DALTON, Ga. – Between bouncing sessions in the inflatable castles, Dalton kids petted Vince the Tunnel Hill K-9 dog, sat in the driver’s seat of a fire engine and toured the mobile command center used by Whitfield County Emergency Services.
The Community Night Out fair on Monday night gave emergency and law enforcement officers a chance to reach out to kids and teach them about their jobs.
“A lot of kids are scared of police,” said Dalton police officer Brian Park, a sentiment echoed by several other officials.
“We’re not out here to get anybody, to hurt anybody. We’re here [in the community] to help,” he continued.
“Hopefully, they can see us in a nonemergency situation,” said police spokesman Bruce Frazier. “We can actually talk. They can see people as people and not just law enforcement officers.”