HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- National Night Out brought Central Virginia community members together with law enforcement for a night of fun.
CBS 6 anchor GeNienne Samuels joined the community at Henrico's Night Event at Dorey Park, which organizers called metro Richmond's largest turnout, with thousands of community members expected.
She was with kids planning out their evening, making their lists of rides and attractions to visit to ensure no carnival ride, bounce house, fantastic flyer or eye gazing attraction was missed.
Dorey Park was alive with the sights and sounds of laughter, music and plain old fun!
Kids were whipped around, knocked down, bounced up and down with joy—literally— and some, just taking it all in.
"I really appreciate it. Like you get to have all these kids come in to have fun and stuff. So I really appreciate it for them having this idea at Dory Park. That's very cool. I like it," nine-yaer-old Casey said.
It was a night of joy and family, but it was s also about connection.
“I heard about it. Never did it before, but I'm so glad that we did. I didn't think it was going to be this much fun.” said Trisha Myles, a mom who brought her four children to the event for the first time. "The kids get to see and talk to officers. This is a good opportunity for people to meet them, talk to them, and see that they're just normal people, just like us."
This community was talking, connecting, and maybe even getting in a quick workout with the FBI.
"Building that relationship is about trust. To build trust, you have to be present," Stanley Meador, Special Agent in Charge for Richmond FBI, said. "You’ve got to come out and be present in the community, talk to them, and have that dialogue."
Being visibly present to break down invisible walls and misconceptions was also a goal of some.
"It seems like a lot of people think that officers are just robots. You know, that we're not people as well. We have interests outside of the jobs that
we do. We're not all bad guys. You know, some of us out here really trying to do the job the right way for the right reasons, and a lot of us are just fun loving people. We like to get out and do things like this. We have hobbies, you know, we're just like anybody else." said Officer Aaron Clark, Henrico County Police.
As the sun set and the hot air balloon lit up the sky, it was clear that tonight was about more than just fun and games. It was about community, connection, and trust… and making our neighborhoods safer and more united.
Casey's parting message to law enforcement sums up the remarkable evening, "Thank you for helping our community stay safe because I really appreciate it. Because if it wasn't safe, then all of this would have happened."
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