Page 45 - 2018 July Newsletter

Dodgeball fun with kids in the 9th District
n BY ERIKA WURST
CAPS officers in the 9th District
squared off against more than 200 mid- dle school students recently for some friendly competition on the field. Stu- dents and faculty members at James Shields Middle School – in an effort to show their appreciation for local law enforcement – invited police officers to take part in an afternoon of dodgeball, volleyball, tug-of-war and relay races.
“We had a phenomenal time,” said CAPS officer Jason Sollis. “I’ve been on this job for the past 15 years, and this might be the most fun I’ve had since I started the job.” Sollis, who recently ac- quired his community policing title, said the event really drove home the impor- tance of reaching out to the communi- ty and starting that initiative as early as possible.
“If we have positive experiences when they are young, we hope that will contin-
ue when they get older and we can build good relationships with the community,” Sollis said.
Community Policing Sergeant John Verta was also on-hand for the festivities. He said it wasn’t easy playing in the heat
for two hours – “Some of us were dying” – but that it was definitely worth it.
“It was an all-out fun event,” Verta said. “We really wanted to get out there and interact with the kids and build these relationships.” d
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