Crime & Safety

National Night Out Delivers On Excitement

From an active shooter demonstration and a K-9 demonstration to training on how not to get scammed, free popcorn and hotdogs and a dunk tank, much of Niles turned out and had a good time.




Written by Pam DeFiglio

Hundreds of Niles residents and families came out Tuesday evening for Niles' National Night Out, and the Niles Police Department layered a lot of fun over some key messages about safety and police work.

Kids and their parents went from one demonstration at Niles' Oak Park to the next. They included self defense for kids, martial arts, avoiding getting scammed, a K-9 demonstration and an active shooter demonstration.

There were also more than a dozen booths from community organizations such as Advocate Lutheran General Hospital fitting and selling bike helmets for $10, the Niles Library letting kids spin a wheel for small prizes, the Volunteers in Police Service and the Niles Teen Center distributing information, and more.

Attendees also got to enjoy free hot dogs, while they lasted, and free popcorn, as well as throwing balls on the Dunk A Cop game and watching the Niles Fire Department demonstrating a car extrication. 

One of the most exciting parts of the evening came just as darkness was settling over the park. Three officers performed an active shooter demonstration, demonstrating how they would enter a building in which an armed person is threatening or shooting at people.

The three formed a triangle formation as they entered the scene, used gestures and taps to communicate silently and focused on disabling the perpetrators (see video). 

The evening ended with police distributing glow sticks to families and leading a flashlight walk in the darkness throughout the neighborhood.

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