National Night Out: Building community bridges
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on August 2, 2017 5:50 AM
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Maleek Beatty, 11, wears a bulletproof vest as he gets a closer look at the Wayne County Sheriff Office's armored truck Tuesday night at the annual National Night Out Against Crime at Herman Park.
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Criminal justice adviser for Wayne Community College Duane Everhart helps Aniyla Dixon, 4, to create a fingerprint card at National Night Out Tuesday at Herman Park.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Lisa Candler and Michael, MaryAnn and Michelle Phillips listen to Rex Hatch with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office as he explains the statistics used by some oline lists that names Goldsboro as one of the most dangerous cities in North Carolina.
Surrounded by ballistic steel able to withstand .50 caliber rounds and weighing in at 18,500 pounds, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office "Nemesis" armored vehicle sounds intimidating.
But as small children at the 34th annual National Night Out ran up to SWAT Team officers and clamored all around the vehicle Tuesday night, they learned that the vehicle and the officers aren't really their nemesis at all.
Treava Faison, 10, and Brycen Summers, 6, were looking around the inside of the vehicle in amazement.
Faison and Summers were pointing to all the nooks and crannies of the vehicle, asking all sorts of questions -- "How many people fit inside this thing?" and "What does that do?"
The sheriff's office got the "Nemesis" in May to offer deputies with the agency a SWAT response vehicle.
Children enjoyed other parts of the nationwide event, too.
Bryant Pope, 3, and Raelyn Pope, 6, had their faces painted and their fingerprints taken for identification purposes.
Raelyn said she got her face painted like a pink tiger because it is her favorite animal.
The children's mother, Stephanie Padgett, said it was the family's first time out at the event.
Padgett said it was a good way for her children to come out, have fun, meet police officers and enjoy the night.
Sgt. Jason Adams, with Goldsboro Police Department's Crime Prevention Unit and Wayne County Crime Stoppers, said he believed Tuesday night's turnout was one of the biggest they'd ever seen.
"It's been great," Adams said. "The turnout is outstanding."
Adams said there were about 60 vendors at the event, effectively doubling the number of vendors at the event last year.
National Night Out is designed to let the community get to know its law enforcement officers, and vice versa.
Adams said many people -- adults and children alike -- were coming up to officers and talking to them and asking them questions about what they do.
During the event, in addition to getting to know officers, people got free food and entertainment.
Children played on the Herman Park playground as the afternoon turned into the evening.
As the sun lowered itself behind the bushes, more and more people trickled into the park until crowds of people milled about among the officers, going between various vendors and attractions, occasionally stopping by the main stage to watch the entertainment.
This, Adams said, is what community policing is all about.
"Community policing isn't just about giving a message, but receiving a message," Adams said.
Officers were doing this in various ways during the event, by simply talking to people attending -- sometimes answering questions about the city's crime rate -- and by giving them an inside look at the equipment they use every day.
Adams said a large amount of officers from various agencies attended the event, including personnel from the Goldsboro Police Department, Wayne County Sheriff's Office, Probation and Parole and more.
"That's the most important part of this event," Adams said. "Building relationships both ways between the officers and the community."
And as much as officers told people about what they do every day, Adams said they listened just as much.
"Instead of us doing all the talking, we listen to what the community has to say, too," Adams said. "We have to listen to what they're telling us, and then try to meet those needs while still doing our jobs."