CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – People across the country spent Tuesday evening getting to know their neighbors and the police officers and deputies that patrol their neighborhoods, keeping them safe.
It’s called National Night Out, and nearly a dozen neighborhoods and communities in Clay County organized events in the area.
Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook applauded everyone who got involved and passed along a message.
“The best way you can make your neighborhood safe it to know who your neighbors are and understand your neighborhood,” Cook said.
The sheriff said the National Night Out encourages neighbors to get to know their neighbors and their friends in law enforcement.
“National Night Out is just another example of the efforts that we make within the (Clay County) Sheriff’s Office to make sure that we have, you know, genuine, working relationships within our communities that are based on trust that are based on transparency,” she said.
Cook says events like these strengthen the bond between deputies and the community.
“Tonight is about the opportunity to come together when there’s not an issue, when there’s not a problem. It’s about coming together and having fellowship and food and just good conversation,” Cook said. “And any time we get to do that with our community that’s a good thing.”
In St. Johns County, the Sheriff’s Office and St. Augustine Police Department also held a get-together at the St. Augustine Beach Pier.