Police and residents participated in National Night Out at numerous locations across the county Tuesday evening. In downtown Silver Spring, police and local leaders joined residents for an event on Ellsworth Drive.
National Night Out is an annual event to bring law enforcement and the community together and strengthen relationships.
“This is something we do all year-round, but these bigger events really help us to engage the community, helps us just interact,” said Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) Acting Assistant Chief David McBain.
“And it’s just good to just be together and have a great time when we’re not needed, and that’s kind of the best thing,” said McBain.
“Typically we see people on bad days, when they’re in a car crash or something bad has happened, so it’s great for us to come out and interact with people on a positive note and get to know them when good things are happening,” said Maryland State Police Lt. Vincent Upole.
“There’s a certain level of distrust,” said MCPD Officer P.J. Gregory, acknowledging “there are so many things happening” with police agencies across the country.
“Being out here, [residents] get to mix and mingle with us just to see that hey, we’re people too, we have families, too and we want the best for the community,” Gregory said. All the police officers sacrificing and working hard everyday should not be categorized with the few who do something they should not be doing — “We’re just out here just to let the public know that we’re here, we care about them, and we love you because if we didn’t, we wouldn’t put ourselves in harm’s way to protect you and your family,” he said.
“National Night Out is really a great celebration of community, it’s a great reflection of community, it’s a great example of how this is a team sport and a team effort to keep our community safe,” said County Council President Andrew Friedson, “And it’s about partnership, and really that’s what tonight’s all about.”
“It’s so important for law enforcement to connect with our community, to really listen to their concerns, to hear what they’re seeing out there,” said County Council Vice President Kate Stewart, “And then for our members of our community to hear about what our police department and our public safety officers are doing to make sure people are safe and that they feel safe.”
