The Front Row, Which One Will You Choose?

WROC News – May. 28, 2015. 11:00 PM

A powerful video is being shown to local teenagers.

It’s what brought the Front Row Coalition together; a group made up of police officers, parents, educators and more. The coalition put together a powerful video in the hopes of saving lives.

Which row will you choose for your family? The front row of your trial, the front row of your funeral or the front of your graduation. Toni Nelson learned the hard way.

“Once you pull that trigger, it’s permanent. It’s forever,” said Nelson.

Nelson’s son, Michael, was murdered in the City of Rochester last year. She appears in this 16 minute anti-violence video created by the Front Row Coalition.

“We want to get the guns off the street. We want the youth to know the ramifications of using that gun, and it will put you in two of those front rows which will be your trial or your funeral,” said Mike Brooks, Youth Intervention Specialist.

The video walks teens through three very different scenarios.

“What this video is designed to do is to make them think a little bit more ahead. Often what we see is that the kids that we are running into react very quickly without putting a lot of thought into their actions,” said Deputy Chief Wayne Harris of the Rochester Police Department.

“It gets kids thinking down the road. Teenagers have a tendency to think today, tomorrow. What happened a few minutes ago. They aren’t thinking five years from now,” said Susan Morehouse, Executive Producer of the Front Row video.

“What people don’t understand is yeah that person is dead and they are gone but we still love them, we still miss them, we want them back. It’s like a re-occurring nightmare,” said Nelson.

“The teens actually, the video captivates them. I have been hearing them talk this past week when I first showed it and the kids were dead silent. The video captivated them and it also brought back memories,” said Brooks.

Toni says she can’t bring back her son, but if she can save one person’s life then this video is worth it.

“It’s real. It’s not fake. My son is gone. I can’t hug him anymore. I can’t yell at him anymore. I can’t see him anymore and it hurts,” said Nelson.

The Front Row DVD has been shown all throughout the Rochester City School District. The video has also made its way to other police departments in the country.

The coalition hopes to get the DVD into hospitals soon so victims of violence can watch it.