Members of the Pittsfield Police Department at the annual National Night Out event held at the Pittsfield Common on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Photos by Shaw Israel izikson.

Pittsfield — For 39 years, police departments all across the country have participated in the National Night Out event.

According to the National Night Out organization, the event was started in 1984 as a community-building campaign to promote partnerships between police departments and communities. The event is always held on the first Tuesday in August, and this year several departments in the state took part in the event, including the Pittsfield Police Department.

The department held its National Night Out at the city’s Common on Tuesday, Aug. 1. The event included family tours of emergency vehicles from the department, the State Police, and the County Ambulance. It also included several family activities including bounce houses, balloon sculptures, a donut decorating station from Shire Donuts, and a dunk tank featuring members of the Police Department.

Some of the activities at the National Night Out event in Pittsfield included a donut decorating station from Shire Donuts, a tour of State Police, Pittsfield Police and Fire Department vehicles, and demonstrations of equipment from County Ambulance. Photos by Shaw Israel Izikson.

Pittsfield Police Officer Darren Derby who organized the National Night Out event. Officer Derby is standing in front of the department’s “Operation Popsicle” ice cream truck, which gave away free ice cream to event attendees. Photo by Shaw Israel Izikson.

“This event is all really about bringing the community, law enforcement, and community partners all together,” event organizer and Pittsfield Police Officer Darren Derby told The Berkshire Edge. “It’s extremely important to bring the community together. We see what goes on via television, media, and social media, which makes people believe that the police are not invested in their community. This is one way for people to get up close and personal with the police officers that they see daily and introduce themselves. Usually, the first interaction someone has with an officer is a negative one because, let’s face it, most of the time when the police deal with somebody in the community, it’s likely going to be because something bad is going on.”

Pittsfield Police Officers Jessica Godfroy and Izinna Degraffenried took part in the dunk tank portion of the National Night Out event. Photo by Shaw Israel Izikson.

Officers Jessica Godfroy and Izinna Degraffenried, who work as School Resource Officers, took part in the event’s dunk tank.
“All community events are important, but the nice thing about this one is that they are all happening nationally on the same night,” Officer Godfroy said. “Not only does it bring Pittsfield together, but also other towns and cities across the country.”
It’s just good to be able to see officers in a different light and to be able to get out there with the community,” Officer Degraffenried added. “It’s important to have this event not just locally, but nationally.”