The Westland Police Department will host "A Day for You" for young people with disabilities and their families to enjoy a special tour of the police department and get up close to actual police vehicles. The free event will be held on Saturday, September 17. Tours will be held from 10 a.m. to noon for those with sensory issues (no lights or sirens and smaller group size) and from 1 to 3 p.m. for people with disabilities but no issues with lights or sirens. Pre-registration is requested for the early tour for those with sensory issues. RSVP a spot at [email protected].

This will be the third year for the event as it was put on hold during the pandemic for two years. Westland Community Policing Officer Margaret Kelly says the event's goal is to promote interaction between police officers and the community. "We're just trying to have a fun day for a group of people that, I think, sometimes are overlooked and we want this to be a special day just for them," says Kelly. "I know that we have a lot of officers and sergeants in our department that are very passionate about people with disabilities and them not being forgotten."

In addition to tours of the police station, the event will include K-9 demonstrations, face painting, food, and a host of vehicles available for exploration including a SWAT truck, police motorcycles, and police cars. A variety of organizations will also have informational tables and handouts.

Westland Police Sergeant Brandon Paris says, "A lot of times the type of runs we go on involving people with special needs aren't necessarily a positive contact, so this is trying to be more of a positive thing that they can come, they can talk to us, they can trust us, they can see things outside of a police run...that now we're here to provide some fun for them instead."

"I think that there's always, as a young kid, the attraction to the police vehicles and fire trucks and parents want to be able to take their kids to see these things. This event is just trying to give kids that maybe don't always have that opportunity a chance to come see our vehicles," adds Kelly.

Getting to know the police officers who serve their hometown can help young people develop a trust for those local heroes.

The event will also provide information about a new initiative being introduced by the department which will allow families to provide information regarding a family member with a disability to a city registry for the benefit of both officers and that individual should police intervention ever be required. "We're going to have a city-wide registry for addresses and families of people with disabilities. Basically what that does is if a family knows they have a child that likes to wander and maybe is a non-verbal autistic child, we can put information into our computer system so that when officers are responding to go look for that child or responding to that address, they are pre-notified of any type of situation that may be going on at that house," explains Kelly. "Information like that is important to us because, obviously, this person is going to be crossing major roadways so the quicker we can find them the better." Westland's Special Needs 911 Registry is completely voluntary.

Kelly hopes the event will put young people at ease with police officers while interacting and having fun. "If kids don't see that side of us, they can become scared of us. Obviously, we're here to help, not have them scared of us," she says. "Check out what we have and what we do. It's open to anyone, you don't have to be a Westland resident, it doesn't cost anything to attend. Come out for a fun day."