Port fosters relations with first responders

Continued from Page 2 event as it is a great opportunity for the community.

Many healthcare providers also held booths at the event for community members to gather information about their services.

Free hot dogs and hamburgers were grilled up for residents to enjoy due to a donation from the Community-Police Relations Foundation and the Port Washington Fire Department.

Community-Police Relations Foundation is a charity that works to strengthen bonds between communities and law enforcement through events from coast to coast in the United States.

CEO Al Eskanazy said that holding events where community members get to interact with their local law enforcement is key to fostering healthy relationships between the two.

“That’s how community gets to know people inside of a uniform,” Eskanazy said. “When you look at a cop, you should be looking at the person not the uniform. People don’t have that opportunity because they’re usually with an officer because they got pulled over or a different circumstance. So we try to bring positivity, positive circumstances, positive opportunities by doing things like this.”

The celebration also featured a softball game between the Port Washington Fire Department and the Port Washington Police Department.

Firefighters donned red shirts and police officers wore blue shirts, but both featured the name “Wilson” and the number 58 on the back in honor of late police officer Brandon Wilson.

Wilson, a five-year member with the Port Washington Police Department, died after a car crash on the Northern State Parkway in January

2022. He was 34. Brandon Wilson’s father Eddie Wilson threw out the first pitch at the softball game between the two first responder departments.

Port Washington Chief Matthew Kerin said the Port Fire Deaprtment works hand in hand with the Port Police Department, so everybody knows each other. This made the game for Wilson personal not just for the police members but also the firefighters who shared a community with the late officer.

Kerin said participating in a casual event like National Night Out provides a unique opportunity to engage with the community.

“We’re not just driving by in a truck or walking in a parade somewhere,” Kerin said. “It gives a lot of people the opportunity to say ‘hey I know him, he lives on my block.’”

The Manorhaven Board of Trustees will convene again at 6 p.m. on Aug. 2 for their work session.