In an ongoing effort to continue community interaction between police and residents, Bristol Borough Chief Steve Henry and his fellow officers met with summer camp kids outside of the Snyder-Girotti Elementary School Wednesday morning.
The meeting is the second of the like by the Bristol Borough Police Department at the Bristol Borough Summer Stream Camp. The first happened during last year’s camp. The first meeting was initiated by Henry, who was then new to the borough.
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Direct community involvement is one of the foundational blocks of the department’s place in the community, the chief said.
“We always want to take advantage of the opportunities when we can,” Henry said.
“You need to have the opportunity to meet with people in a positive situation,” Henry explained, adding officers often are called only during a crisis.
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LaToya Sahm is a reading specialist teacher at Snyder-Girotti and is the coordinator of the camp. She worked with Henry last year to bring police to the camp. The police returned due to the strong feedback from the kids in last year’s camp, Sahm said.
“This was really just a chance for us to come out and say ‘hi,’” Henry explained to the gathered kids. During the meeting, Patrolman Charles Palmer introduced Kilo, his K9 partner, to the kids and demonstrated his skills.
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Youngsters toured police vehicles, saw equipment like handcuffs and riot shields and even raced against a Bristol Borough officer on foot.
For Sahm, the meeting is a success. The younger kids really liked meeting Kilo and see him in action, while the older group of kids come out of the event with strengthened outlook towards police, she said.
To make matters better, the police department brought ice pops for all of the kids at the camp as well.
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Henry and the other officers said they like to use opportunities to connect with the kids so that when they see each other out and about, the kids feel comfortable enough to talk to them.
“We’re just people like you guys, who go home and have families at the end of the day,” Henry said told the kids.
