CCPD’s biggest annual event works to build trust

Young children learned CPR while teens browsed through the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) booth and couples lingered by police and highway patrol cars on display at the Culver Steps Tuesday night as part of the Culver City Police Department’s National Night Out.

National Night Out is an annual national event that promotes partnerships between communities and their local police departments on the first Tuesday of August. Founded by Matt Peskin, a volunteer in the Community Watch program in Philadelphia in 1984, National Night Out aims to create a safer community through building connections amongst neighbors and with the local police departments.

The first National Night Out was created through the collaboration between law enforcement agencies, neighborhood watch groups, and volunteers, resulting in an event spanning 400 communities in 23 states. The campaign for community-police partnership and neighborhood camaraderie has only increased in the 41 years since then, with 17,000 communities across all 50 states involved as of 2025.

Culver City kicked off their own celebration at 5 p.m., inviting attendees to eat free snacks and beverages from Erewhon, Cold Stone Creamery, and more. This community and family focused event held a scavenger hunt, brought games like ping pong, invited the Los Angeles Ninja Academy to set up obstacle courses for kids, included a performance with the Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders, and featured a special appearance by Bailey, the lion mascot for the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings.

In addition to the activities that were offered, National Night Out included thrilling demonstrations. A helicopter circled around the Culver Steps, turning on the siren and flashing lights as the public below observed and applauded. Multiple vehicles were stationed along the Town Plaza, including a firetruck parked on Culver Boulevard close to the Culver Steps.

One of the main draws of the program that evening was the K9 demonstration at 6:30 p.m. A large crowd shuffled onto the Culver Studios lawn to watch two highly disciplined dogs execute impressive tasks. 

K9 Storm is certified in patrol and narcotics while K9 Kohu is training in patrol, firearms, and explosive detection work. Storm showed an impressive ability to detect hidden objects and Kohu quickly apprehended a fleeing police officer in a padded suit.

National Night Out was another opportunity for the local police and fire department to teach safety tips and provide resources. The Mobile Crisis Team — a team set up separately from the CCPD to address mental health concerns in non-violent emergency situations — also had a booth to educate attendees about their operations. The Culver City Fire Department had a booth teaching people how to administer CPR, complete with mannequins laying on the ground.

Jennifer Atenza, the CCPD’s Community and Public Information Manager, noted that National Night Out is a chance for the CCPD and CCFD to connect with the community and listen to their concerns with a level of familiarity that is not possible during a crisis.

“We want people in the neighborhood to connect because we know that neighbors that are better connected with each other help foster a safer city when they’re connected together,” Atenza reflected. “Public safety is 100% a team sport and it takes our neighbors, our police department, our city leaders, everybody working together collaboratively to make public safety a success.”