National Night Out
Law, other agencies join community for fun at Railtown
During the National Night Out celebration of law enforcement and community policing Tuesday night, Tuolumne County Sheriff Bill Pooley kneeled and pinned a miniature sheriff’s badge on a 5-year-old girl who said she was afraid of cops.
Just a half an hour later, the girl was beaming, skipping with her grandparents through a funhouse maze of deputies and parked patrol vehicles at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown.
“That’s what this is all about,” Pooley said.
It was the first National Night Out, or an annual event on the first Tuesday in August, since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
After a train ride at 5 p.m., about 50 people ate hot dogs, popcorn and danced to a live DJ. Some children ran through water sport set-ups and others through frisbees. Featured attendees like Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke chatted with guests and directed them to information about their occupations.
The Sonora Police Department and California Highway Patrol weren’t present.
Instead, there was a variety of national, state and county agencies represented: the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office, the Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office, Tuolumne County Search and Rescue, Tuolumne County Animal Control, Twain Harte Community Emergency Response Team, the Tuolumne County Community Services Unit, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and Columbia State Historic Park.
“It always amazes me when we do this type of event where people gather to show support for law enforcement,” Sheriff’s Deputy Niccoli Sandelin, the office’s spokesman, said.
Jessica Reibin, 13, was joined by her mother, Kati, and her younger sisters, Hailey, 8, and Grace and Ella, both 4.
A few years ago, Jessica Reiben started “Cocoa with a Cop” at the Sonora Police Department to improve their outreach to youth.
“It all kind of started with me seeing how people were mistreating law enforcement,” she said. “I want to bring people together and show people that law enforcement are here for a reason, and they’re good people.”
Jessica Reiben hopes to join the Sonora Police Department Explorers and, later, the United States Marine Corps, said her mother, who is studying criminal justice.
Some commented on the rarity of these occasions to present a gentler face of law enforcement or county agencies who often respond to emergencies when callers are in distress.
“Our department is so small. We cover the entire county, but we only have four people,” said county Animal Control Manager Mike Mazouch. “Most of the time when we show up, there’s a problem. It’s great to be out here in the community and doing outreach.”
It was the first National Night Out for Deputy Cody Skellenger who has been with the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office for five and a half years.
Skellenger was joined by his partner, K9 Mattis, a nearly 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, next to the armored SWAT vehicle known as the Bearcat.
“I think being here takes away some of the stigma that comes with law enforcement,” he said. “It humanizes. It put a face to the truck.”
Nearly a dozen members of Tuolumne County Search and Rescue, which is staffed exclusively by volunteers and under the auspices of the Sheriff’s Office, gathered around a four-door side-by-side utility terrain vehicle.
One of them was Leigh Spokas, a six-year veteran of local search and rescue and eight years of search and rescue in Montana.
“This county reminds me of Montana,” she said. “There’s a really close sense of community. People take care of each other.”
Beside them, the Twain Harte Community Emergency Response Team gave tours of a firefighter rehabilitation vehicle, into a cooling tent, and of six unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), all of which are used in the field to assist in crisis or emergency situations.