T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Bridgeport Police Office Bill Timko, from left, Assistant Chief Darby Copeland and Chief John Bumba receive a donation for National Night Out from Unified Bank’s Retail Banking Executive Stacy Carpino and Bank Supervisor Beuna Gargala.

BRIDGEPORT — The Bridgeport Police Department is hosting its annual National Night Out on from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at Bridgeport High School.

National Night Out is a national community policing awareness-raising event that is held on the first Tuesday in August. The nationwide event was started in 1984 in Philidelphia, and the Bridgeport Police Department has been participating since 2019.

The event is free to the public and people of all ages are welcome. The Bridgeport High School Marching Band will kick off the event by performing the national anthem. Healthnet Aeromedical Services will be in attendance with a helicopter for viewing and photo ops.

“This is our fifth year doing this, it’s a national event where the goal is to bring the community together with the local law enforcement,” Bridgeport Assistant Police Chief Darby Copeland said. “The number one way to curtail crime is to have the community know the police and tell the police what’s going on, because the community is everywhere and the police are only where we are at.”

The Bridgeport Police Department will be handing out school supplies to the community at the event. The Bridgeport High School cheerleaders will be handing out pizza as well.

Brookside Volunteer Fire Department and the Bridgeport Fire Department will be in attendance as well as the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department with its SWAT truck and K-9s. The Martins Ferry Police Department will also be on hand and will provide a demonstration with its K-9 unit.

Entertainment will be provided in the form of bounce houses and live music by Ohio Valley native Gage Joseph.

Sponsors for the event are United Dairy, Bill’s Towing and Recovery, Pizza Hut, Pizza Express, Thin Blue Line FOPA Lodge 100, Domino’s Pizza and Pizza Milano. National Night Out’s newest sponsor is Unified Bank.

“Our newest sponsor Unified Bank is making a financial donation to help us get all of the stuff that we’re giving away for free,” Copeland said. “They’ve always been a good partner with us, and we’re happy to have them on board this year.”

“We’re proud to sponsor the communities that we are proudly serving,” Unified Retail Banking Executive Stacy Carpino said.