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John Hogg’s Park in West Point was decked out with outfitted police cars on Tuesday night in celebration of National Night Out. The West Point Police Department invited the community out for music, food and fun.

National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign meant to encourage police-community relations in a fun, relaxed environment. The campaign, which takes place on the first Tuesday in August or October, first began in 1984 out of the National Association of Town Watch. 

It is an opportunity for engagement and educational exhibitions like K9/safety demonstrations and crime/fire prevention tips. 

The event included a bounce house, kid’s train and several informational booths from Tree of Life to West Point Active Life to Southstate Bank. After grabbing a snack from Kona Ice, kids also got to meet McGruff the Crime Dog and Smokey the Bear.

During the event, West Point Police Department showed off its most recent acquisition. Thanks to the 1033 program,  West Point Police Chief Kevin Carter recently requested a Humvee, or a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) as a military surplus. 

The 1033 program allows law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in the United States to apply to receive excess military equipment and property from the Department of Defense. 

The Humvee will be used for public outreach events like the National Night Out. It will also be used for critical incidents such as flooding zones and storm and disaster debris. Though West Point did not see much damage from Hurricane Helene, Carter said that he was glad to have the vehicle in time for the storm. 

“It’s better to have it and not need it,” he said.