'Unity in the Community' event connects Nassau law enforcement with people they serve
The event brought people together from Elmont, Hempstead, Roosevelt, Uniondale and Westbury.
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Law enforcement agencies from all across Nassau County came together to host an event titled "Unity in the Community."
The event brought kids and adults from Elmont, Hempstead, Roosevelt, Uniondale and Westbury together. About 600 people showed up for the event.
The goal was to have kids interact with people outside their immediate communities and to build a bridge between law enforcement and the people they serve.
“A lot of times people think that the police officers are more just for arrests. It's more confrontational,” said Officer Edwin Philip, of the Nassau County Police Department. “We like to let them know it's not like that. We are regular people just like them, so we could do the same things they're doing. So we want to show them that.”
There was free food and bounce houses, competitions for the kids, a dunk tank, and police equipment people to see up close.
This is the first year for this unity event, but they hope for more in the future.
“It’s more than just a barbecue and bounce houses and all that stuff,” said Officer Bobby Varela, of the Nassau County Police Department. “It's really a source of hope for our communities. It's bringing people together and laying the foundation for what I truly believe is a lot more bigger things to come.”
