Police and Community Converge at ORR Field

What is known as “National Night Out” all across the country is becoming a pretty big deal. And it is always a big deal in the Tri-Town because, as a community of not just one but three police, fire, and emergency response management departments, a plethora of patrol cars, ladder trucks, ambulances, cool four-by-four vehicles, and an army of emergency responders, demonstrating them is immense.

The front lawn of Old Rochester Regional on Tuesday night, August 1, was vastly lined with every kind of emergency vehicle with beeps and bleeps and blinking lights of all volumes and patterns – and even more children to delight in them.

The National Night Out began over 30 years ago as an annual community-building campaign to help foster community-police partnerships and a friendly camaraderie amongst law enforcement personnel and community members.

Literally millions of Americans across the country in thousands of communities nationwide host a local National Night Out, and the Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester communities have been doing it for at least the last four years, said Rochester Police Sergeant Robert Small.

Every year, the event seems to grow by at least one other vehicle, or by one additional booth promoting community safety.

This year, Rochester Police Officer Robert Nordahl helped prepare a booth on child seat safety, which included demonstrations and installation assistance.

The Healthy Tri-Town Coalition also set up a table to keep the public aware of Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and displayed some new advances in safety such as the medical storage safe box for medications in the home.

On the far west end of the lawn, Mattapoisett Firefighter Joseph Tripp was helping kids use the fire hose to hit a target, pausing to help the kiddos straighten their nifty new plastic firefighter hats, given out courtesy of the local fire departments.

The sounds of beep beep and blip blip, along with swirling lights of blue and red made for some cool clamor as the kids were allowed to climb into the vehicles and experience some vivid make-believe with all the bells and whistles at their fingertips.

Sergeant Small sees the importance of hosting such an event year after year. It’s all about creating a space where the community and law enforcers – as well as fire and EMT workers – can meet and just enjoy interacting in a casual setting.

“It’s definitely an opportunity for the community to get to speak to us without any urgency,” said Small, which is usually the premise of a conversation with police. “It’s a chance to come out and meet us in a quiet environment where all the equipment is out to look at. We get to say ‘Hi’ to people in a more neutral environment,” Small said.

It’s great for the people of the community to get to know the ones who respond to their calls for help, Small said, and it’s equally beneficial for the police officers, he added.

“Everybody’s in a good mood,” said Small, “especially when it’s good weather like this. It’s just really easy.” He added, “It’s an easy, friendly environment to get to know each other.”

By Jean Perry

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