At National Night Out, Butler law enforcement highlight importance of community trust
BUTLER TWP — Fathers and sons make up much of local law enforcement. John Herold and his son, John Jr., are a good example.
Herold, deputy chief of the Butler Township Police Department, took the position after retiring from state police’s Troop D. His career in law enforcement, and lessons he taught stemming from it, left an impact on his son and his friends, John Herold Jr. said.
John Herold Jr., who grew up in Meridian and is now a state trooper, said at least six of his childhood friends, all from the same baseball team his father coached, also went on to become police officers.
The community ties, he said, show how important it is for police and other first responders to maintain trust and good relationships with the communities they serve.
“I think it’s definitely important for law enforcement to have a good relation with the community,” said John Herold Jr. “It can help us in our investigations. We do door-to-door interviews on some things. Having a good relationship tends to help us out quite a bit.”
The Butler Township Police Department hosted a community outing Tuesday, Aug. 4, along with other local first responders, as part of National Night Out, a nationwide effort to promote positive police-community partnerships.
“Some of the guys told me we’ve been doing this for about 10 years and it’s been great,” Herold said. “It’s an organization that tries to bring the community together so they can truly meet our first responders in the community.”
“There’s a lot of different people here from different organizations that do good work,” he noted.
At the Pullman Recreation Complex on Tuesday evening, community members had the opportunity to interact with township police, state troopers, officers from the Butler County Emergency Services Unit and firefighters from Butler Township Volunteer Fire District.
“I think it’s huge when you thing about having that relationship with you’re community, and getting people out to meet us,” Herold said. “We try to get people out here so we can communicate with each other. They can ask us questions and we can show that we’re normal people, just like them.”
For residents curious about the emergency services unit’s operations, members of the SWAT team showed off one of their tactical armored trucks.
“Equipment like this brings a lot of different assets to the situation and helps keep neighbors safe,” said Chris Kopas of the county ESU.
