Edgehill community strengthens relationship with officers at National Night Out

By Kelsey Gibbs, WTVF
Original article HERE

The Edgehill community, Metro Nashville Police officers and Nashville mayor came together for National Night Out.

The day was celebrated between law enforcement and communities all across the country. At the Edgehill event, Midtown Hills police precinct hung out with kids and families.

Law enforcement agencies across the country joined forces with communities to prevent crime and build better relationships. The annual event typically takes place on the first Tuesday in August.

“The police working closer together and doing events; oh, my goodness, people love their coffee with a cop,” said Brenda Morrow.

Morrow has been the voice for this neighborhood for many years, she says event like this shows the city that people in Edgehill care about their community.

“Actually, getting residents to sit down and actually feel free to talk with officers; that’s what it takes in every community. Not throwing rocks at one of another but actually embracing one another and saying what can we do to fix this,” said Morrow.

Neighbors and police agree that events like this are important in bridging the gap but they also say it’s a year-round effort.

“We’ve gotten to a point where they trust that we’re there for a reason and that we care about this community,” said Commander Kay Lokey.

Before the music, the food and the fun, Edgehill neighbors got a chance to get to know their neighborhood officers on a deeper level; and together, they’re working on ways to fight crime side by side.

“What we’re trying to do is to become your friend and erase that adversarial relationship that the police had have with certain communities; we want to wipe that away, said Sgt. Barry Hudson.

Right now the precinct offers coffee with a cop, movie nights at the precinct and officers often hand out ice cream to the kids. But there is a also an open door policy where if there’s a concern the people here can talk with the police.

Currently, a team of six officers and a sergeant engage in community policing in the neighborhood.