sitting there, putting on this uniform and going in blind...you’ve got to put yourself in their shoes,” Gaines said. “If you want to give them something to worry about, something’s going to happen.”

He said that’s why it’s so important to educate young people about the proper way to respond when they interact with police. It will empower them, he said.

He acknowledged some people will be critical of his efforts, but again, he chalks it up to anger.

“We’re not even going to bring that into the situation,” Gaines said. “We’re going to start on a good foot, and we’re going to end on a good foot.”