Medina County police departments participate in National Night Out

Medina County police departments and residents came together to build community relationships and encourage safe practices as part of National Night Out on Tuesday. At Seville's National Night Out, kids could go into a bounce house, take part in an agility course, spray a fire hose, dunk a police officer in a dunk tank and have a one-on-one interaction with first responders in the community. "One of our officers had the idea to do a swearing-in process for each of the children that are participating in the scavenger hunt," Seville Police Chief Taylor Deal said. "It's been exciting. They feel really involved, and I think that the turnout is absolutely great with seeing all the smiling faces and the perfect weather." The event also highlighted the importance of safety when riding a bike, using the internet and being around water, Deal said. Seville's National Night Out was supported by donations from local businesses and the work of volunteers. "I hope that what (participants) gain out of this is that they can come to the police officers and have a face that's familiar to them and feel safe approaching them," he said. "I hope they walk away from this event with some better safe practice disciplines." In Wadsworth, attendees could see the inside of vehicles from different departments, meet with local first responders and watch live demonstrations of vehicle extrications by the Wadsworth Fire Department. "We love to be able to meet the community face to face," Wadsworth police Sgt. Vivian Feke said. "We are not a giant community, but we are small enough to where the face-to-face interactions we have are really valuable. I might meet someone tonight at National Night Out and then I could be on a call with them next week." She thinks it is important for the community to meet the people who serve it. "We are happy to be out here and meet as many people as we can to show them what we are all about," Feke said. Wadsworth police is grateful that the community supports us and that we have so many neighboring partners that have come out, she said. Norton police, Wadsworth Fire and EMS, Medina County SWAT and the State Highway Patrol also attended the event in Wadsworth. "It's really one big community event," Feke said. "The community comes together, and I don't think we could do that if we didn't have such a great relationship with our organizations. I really appreciate all of them being willing to come out and support us and show the community what they are about, too." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com. Contact reporter Patrick Rhonemus at (330) 721–4050 or prhonemus@medina-gazette.com.