Omaha’s National Night Out promotes community connection with law enforcement

The Omaha Police Department and Omaha Fire Department participated in community engagement events as part of National Night Out on Tuesday.

The nationwide campaign focuses on police-community relations and neighborhood camaraderie, according to the National Night Out website. The campaign began over 40 years ago and has grown to include communities across the country.

In addition to several events in Omaha, National Night Out events were also held in Council Bluffs, Bellevue, La Vista and Papillion.

OPD Lt. Neal Bonacci said law enforcement officers often interact with people on their worst days, but Tuesday’s events gave officers an opportunity to have positive interactions with the community.

“It humanizes us,” he said, “and just gives us an opportunity to build those relationships with people, spend time with the kids and have a lot of fun.”

Bonacci said the officers have been attending local precinct events, which helps familiarize people with the officers working in their neighborhoods.

“These are the officers that will show up when it’s that bad day or when you call them and you need help,” he said.

At an event in South Omaha hosted by Police Athletics for Community Engagement and the Black Police Officers Association of Omaha and the Latino Peace Officers Association, kids played Wiffle ball with police officers and ate popsicles.

Lindsay Toussant Brown, executive director of PACE, said the event is important to the organization because of its partnership with law enforcement and its focus on community benefit.

“Just getting the community involved, inviting the community to come out and have a little fun on a really nice night,” she said.

In the Morton Meadows neighborhood, kids enjoyed checking out a fire engine and testing the sirens on a police car.

Stephanie Hartig, holiday chair for the Morton Meadows Neighborhood Association, said this is the second year the neighborhood has hosted the event at Twin Ridge Boulevard and Woolworth Avenue. Hartig was thrilled with both the police and fire department that came to the event this year, and the neighbors were in touch with each other.

“We’re just trying, as a neighborhood association, to try to get people out and get people to know their neighbors,” she said.

Morton Meadows Neighborhood Association President Danielle Petro attended the event with her children. She said her son’s favorite part was sitting in the fire engine.

“Every time someone drives by, he asks for ‘more’ because he was 18 months old,” she said. “So the fact that he’s getting another fire truck right now — that’s his favorite.”