Theodore Thorton, 7, greets Chicago police officers during a barbecue on Aug. 11, 2022 at Academy of St. Benedict the African in West Englewood. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Deacon LeRoy Gill woke up at 4:30 a.m. Thursday to grill. His ribs and jerk chicken were a way to thank the Chicago police officers who watch out for his West Englewood school, he said.

That savory gratitude was cooked and shared at the Academy of St. Benedict the African near West 61st Street and South Ashland Avenue Thursday afternoon, where the grade school hosted a barbecue for first responders. The kids in attendance stuck to a green and yellow bounce castle inflated in the gym’s corner. Community members served officers from a long line of metal cookout trays. But before food, like any good Catholic, Gill started with a prayer.

Students confide in him about the violence that touches their lives, the deacon told the Tribune.

“It’s been a rough summer. They say crime is down, but 53 shootings in a weekend, it’s kind of hard to be happy about crime being down,” he said. “The violence is in their lives every day.”

The end of summer might even make some of the kids happy, he said. The students can come back to a safe school, “their respite,” he added. He credits regular police visits with making students feel more secure.

Their favorite is Officer Michael Cleary, Gill said. The kids often run up and hug him during his regular visits, he said.

Chicago police Officer Michael Cleary talks to people during a barbecue, Aug. 11, 202,2 at the Academy of St. Benedict the African. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

“When he has a day off, he comes anyway. He does stuff like clean the lots around us and help clean up our yard and cut back things so that our kids have a wonderful place to be,” said Principal Jennifer Farrand.

Children don’t always feel safe in the neighborhood because of violence, Farrand said. A second grader at St. Benedict was shot in the leg as he slept at home last spring, she said. A few students’ parents have been slain over the years, Farrand added. Kids can’t learn if they’re worried about being hurt, she said.

“I’m just here to help them to feel safe, feel protected, to know that this is a nurturing environment for them to learn in,” Cleary said.

The officer has made his rounds at the school nearly every day for 15 years, he said. He walks around, greeting teachers and students to let them know he’s there. The school and Cleary share a goal, he said: to help kids thrive. He views the time as an investment where everybody wins.

Mildred Pierre thought she could share her thanks by watching over the toddlers bouncing in the blowup castle. The mother, whose son is a rising first grader at St. Benedict, policed the kids’ typical bounce-house roughhousing and hoisted them inside.

“The first responders, the police officers, they do a lot for our school,” she said. “It’s important to show them our appreciation.”

Pierre has seen Cleary outside the school in the morning. She appreciates having extra eyes on her son as she drops him off.

“It’s very important for me to know my son is safe,” she said.

The barbecue’s two most popular dishes were jollof rice and creamed corn, according to the woman who cooked them, Marleah Johnson-Cage.

“When I come to drop my kids off at school, I don’t feel any threat or feel like I’m nervous,” she said. “It’s because of their presence.”

The dishes she whipped up — including spaghetti, salads, Alfredo, chicken — were a little payback for first responders’ time, she said.

“There are a lot of good people wearing blue,” she said.

Deacon LeRoy Gill runs the grill, Aug. 11, 2022, during a barbecue for Chicago police officers. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Gill wore a navy hat that said “Deacon Grill Master” in gold letters as he finished up another pungent, smoky tray of jerk chicken. Some of the people who engage with him online don’t seem to respond when he posts about cooking for police, he said.

“I think all police officers aren’t bad,” Gill said.

He also alluded to recent Chicago police suicides.

“Everybody needs a day where they feel wanted.”