Middletown Township's National Night Out was a vibrant scene.
National Night Out, a nationwide annual event aimed to forge good relationships between communities and their respective police, has a strong presence in Middletown Township. This year’s event, held August 5 at the Middletown Township Police Department, located at 5 Municipal Way in Langhorne, featured a canine demo, a motorcycle demo, a CPR demo, a mine-resistent ambush protected (MRAP) a SWAT truck, fire trucks, an emergency medical services vehicle, and more, while highlighting scores of local businesses across the township and surrounding areas.
According to Joe Bartorilla, Middletown Police Department Police Chief, Middletown's National Night Out started out small. When Chief Bartorilla started working at this local police department in 2014, the parks and recreation director wanted the township to participate in this national event, so he and some police officers set up their own table in a couple of local parks. However, the tables did not draw many people, and the event transferred its location to the Middletown Police Department in 2016.
"I thought if we wanted National Night Out to work for us, we needed to put more effort into it well in advance of it happening," Chief Bartorilla said. "That wasn't happening with maybe a handful of people showing up at a local park. I wanted to host a National Night Out, but for it to take place here at our building, for our whole police department to be involved, and I wanted a lot of community members involved," Bartorilla said.
In 2016, the Middletown Police Department decided to establish a community relations officer, who was, and still is, Melissa Robison. With Officer Robison, Chief Bartorilla brainstormed the idea of inviting local businesses to the event. Chief Bartorilla said it works as advertising for the businesses, and they encourage them to give away small promotional items to build local connections and meet the community.
Officer Robison said she starts planning for National Night Out every year at the end of May. She gave thanks to the township’s department of public works, who helped every vendor by unloading their cars, and setting up their tents and tables. Officer Robison said highlighting small businesses is integral to the event.
"When people come here, they can see what's in their own backyard, who they buy cookies from, who they can get plumbing services from," Officer Robison said. "We try to keep everybody shopping local. It's really important for us to thrive, for people to shop amongst themselves if they can."
Since this event’s inception in 2016, except for 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when the event was cancelled, about a thousand community members have shown up annually. Chief Bartorilla said every year it mostly features the same attractions, though this year they also added the MRAP SWAT truck in which kids were able to climb into.
Every officer in the department, except for those who were out on patrol, were at the event this year. Bartorilla said he talks to a lot of people as a police chief during the year, but that his officers may only talk with community members when they are out on service calls and this event gives them a chance to converse with people in a more relaxed environment.
"They're mingling with the crowd, and it's just casual, relaxed, laid-back conversations. It's not, 'I'm in charge. You're not.' It's, 'how are you doing? How are you enjoying tonight? Where do you live? Where are you from? How are things in your neighborhood? Are there any issues?' " Chief Bartorilla said.
Chief Bartorilla said he believes Middletown's community has a positive perception of the police and that the police have strong credibility with the community, but this does not mean the department doesn't need to hold events like National Night Out. However, Bartorilla added that there are other, more obvious ways to connect with the community than large-scale events.
"I always say community policing is about interacting with the community every day when we're out there on calls for service. Big events like National Night Out are like icing on the cake," Chief Bartorilla said. "If the community doesn't like your police department, an event like this isn't going to make them like you, and if they already think we are doing a good job, they can actually see first-hand the things that we're doing at these larger events."
Bernadette Hannah, vice chairperson of the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors since 2021, said since the township is large and diverse, it is important to bring the community together at events like National Night Out and for people to meet others who they may not otherwise meet.
"We are living in a world that's kind of polarized sometimes, and I think the more opportunities we have as neighbors and community members to come together, the better it is and the more likely we are to get along and foster positive relationships."
Hannah said she believes Middletown has a great police force, fire emergency management system, and parks and recreation department as well, and it makes sense for the community to meet them.
"When you get into a situation, whether there’s a fire or an accident or something with your health, and you're in a vulnerable state, I think it's important that you feel comfortable around these people," Hannah said. "These nights are important because we want people to know that the government works for them, and we want people to know that the township is here for them."
Additionally, Hannah said, events like National Night Out help kids develop empathy and communication skills when they're placed in a real-world situation with a diverse group of people of all age levels. The event also functions as a way for families to take a break from "running from school events to sports events" to meet their neighbors at a low cost in a high-cost world.
"It's hard for families to find things to do that are low cost but yet valuable for their kids," Hannah said. "Our township is so diverse; there's the one end where they have very large homes, and then there’s the other end where I live in Levittown that's not as affluent. Both sides are working hard, doing the best for their kids, but maybe some don't have as many opportunities as others.”
At the Cops vs. Kids basketball station, John and Evie Conroy, who both live in Langhorne, faced off with Officer Michael Leonard. "It's so important that we're all working as one and realizing that we're here for them and they're here for us. It's just a great feeling and it's important for the community to know that and see that we can all work together," Officer Leonard said.
Ciara Catalina, a student at Mill Creek Elementary School in Levittown, said her favorite part of the event was the fire truck feature. "I've been in one before and it's really cool to be in it," Catalina said. "They use it to put out fires and save people, so people don't get hurt."
At the far end of the parking lot, a large crowd gathered to watch local volunteer firefighters perform an extrication demonstration with the "jaws of life," which are tools used in a vehicular accident to remove a person from a car.
David Harris, a volunteer firefighter, said the demo "shows children and parents the capabilities of the local volunteer fire companies or the firefighters that participated in this demonstration or volunteers."
Nearby residents Ella and Lennon Steiner checked out the emergency medical service vehicle on display, and said their favorite part of the event was winning stuffed animals.
Juliana and Jade Hawthorne, both students at Walter S. Miller Elementary School in Levittown, said their favorite part of the night was the featured tow truck. Jade yanked a lever to sound a loud horn, and smiled.
Most of the proceeds raised during this event go to the Middletown Community Foundation's annual December Shop with a Cop event, which allows children whose families are financially struggling, who have an ill family member, or a deployed military parent to shop with a police officer during the holiday season. Chief Bartorilla said some other proceeds or direct donations could be put towards purchases such as a new K-9 dog, K-9 equipment, or safety equipment.
However, Chief Bartorilla said, "This isn't a fundraiser for us; that's not the purpose. The purpose is to connect the police department to the community.”
