Lacey officers demonstrate policing, meet community at Cops, Cars ’n’ Kids event

Lacey City Hall was a hub of activity Saturday for the Lacey Police Department’s first-ever Cops, Cars ’n’ Kids event.

Despite the heat and competition with the Thurston County Fair, Chief Dusty Pierpoint said the event had a good turnout, with hundreds of children and adults stopping by to meet their local police officers and grab a free hot dog.

“We’ve got a lot of people here,” Pierpoint said. “We’re having fun.”

Officers from various parts of the department demonstrated their trade. Detective Miguel Stansberry suited up children in gear and taught them defensive tactics. Officer Alex Ficek showed them how to apply handcuffs. Others gave tours of the building, taught fingerprinting and showed off their patrol cars.

Jackson Parker, 8, of Lacey made sure to ask plenty of questions during the demonstrations. He said he wants to be a police officer when he grows up.

“I just think it’s really cool,” Jackson said.

His sister, 6-year-old Alexandra, said she was more interested in the inflatable bounce house.

“I don’t want to be a police officer,” she said.

Cmdr. Jim Mack, one of the event’s organizers, said Cops, Cars ’n’ Kids was designed to appeal to all Lacey residents — whether they’re interested in policing, getting to know their community, or they just wanted a snow cone on a hot day.

The Police Department hosted a car show as part of the event, and Mack said he was surprised to see more than 30 entrants.

“We’ve seen a lot of people from the community,” Mack said. “We keep hearing from people that they want more events like this.”

This story was originally published August 1, 2015 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Lacey officers demonstrate policing, meet community at Cops, Cars ’n’ Kids event."