The Bayonne Police Department, along with departments across the nation, celebrated National Night Out on Tuesday August 2. Bayonne’s celebration took place at 16th Street-DiDomenico Park. The annual event fosters a positive relationship between the police department and the community,while throwing a carnival-style party for the kids of Bayonne.
One bounce-house was in the shape of a police cruiser, while real cruisers with lights blaring were parked behind for kids to come play inside. Kids picked up free police helmets before running over to the vehicles to be met by a smiling officer opening the door for them like a pretend chauffer. “Our doggies ride in the back,” one officer said to two little girls sitting in the front seats of a K-9-unit SUV. Speaking of canines, McGruff the Crime Dog was also in attendance, giving out hugs, high-fives, and fist bumps to kids waiting in line to slide down an inflatable slide shaped like a NASA rocket ship. Other kids were shooting hoops and hitting wiffle balls, all while the men and women in blue were at the turntables blasting music. It was a real party.
Valerie Borroum, a mother watching her child go up and down the rocket slide, said, “This is beautiful what they’re doing for the kids and the parents in this community.”
Watershed moment in police relations
Bayonne Police Chief Drew Niekrasz (rhymes with “licorice”) discussed the value of National Night Out. “This is an opportunity to interact with the public, so they feel more comfortable, and they don’t see us as an overbearing force,” he said. “It’s important for people to know that we’re citizens just like they are, but we’re tasked with the responsibility of maintaining order.”
Maintaining order means holding the proverbial “thin blue line” against threats to the community. Police officers hold it every day with bravery, but criminal justice policies often fail at making the public and the police feel safe. According to a report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 34 on-duty officers were killed nationwide by gunfire as of August 1, up from 20 this time last year. And it was only 3.3 miles southeast from DiDomenico Park where Eric Garner’s last words became an infamous symbol for police misconduct – “I can’t breathe.” That ugly moment, as well as others, spurred by racial and economic injustice, looms large over every jurisdiction, making events like National Night Out increasingly important.
“This is an opportunity to interact with the public, so they feel more comfortable, and they don’t see us an overbearing force.” – Police Chief Drew Niekrasz
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To protect and serve
In light of heightened awareness about criminal justice issues, the country is rethinking what policing should look like. In Bayonne, the department has been service-oriented and focused on community engagement. “When someone calls the police department, we’re going to send an officer over for most anything,”Niekrasz said. “If we determine it’s not our responsibility, we’ll send them in the right direction. Bayonne has always been that way, very service-oriented.”
That approach doesn’t go unnoticed by residents. Didi Inyang, 26, lauded the department for its response times and effectiveness working with EMS, as well as its presence in places where people are most vulnerable, like parks. Inyang is a med student in the area and a hospital worker who’s been living in Bayonne for a year and a half. “I think [police-community relationship-building] has to do with the individual interactions because people need to see it,” he says. “It’s one thing for people to see on the news the police chief making a statement, but it’s another thing to see it in action.”
Inyang wants to see police handle altercations “with tact.” “But,” he says, “It’s a two-way street. Citizens need to ask and know their rights, and police need to be tactful, but also efficient and patient in interactions and altercations.”
Another young man on Broadway, Devante Jefferson, 18, reiterated the importance of individual interactions. “Last night when I was walking, there were a lot of police officers on foot, which was nice,” he said.“A lot of times police just drive around in their cars, but they are out there interacting with the city.” Jefferson plans to study to become a police officer.
Those positive policing practices are intentional and meant to foster comfort. “When we have the availability of manpower to put officers on foot, it’s definitely beneficial,” Niekrasz said. “It helps maintain those bonds where people can talk to a cop and get to know them.”
Rory Pasquariello may be reached at roryp@hudsonreporter.com.