Huge community turnout for Indio Police Department’s National Night Out

Tuesday night, the Indio Police Department hosted a successful National Night Out, bringing police and hundreds of residents together to learn more about policing and other parts of the city.

More like a block party than an informational seminar, locals enjoyed food trucks and bands from rivals Shadow Hills and Indio High Schools that performed to a huge crowd.

Hundreds of people learned about the Indio Police Department and other community organizations at one of more than a dozen informational tables along Miles Avenue and Towne Street.

There was plenty of fun, but serious lessons too – like the wreck of a car involved in a DUI and officers on hand to explain the dangers of impaired driving and a huge armored BearCat vehicle staffed by Desert Regional Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT).

Office Kyle Lawrence is a member of the SWAT Team within Indio PD and explained some of the high-tech gear used in dangerous situations like their specialized drone or tactical robot that can maneuver terrain and even go up stairs and open doors.

Also at the event were Riverside County Firefighters and probation officers but also mental health volunteers, representatives from the immigration legal center, TODEC and a showcase of churches and community organizations like the Coachella Valley History Museum.

Magda Steward, CEO of Trauma Intervention Programs Riverside County, explained that her organization is made up of volunteers who are on call 24/7 ready to assist family members following a natural or unexpected death, victims of fires, car crashes, rape, burglary and survivors of suicide.

The group recently started working with Indio PD after many years spent working in western Riverside County.

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