CHESAPEAKE, Va. - The Virginia State Police spent Saturday showing the public how they operate during an event at the New Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Chesapeake.
Officers from the VSP showed off their helicopter, search and rescue boats and K9 officers at the event, which also included a car display, food, music and entertainment.
Phillip Foster, who retired from law enforcement in the 90s after 29 years of service, brought his nephews out to the event. He said it's important for officers to hold events like this one to build community trust.
“This exposes them to people, and people need to be exposed. It’s not what you see on TV. You can’t do it all in an hour, but you need to be able to show people what you are doing without giving away the secrets,” Foster said.
Law enforcement at the event said the long-term goal is to build trust in the community and reach children at a young age. They said they'll also use it as a recruiting tool.
“It is a really neat thing to see what the cops are doing," 17-year-old Trevor Foster said.
James Hollowell brought his 1968 Camaro to the event.
“It pulls people together, people that don’t know each other,” Hollowell said.
“It’s so important for the kids to see the positive side today. I had the opportunity when I was a kid and it was a lasting impact in my life. I knew growing up, I knew exactly that I wanted to go into law enforcement,” said Trooper Samuel Boone with the Virginia State Police.
He said it's good to build relationships with the community.
“I think the long-term goal is to build up the trust. We have some people in the community, when they see law enforcement, they just don’t trust law enforcement, and we are working to change that,” Boone said.
The event took place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
