National Night Out builds public safety connections
Aug. 3—Grayson France energetically walked around Ballenger Creek Park on Tuesday night with his parents, Kyle and Erin France, looking at all of the police vehicles.
A siren pierced the air at the Frederick County Sheriff's Office National Night Out event.
And while the vehicles were cool, 7-year-old Grayson said, there was one thing he was waiting for.
"Helicopter!" he said.
He hoped they would let him fly in it.
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie between public safety entities and the public. And like the name suggests, it is a nationwide campaign for all public safety.
Public safety entities in Frederick County got to show the community all that they have to offer. Frederick police, which hosted four events, and the sheriff's office demonstrated their K-9 units at their respective locations.
City police showed off their drones. The sheriff's office had a helicopter landing with Maryland State Police.
Erin France said the couple took Grayson to Ballenger Creek Park so that law enforcement faces become friendly for him.
"Any time you can get out and have a positive interaction and just see all the equipment they get to use to keep you safe, it's positive," she said.
At one of the city police events in Carrollton Park, the crowd was light, but the music was loud and bumping.
One child decked out in a police costume chased a black remote-controlled device with treads back and forth, and jumped with excitement when an officer passed him the remote to control it.
Nevada, the Frederick Police Department's therapy dog, had a reunion with her sister, Sandy. Sandy is also a comfort K-9. The siblings hadn't seen each other since June.
Officer Willie Buntley said the national event was a great opportunity for police to connect with the community, but for the community to ask questions.
Residents can interact with police and get to know them outside of the context of officers driving around in their cars.
"It just kind of shows more of what police do on a personal level as opposed to what you see online," he said.
Shinea Weedon, 44, was helping out at one of the tables at the Carrollton location, handing out raffle tickets.
She became more interested in attending when she heard it was a national event.
"I just like to see everybody coming out, showing some love, and getting along. And the police are here when it's actually not a crime, so I like that," she said.
At Ballenger Creek Park, Lt. Brian Woodward from the sheriff's office said it was nice to see people interacting with public safety, especially the kids who were climbing on motorcycles and firetrucks.
The Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services were also spread out at multiple locations in the county with their different trucks. Kids got plastic fire helmets to pop on their heads, as well.
"One of the best parts of our job is being able to share our excitement in what we do and the benefits of the service that we provide to the younger generation," Battalion Chief Jeremy Wade said. "Obviously, we catch their imagination."
Dan Laxton came to Ballenger Creek Park with his Border Collie named Griff. Laxton said he used to do search and rescue for the county, and liked looking at all of the "big toys" he didn't have then, motioning to the trucks and equipment.
But he also said he liked seeing law enforcement and fire and rescue people out of the context of a bad day.
If you're getting pulled over or did something bad, you're likely getting a ticket, he said. If you see EMT workers, you're probably not having a good time, he added.
"It's important for, especially, kids to get out here and meet these guys one on one, you know, in a nice setup," he said.
