DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit police precincts hosted National Night Out events Tuesday, bringing officers and residents together at a time when the city is experiencing a troubling increase in youth gun violence.
All 12 of Detroit's police precincts were packed with community members participating in the annual nationwide event designed to strengthen police-community partnerships.
Watch Carli Petrus' video report below:
"Like I told the officers, it's finally good to see them in a positive light," said Greg Jones, who attended the event with his young daughter Beijing.
Jones brought his daughter to help change her perception of law enforcement.
"So she could get to see the police rides and the activities and know that all the police aren't bad and see them in a different light sometimes instead of the way we're used to seeing them," Jones said.
The events featured music, food and activities including horseback riding for children, creating a festive atmosphere that encouraged positive interactions between police and the public.
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison emphasized the importance of these connections, especially now as the city has seen eight separate incidents involving youth gun violence since July 1.
"Sometimes when you hear about all the violent things happening in the community, it can make you lose hope, but guess what, I'm not losing hope and as you can see, these folks out here have not lost hope. It's about inspiration and it's about letting folks know we are getting it the right way," Bettison said.
The recent incidents include the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old in a drive-by, a 2-year-old injured while watching fireworks and several teenagers shot in separate incidents.
Kennedi Cornelius, 19, attended with her family because of personal connections to gun violence.
"It's sad because I know people personally who got involved with gun violence and stuff like that, so I feel moments like this can spread some type of awareness and make the community better," Cornelius said.
Watch our recent report about summer violence in Detroit below:
While Bettison noted that overall crime is down in Detroit, he acknowledged the devastating impact on young victims.
"When you have a 2-year-old — and we did apprehend the individual who did that as well — when you have a 4-year-old that's shot in the city, when you have a 6-year-old that's fatally wounded, at that point, it can make you feel discouraged," Bettison said.
Despite these challenges, the police chief offered reassurance to residents.
"But I'm here to let you know, Detroit that we just keep getting better and better and we hold individuals accountable who do that type of crime and we're going to continue as a police department with the permission of this community because community policing, community-support police is really an unbeatable team."
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