Adults need a Night Out, too

Police have sticker badges, open houses, demonstrations, school

visits and oversized furry characters all promoting safety. When it

comes to bridging a relationship between law enforcement and the

community, it’s all about the kids.

That’s great. I love the fact that my son Donovan looks at police

officers as heroes. I’m glad he knows a man or woman in a uniform is

there to help, that he points and waves when he sees a black and

white -- or I guess, in this area, just a white.

National Night Out last week was the highlight of Donovan’s month.

We went to the Mendoza Street event, which had fire trucks, police

cars and canine units, oh my! It was a 4-year-old’s paradise.

He’ll probably love police until he’s at a party that gets broken

up or he gets pulled over.

Then the love affair with the boys in blue will be over, which

prompted me to dream up another of my goofy ideas: A national night

out for adults.

Ditch the cartoon characters and bring in a live band. Throw out

the coloring books and break out a deck of cards. Collect all the

cars keys and pop open that box of wine -- just kidding.

But seriously, let’s have a night where the adults in the

community get to see their officers as more than ticket-writing

enforcers. A time to talk to Sgt. So-and-so about bass fishing and

Lt. Hey-you about martial arts. To trade baking secrets with Det. X

and plan play dates for the kids with Officer Doe.

I asked Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney about the idea and he

laughed.

“What do you think?” I asked. “Got any ideas of how to make it

fun?”

Because he was speaking in his official capacity as the public

information officer for the department, he said it would not be

appropriate to discuss such an off-the-wall proposal.

Sigh. See what I’m saying?

Why is it so crazy? Would it be that bad to see police officers in

a light other than their notorious straight-laced, hard-nosed,

let’s-just-stick-to-the-facts- ma’am persona?

My friend Cindy Guillen is a Burbank police officer and she is a

great dancer, a great boxer and one of the funniest people I know.

She is in large part the reason I have great respect for police,

despite most of my generation’s distrust for authority figures.

And if you look closely enough at the walls in various offices of

the Costa Mesa Police Department, you can see pictures of officers on

their off time with their friends, at birthday parties, in Las Vegas,

etc.

What is that one their face -- just below the thick mustache? A

smile.

Yeah, they actually look as though they would be fun to party

with. At least you know it won’t get out of hand.

So what do you say? There’s nothing better than a good party to

bring people together. Why do you think all the charity organizations

are always throwing shin-digs? I think it a good bash would really

drum up support for local law enforcement and build respect on both

sides.

And, hey, if it’s really that important, you can still bring

McGruff the Crime Dog.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at [email protected].