NORFOLK, Va. — The Old Dominion University Police Department and Norfolk Police Department hosted a 'Community Hoops' basketball game Saturday to help bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community.
This event was in partnership with ODU Police, Norfolk Sheriff department and the Lambert's Civic League.
The community was invited to play in tournament style games with local law enforcement.
During the games, the players had the opportunity to work closely with officers and build positive relationships in a different setting.
Officer Tommy Evans tells News 3 the event is all about bringing people together and showing them that they are not the enemy.
"It's about bridging the gap, keeping those relationships strong and we are always looking for ways to improve those relationships and I think when the community sees us in different environments, primarily in sporting events like this, because who doesn't like basketball right. We do this in an environment where they feel safe and protected and they see us as regular people because that's who we are regular people," said Officer Evans.
The players stated this was a great opportunity to see law enforcement in a different setting.
For ODU Police Cadet Jahiem Johnson, he wanted to play in the game to show that law enforcement aren't as bad as people believe them to be.
"I mainly, I tried to play because this is a good aspect to see that the police department isn't all about taking people to jail and writing tickets, they are here out to interact with you guys, and this is a good way to do it," said Johnson.
The Community Hoops basketball game will continue throughout the year with the hopes of changing the communities perspective on officers and local law enforcement.
