Photo courtesy of the Trussville Police Department
A helicopter sits on display at the 2017 National Night Out in Trussville. Several public safety tools will be on display again this year.
Building trusting relationships between public safety officers and local children is the goal of the annual Night Out event. Hosted in the front portion of the Target parking lot, the event will be Oct. 2, 5-8 p.m.
The first 1,000 in attendance will receive a free meal that includes a hot dog, chips and drink.
Youth and families attending can enjoy a game of cornhole with officers or chat with them while checking out the fire and police vehicles on display.
“I can’t stress enough how important it is for kids to build healthy relationships with local police officers, firemen and other public safety officers,” Trussville Police Sgt. Chuck Bradford, who is coordinating this year’s event, said.
“We want to establish a healthy relationship at a young age so that when they’re older — or even if they’re going through something now where they need our help — they know not to be intimidated by us. They can approach us and trust us if they need help.”
For children attending local schools, the event provides an opportunity to interact with their school resource officers in an informal setting.
The goal is to build relationships that will make it easier for the kids to approach the SROs if a need should arise.
To learn more about attending the event or partnership opportunities, contact Sgt. Bradford at cbradford@trussville.org or 661-4064.
