GARDEN CITY, Idaho — National Night Out is a yearly event that happens across the nation that is aimed at community building and police community partnerships. Neighborhoods all over America have different small events that get people to know their neighbors and their communities.
For a small neighborhood in Garden City, this National Night Out isn't just about community, it's also about healing. In 2021 at Quinella Court, 58-year-old Thomas Bunde was shot and killed by Garden City Police. The coordinator for the National Night Out at Quinella Court, Maria Madrid, said this embodies the meaning of the night, cultivating relationships with law enforcement.
"The last time law enforcement was in our neighborhood was two years ago when we had a fatality, and Garden City Police did indeed, shoot and kill one of our neighbors," Madrid said. "We understand Garden City Police did not have any choice. Their lives were threatened. However, our feelings are that the incident was handled poorly, in the sense of we're a family. Our neighbors have been, we're very close. We tried to go out and comfort the wife, we were yelled back to go back in our homes."
Madrid said there's no incident team that can help the community deal with their feelings after the shooting.
"Law enforcement was not able to come back or comfort us, ask us if we were okay," Madrid said. "[The police couldn't] help us in our grieving process or explain things."
She said this National Night Out was a chance to try and begin repairing the relationship between community and police.
"We've gotten a great response from Garden City Police. Right now, we don't have a chief of police, but Lieutenant Cory Steinberg was gracious enough to welcome me to their office to express my feelings on behalf of the community of Quinella Court," Madrid said. "They agreed that it would be a good thing for us to start this healing process by being partners."
Sgt. James O. Gorman said National Night Out gives officers the opportunity to get to know the people that live in the neighborhoods they work in.
"It's something our officers love to enjoy," Gorman said. "We do it throughout the year. But this is a night where we actually get to go out here, as you can hear, have a nice time with the community and things like that. Get to know the face behind the badge."
He said this kind of event is extremely important, especially after what happened in 2021.
"We have the opportunity to come back into the community here and be able to talk and be able to, as you can see, do some dancing with the community as well," Gorman said. "So, it's something for us to let people realize we're still there. No matter what happens in the community. We're here as a partner, as that they can depend on and call on if they need us."
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