Community, Police Come Together For National Night Out In Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Hundreds turned out Tuesday night for Doylestown Township’s fourth National Night Out at Central Park.

As late afternoon gave way to evening, residents connected with members of law enforcement and regional first responders while enjoying frozen treats, pizza and complimentary hot dogs.

National Night Out is all about bringing the public together and connecting residents with members of law enforcement and regional first responders. Local events are also taking place in neighboring Buckingham Township and in nearby Solebury Township and Perkasie Borough this week.

Some of the highlights at Tuesday's event included a look inside the bucket of a Doylestown Fire Company ladder truck, sitting at the wheel of Central Bucks Regional Police Department’s new ATV and grabbing a slice of free pizza from Lucatelli’s.

Doylestown Township's National Night Out organizer Sgt. Jessica Whiteside with members of the Doylestown Township Police Force. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Plumstead Township Police Chief David Mettin fields a question from a young visitor. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

The National Night Out included K9 Unit demonstrations. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Doylestown Township Police Sgt. Jessica Whiteside, who organized the Doylestown event was thrilled by the turnout of people and the response from local emergency agencies.

“This is fantastic,” she said of the turnout and the weather. “People are having a good time. And I’m seeing a lot of smiling faces here tonight.

“I’m just proud of the collaboration,” she added. “All these agencies donate their time for this and they never ask for anything. It’s just incredible that I can send an email and get this kind of response. It says a lot about the communities we’re serving.”

A large number of emergency response agencies were represented at the event including police, fire and EMS along with numerous county and state agencies. Joining them at the event were Alpha K9 Search and Rescue and Tails of Valor - Paws of Honor.

Victim Specialist Supervisor Karen Edwards was there representing the Victim Services Unit. The Unit provides free services to victims of crime in Buckingham, Plumstead, and the three communities served by the Central Bucks Regional Police Department - Doylestown Borough, Chalfont Borough and New Britain Borough.

The unit provides crime victims with advocacy and support, safety planning, emotional support, crisis intervention, community resource referrals, assistance through the criminal justice process, notification of Crime Victim's Rights and case update information.

Throughout the evening, canine officers from the Central Bucks Regional Police Department and the Bucks County Department of Corrections demonstrated the use of their K9 partners in hunting down and catching suspects.

The evening also featured the dramatic landing of a MedFlight helicopter from Temple University Hospital followed by an opportunity to take a look inside and to talk with the pilots.

The Temple MedFlight helicopter comes in for a landing at Central Park. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Victim Specialist Karen Edwards was there with the unit's intern sharing information with the public about the Victim Services Unit.

A nine-foot-tall "police man" was seen walking the beat at National Night Out. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Members of the Bucks County Park Rangers were on hand to talk about their jobs. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

The evening also included an impressive display of departments and equipment, including police from Doylestown Township, Central Bucks Regional, Plumstead, New Britain Township, Warrington, and Warwick; firefighters from Doylestown, Warrington, and Chalfont; and EMS crews from Central Bucks and Warrington.

Also participating were the Pennsylvania State Police, the Bucks County Park Rangers, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, Bucks County 911, the Bucks County Sheriff’s Department, the Bucks County Mobile Command Unit and the impressive Bucks County Workforce On Wheels (WOW) bus.

“My goal was to make it not just Doylestown Township, but to make it the Doylestown area," said Whiteside. "If you live in or around the Doylestown area you can come here and see what your tax money pays for and learn about what services are available to you."

As the sun sunk lower in the sky, many enjoyed frozen treats while others grabbed a hot dog and slice of pizza served by township manager Stephanie Mason, supervisors Barbara Lyons, Dan Wood, and Jennifer Herring and township employees.

The Doylestown Township hot dog crew. (Jeff Werner/Patch)