City of San Fernando attracted a crowd on annual National Night Out

First Street in front of the San Fernando Police Department on Tuesday night was closed to traffic and instead was filled with police officers and a crowd. There was no emergency or dangerous situation on the cool October night. It was the annual National Night Out event for the police department, a chance for the citizens they protect to get to know their police officers a little bit better.

The National Night Out event began in 1984, sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch based in Pennsylvania. Today, police and other law enforcement agencies hold the event nationwide.

The Night Out in the City of San Fernando featured K9 demonstrations, high-risk vehicle stop demonstrations, music, food, activities for children, and booths with information from local government and non-profit agencies.

San Fernando Police Commander CJ Chiasson said, “This is our ninth annual time doing National Night Out here at the San Fernando Police Department. The event allows community members to spend some time with our officers, one-on-one, not only with our sworn officers, but also with our professional staff.”

He said the public sees the police department “in a different light, to see the people behind the badge and interact in a way outside of a moment of crisis or need, and to be able to interact with our people in a real and personal way.”

Citizens got to discuss evidence-gathering, record-keeping, and the city’s Explorer program. They took photos in front of vintage police vehicles and asked questions as they mingled with uniformed personnel. Children with police badge stickers, some with painted faces and wearing paper police hats, stopped with their parents to chat with police personnel and get free gifts along the way.

Police officers in cars with lights and sirens demonstrated a mock vehicle pursuit, ending in a high-risk stop with a helicopter circling overhead. The crowd watched as officers issued commands to an officer acting as a dangerous suspect. The officers removed him from a vehicle and placed him under mock arrest.

Evidence-gathering equipment was on display in tours of the department, where police personnel answered questions and allowed people to handle some of the gear.