Erie community outreach event brings public safety officials, ice cream truck to neighborhoods goerie.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from goerie.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Erie region s top federal prosecutor on Thursday recognized the efforts of three Erie police officers and a city staffer in driving programs geared toward strengthening the relationship between police officers and the community they serve.
Stephen R. Kaufman, the acting U.S. attorney for the western district of Pennsylvania, visited Erie on Thursday morning to present certificates of commendation to the leaders of the city s Police Athletic League, Community Outreach Program and Strengthening Police and Community Partnerships Council.
Kaufman, whose visit to Erie was part of a weeklong trip across the district in honor of National Police Week, told the gathering of mostly law enforcement officers that it s not easy to be a police officer in America given current events.
The Erie Bureau of Police dealt with challenges throughout 2020.
Some were new, like keeping a law enforcement agency running and continuing to serve the public as COVID-19 posed a threat to the officers and the people they encountered.
Others were familiar, like a new spike in gun violence that approached levels not seen in the city in several years.
One was unexpected, as a night of violence that erupted following a peaceful protest in the city s downtown in late May led to allegations of brutality against members of the community and against the police.
The year 2020 featured a lot of change and a lot of adversity, Police Chief Dan Spizarny said in a recent wide-ranging interview that touched on a number of notable events.