National Night Out brought the community and law enforcement together Tuesday. It's a yearly event designed for officers and city leaders to establish and maintain a working relationship with the people they serve.
Following recent police police-involved violence in Baltimore, Dallas, Minnesota and Louisiana, local leaders said Tuesday's events were more important than ever.
"It's really time for us to drive sustainable change and we cannot drive sustainable change in violence without community participation," councilman Nick Mosby said.
Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake stressed that she wants the community to know that city leader are there to make the city better and safer.
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City leaders are all in agreement: it's time to stop the violence.
"And it's empowering not just in Baltimore but in every city that were all standing up as a community and saying enough is enough, the violence has to stop," state's attorney Marilyn Mosby said.
National Night Out was also opportunity for members of the community to meet the officers who serve their neighborhoods. Officers and residents alike had the chance to get to know one another better.
"It's a partnership," said Charlene Burne. "The community can't do it by themselves and the police cannot do it by themselves we have to do this as partners and if we become better partners, then we will cut down on all the crime we have in our communities."
Events like Tuesday's allow kids to learn and grow with the police in their neighborhoods, not fear them
"It is a relationship. Relationships only work when you work on them so that's why National Night out is so important we have to continue to work on this relationship even when it's tough," said Rawlings-Blake.
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