Law Enforcement Bonds With Community

By Journalist Ms. Jones

POUGHKEEPSIE – Police and neighbors in Poughkeepsie came together on Tuesday, August 1st for National Night Out. The event was held at City Hall.

“I think it’s a great community event where it brings the kids and other members of the community and law enforcement together so we can all see how we’re all human beings and we can get to know one another on a different level other than in an enforcement mode when we are just out doing a job. There’s a lot more interaction with the public this way,” said Officer Anthony Morrone, police officer with the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department.

The Poughkeepsie Police Department held a K9 demonstration featuring K9s Ace, Kiah, and Falcone. They showed things that the dogs learn in obedience school, such as article searches or evidence recovery where the dogs use their noses to find evidence discarded and capturing suspects.

The community was given free hotdogs, popcorn, snow cones, and cotton candy and 97.7 kept the crowd pumped with music and giveaways. Children climbed on fire trucks and police motorcycles. Kids played at the Imagination Playground and in a bouncy house. Youngsters ran an obstacle course provided by the Pigskin Princess Project, a football empowerment program. Bee Bee the Clown also kept the kids entertained by creating and giving away balloon animals.

There was even a traveling educational zoo, Two by Two Zoo. Children enjoyed petting goats, sheep, a miniature potbelly pig, a sulcatta tortoise who is the third largest tortoise in the world, and a 3 ½ year old kangaroo named Sammy. An African Ball Python and a North American Alligator were also on display. All of the animals were rescues, voluntarily placed, or Department of Environmental Conservation confiscations.

“This is our first year here. We are very excited to be a part of it. It’s a very big turn-out. So, we’re enjoying it,” said Jessica Santiago, one of the owners of Two by Two Zoo, about National Night Out.

Many vendors participated, including the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum, the Poughkeepsie Library, the Girl Scouts, the Junior League, JFIRE, Family Services, Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley, Farmers & Chefs Hudson Valley Food Truck, United Healthcare, MHA, Grace Smith House, Dutchess County Crisis Intervention Team, and the City of Poughkeepsie 911.

National Night Out is a nation-wide event, held in various cities annually. It encourages alliances between the police and the community in an effort to make neighborhoods safer and better places in which to reside.

The first National Night Out began in 1984 by Matt Peskin, Executive Director and Founder of the National Association of Town Watch (NATW). It involved almost three million residents in 400 neighborhoods in 23 states. Today, over thirty-eight million residents in sixteen thousand neighborhoods in all 50 states participate in National Night Out.

The event was organized by the Poughkeepsie Police Athletic League (PAL).

“We are trying to put on community events, get more involved in the community… We do Cocoa with a Cop in the elementary schools… We go in, we bring snacks, we read to the kids… just like a positive interaction with police within the schools,” said Karen Zirbel, Vice President of PAL.