Black Lives Matter supporter starts North Texas police prayer tour

Image 1 of 3

A Lewisville high school football who believes in the Black Lives Matter movement also said he believes in great police officers. And that's why he's starting an effort to use the power of prayer to link a frustrated community with the police.

Warren Mentis is an avowed member of the Black Lives Matter movement. But with a Facebook page called "Be the Change DFW,” he wants to turn protest into prayer.

"It's what the true message of Black Lives Matters is. And I think in the past few weeks, that message has been skewed,” said Mentis. “I think when you talk to the majority of people who want to see a change, they don't want to go after cops. They don't want to attack cops. They want to start the dialogue of how we can unite the communities -- black communities and police communities."

Highland village is the second on a five-stop police prayer tour this week that started Monday night at the Lewisville Police Department.

"The message they're putting out there is they want to bridge those gaps and have safer communities,” said Lewisville PD Capt. Jesse Hunter.

These communities hit close to home for Mentis, a native North Texan. And he hopes others will see what he's doing and be inspired to pick up where he started.

“I look at some of these videos and the recent killings and I wonder why did they have to die today and when's it going to be me,” said Mentis. “But at the same time, I look around and I say not ever cop is like that. The majority of cops want to be good at their job. They want to be involved in their community."

"It makes us tighter. It makes us stronger,” said Hunter. “It'll help not only the climate we are experiencing, but it will help us fight crime in the future.”

Mentis is encouraging others to join him. On Wednesday, he will go to the Flower Mound Police Department, Thursday to Lake Dallas and Friday to Coppell.