Photo: Somaiya Curwen
by Somaiya Curwen
The Kennesaw Police Department partnered with the Kennesaw Advisory Board and scheduled a Taco Time event recently at the Ben Robertson Community Center to connect with citizens and discuss their community.
The Kennesaw Advisory Board gave out homemade tacos to citizens and had a Q&A session discussing the procedures of how the Kennesaw Police Department keeps the town safe. There were multiple police officers there who gave honest answers about their experiences with the force and how they have taken action.
“The police are the public, and the public are the police,” Chief of Police Bill Westenburg said.
Westenburg came to the Taco Time event and participated with some members of his staff. They were encouraged to put the event on and engage with the community from so many different walks of life.
It was impressive how many strong questions there were, and it gave them the opportunity to learn more about those who are serving in the community. The chief’s favorite part was the community building around the event.
“The honesty of it, and people can come together and be real, which is needed for what we are trying to do collectively in the community,” Westenburg said.
When asking Westenburg why the event was so important to him, he stated how important the engagement is and how imperative it is to recognize the different types of people in the community.
“We want to come across in a way of openness and transparency so that people feel welcome,” he said.
He mentioned that the Kennesaw Advisory Board threw out the idea of hosting this event and suggested that the police department come and join, and Westenburg did not hesitate to say yes.
Vasiliki Daniels, an attendee of this event, is the CEO of a nonprofit called Gathering a New Generation, and she wanted to be a voice in the community.
“There was a lot of informational stuff that we needed to get connected with each…
Read the full article here
