“Know your boundaries. Show respect. Never back-sass or berate.”
Like countless other Black parents, Patsy Austin-Gatson has emphatically had “the talk” with each of her three children about how to interact with law enforcement to avoid police brutality and incarceration.
It would be more than embarrassing, after all, if one of them turned up in her courtroom. As district attorney of Gwinnett County, Austin-Gatson takes this same messaging to the community through a variety of youth-oriented programs, designed to demystify the law ― and extend a helping hand ― to the kids on the corner who are tempted by trouble…