RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin was a senior in high school when police pulled him over one day near his home in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

"They thought my car was stolen, told me to get out of the car, lay on the ground," Baldwin said. "They searched the car, did whatever while I was on the ground, and then they stood me up, said they thought that the car was stolen, and it was a misunderstanding, that they were wrong or whatever, and then they let me go."

Baldwin, the son of a police officer, had done nothing wrong, but he knew how to react and was prepared for the situation.

Doug Baldwin Sr. served 35 years in the Pensacola Police Department and later worked for the Department of Homeland Security. He is well aware of how confrontations with police can go wrong and had laid out a specific plan for his sons to follow whenever they were approached by law enforcement.

"Regardless of what the situation may be when he's stopped, whether he feels like he is right or wrong, compliance is the key," Baldwin Sr. said. "Always comply with what the officer tells you to do. Make sure that your compliance is visible, and articulate it to the point where there's no doubt that you're doing anything other than being compliant and that you're able to come home the next day or that day or that night and be able to tell me the circumstances so we can go from there. ... You never know what information that officer has at the time or doesn't have."

Baldwin has spearheaded the Seahawks' "Building Bridges" campaign which aims to bridge the gap between police officers and the communities they serve. He has demanded that attorney generals from all 50 states review their training policies and "eliminate militaristic cultures while putting a higher emphasis on de-escalation tactics and crisis management measures."

Already this season, Baldwin has hosted a meeting with Seattle police officers at the Seahawks' practice facility. And he has the backing of Washington's state attorney general.

Baldwin has his dad's support, too.

Growing up, Baldwin Jr. saw the fun side of being a police officer. He would go down to the station to hang out with his dad, or tag along on trips to the training facility and go through some of the digital courses they had set up.

But he didn't know that when his dad left for work, he was often working undercover in narcotics. He was always a little worried, but Baldwin Jr. didn't know the degree to which his dad was putting his life in danger on a daily basis.

"Back then, I kept that away from Doug as much as possible," Baldwin Sr. said. "What I told Doug as a kid is this is something that dad has to do to make his life and the lives of others better. And my son was always proud of me being a police officer. He was only exposed to the good nature of the job."

When this season started, Baldwin Jr. decided he had to do something to use his platform to promote change. He was frustrated by the continued news of police officers shooting young black men.

Baldwin Jr. did his research, which included conversations with his dad, and eventually settled on focusing his efforts on improved training policies.

"The agencies that these officers, these new officers are going to out of police academy, have not progressively kept up with the changes and the culture changes that exist in America today," Baldwin Sr. said. "And there's a breakdown of communication. There's a lack of bridging those gaps and understanding the different cultures that exist and the different mindsets of people that exist today opposed to what they used to be back say even 10 years ago or 20 years ago.

"So that is where we're running into problems. And I told Doug that I am not an advocate of universal federalization of policing practices. But at the same time, if we continue down this road where we are running into these issues and problems because of the lack of consistent training and comprehensive training, it's almost to the point now where we're going to have to universally initiate some type of training policy that is standard and minimum throughout the country for law enforcement agencies to follow."

Before the season, sociologist and activist Dr. Harry Edwards met with the Seahawks for a three-hour discussion. One of the things he told the players was the difference between a mob and a movement is the follow-through.

So as Baldwin Jr. and the Seahawks work to get back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years, the wide receiver remains committed to using his platform for causes that have nothing to do with football.

"Athletes can have a very important role in these discussions because so many people, especially youth, look up to athletes," Baldwin Sr. said. "And they're very popular, iconic figures in our communities. So they have a power that most normal people don't have, and sometimes by possessing that type of power, the power to persuade people to listen, it's enormous.

"I don't want my son growing up in an environment where he fears law enforcement. His father is a law enforcement officer. Both of my boys grew up around their father wearing a uniform, representing something good and something to be proud of. And I want him to always look at other officers in the same image that he looks at his father as in that uniform. I think he has taken all this personal because he doesn't want his brother or his children to grow up in this type of culture. And I think that's why he's so passionate about it."