At Henrico’s ‘biggest block party,’ a desire for better police-community relations

About 50 communities throughout Henrico County hosted events for Tuesday’s National Night Out, an annual nationwide celebration that aims to improve the relationships between local law enforcement and the communities they serve.

Spanning from small, neighborhood get-togethers to a massive celebration of thousands in Dorey Park, National Night Out events stretched across the county and all gatherings saw visits from Henrico Police officers and firefighters from Henrico Fire.

Many of the events were just block parties with law enforcement invited, but keeping celebrations simple, fun, and community-centered can help people feel comfortable and make authentic connections, said Clifton, a Lakeside resident who attended a celebration at the Belmont Recreation Center.

“I think maybe that could have potential to bridge relationships in a different way, when you’re literally on the street where people are living,” he said. “Music’s there, it’s loud. Everybody’s talking, people got their cars open. People bringing food, cooking food, got grills on the street, you know, it’s a different vibe.”

Clifton, who lived in Oakland in California and then in Petersburg before moving to Henrico a year ago, said many of the places he has lived have had “rough relationships” with local law enforcement. His wife, Janani Kumar, said she also has felt hesitant interacting with law enforcement in the past, but wanted to attend the event with an open mind.

“Our personal relationship with police, especially mine and my family, as a brown person, it’s from a place of caution, it’s from a place of distrust,” she said. “Even to come out here, to be perfectly honest, I was hesitant. But we decided to just open up and see, because we just want to be a little bit more open and take things at face value and not kind of put our prejudgement on it.”

'Part of something bigger'

Building positive community-police relationships cannot just happen in one night, said Raina Vann, a multicultural community liaison for Henrico County. It takes officers being present, smiling faces for families on the first day of school, doing walk-throughs in the community, listening to residents’ concerns – which Vann believes Henrico Police officials have done successfully.

“I will say that something I’ve experienced since being with Henrico is the intentionality around building relationships,” she said. “Oftentimes with police or the sheriff’s office, people are thinking about negative experiences. But then when you think about the first day of school, police officers cheering the kids on, and community officers driving around just checking on folks and playing with them outside in the neighborhood. So everybody’s going to have a different experience.”

Along with law enforcement, dozens of other local organizations showed up to Tuesday night’s events, including local and statewide nonprofits, Henrico Schools, healthcare associations and even representatives from nearby banks. 

Dozens of volunteers from the Shady Grove YMCA handed out food, books, and arts and crafts activities to local residents at Woodman West Apartments, a community in which the YMCA has had a cemented presence for the past 15 years. The organization even owns an apartment within the community, where it hosts afterschool and summer enrichment programs to provide local students with free academic help from a licensed teacher.

The YMCA also partners with local law enforcement to help promote pedestrian safety and pass out safety vests, but National Night Out is not just focused on police relations, said YMCA volunteer Casey, but all different facets of the community.

“It’s really just to do something for the community, to bring people out,” she said. “I think it’s kind of special that on this one day, all over the country, neighborhoods are having parties like this. It’s kind of being a part of something bigger.”

The night is also a space for community members to share their concerns, either with police or other community residents and leaders. For Kumar, who has a two-year-old daughter, and other residents in the Lakeside community, pedestrian safety is a major focus.

“Safety is a huge concern for us,” she said. “We live off of the side of the main road, and we have cars that move very fast near us, and no sidewalks. To get to the park, even, is not safe. One of my biggest concerns is, how would we make this community more safe for families? I want to see a community that’s a little bit more accessible, with walking paths and slower speed limits.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.