Hundreds of families turned out for National Night Out events throughout the Miami Valley on Tuesday evening.
Kettering’s event, at the Town and Country Shopping Center, featured a cookout, raffle, crime prevention displays and a petting zoo.
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT: Peace march added to Springfield event
Kettering Police Chief Chip Protsman said, “Right now, community relations with the public is so important for police officers and police departments. We really want to keep building that relationship.”
It’s important to teach very young children about the police-community relationship.
“Sometimes parents want to talk to kids about, you know, if you’re bad in public the police will get you…. We want kids to know that we are friendly and that if they need help, to come to us and we’ll be able to help them.”
In Trotwood, the event held at the Home Depot on Salem Avenue featured the Trotwood-Madison High School Marching Band.
“(Citizens) get to see us in a light other than a police action,” Trotwood police Capt. Erik Wilson said. “They see we all want the same thing, we all want to be safe in our homes and offices and neighborhoods.”
In Springfield, an estimated 150 people participated in a peace march that was added to festivities at City Hall Plaza.
Police Chief Steve Moody said the peace march was a great initiative and one he hopes will grow and be a presence at other local events.
“This was a good time to start it with National Night Out,” he said. “Anything that brings us together as a community.”
Miami Twp.’s celebration, its 22nd, follows a year in which it ranked eighth nationally in communities of its size for its National Night Out event, police Chief Ron Hess said.
Many communities held their events in one central location, Piqua and Huber Heights joined Miami Twp. in having multiple block parties in their neighborhoods Tuesday night. Huber Heights police Officer Ed Savard said this is the first year the city is trying block parties.
The first National Night Out was held in 1984. More than 37 million people attend the annual events held throughout the nation. The goal of the event is to promote police-community relations.
