A hometown hero hopes to make a difference in the community

In tonight's Crime Fighter's report we take a look at a hometown hero who's dedicated to helping youth connect with the police.

TPD Officer Sacoya Taylor is new to the force, but she's not new to Toledo. She's homegrown. She grew up playing on Forest, Prospect and Fernwood. She graduated from Libbey high school. She admits she didn't like the police.

"I was one of those people who viewed police in a negative aspect. They're not for us. They don't want to see me successful or they just want to arrest my brothers. Whatever the case may be until I grew up and got out of that box in mindset," said TPD Office Sacoya Taylor.

The former basketball coach says the youth on her seventh and eighth grade basketball team inspired her to take the test.

"I'm listening to the youth talk and how they view the police and how they are not for us. They just want to shoot us. I'm like you have to give them a chance. You can't just assume and go off of what the media is telling you or off what everybody else's presumption is of the police. Listening to them gave me a better outlook of why I should do this," said officer Taylor.

The officer supports Black Lives Matter and spends her time talking to the youth. She hopes to show them how they can make a difference in their neighborhood.