WALKER, Mich. — Amid a crowd of parents and children, Walker firefighters on Saturday showed what it's like to remove people involved in a crashed car.
The scene was part of a larger event - the City of Walker's Safety Day.
"We want to reduce criminal activity, we want to have fire safety in the city, we want our kids to be safe on the roads, we want the motorists to be safe on the roads," Walker Police Officer Mitch Harmeka said. "That's really what this was about - an opportunity for us to come out, interact with our community and focus on those topics."
The day involved activities including fire safety training for inside the home and traffic safety for kids who will soon be on their bikes for the summer.
Amid larger national concerns in recent years over tactics used by different law enforcement and safety departments, officers at the Safety Day hoped the day's events would help build bonds and trust with the community they aim to serve.
"This is a positive event that police, fire, and all of our other partners from Helen DeVos to Safe Kids to Lime [bicycles and scooters] to engage with our community on how to be safer in our community so we don't have to call emergency resources," Pelton said.
Officers' commitment to the goal was far from lost on people at Saturday's event.
Kelly Cvyzoik, who attended the event with her mother, said they made specialized art to give to the officers and show their support for those they see as doing all they can to help the community.
"We wanted to give back to our to give back to the police and firemen," Cvyzoik said.
"The one time we met a police officer, we gave her one and she said, 'I think I have one of these and I put it in my hat,' like one of the little uniform hats," Cvyzoik said. "And we just thought it was so cool because these are so much even though they're so little."
Fire Chief David Pelton said he hoped the turnout signaled a strong connection within the community and a willingness from people to work toward keeping everyone safe.
"I think this is great," Pelton said. "It shows that our community is engaging and wants to be part of our police and fire services. And we love being with our community. It's very positive me, I love seeing people come out. Even though it started off kind of rainy, it's turning out really nice today."
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