Chicago Police Department Hosts Father Daughter Dance, Officers Stand In For Absentee Dads

Over the weekend, the Chicago Police Department hosted their first “Daddy Daughter Dance” at the South Shore Cultural Center. According to NBC News, the free event was coordinated by the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy offices from districts 5,7 and 9 in conjunction with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

The event was intended for fathers and daughters of the community to spend a formal evening together, but when the department realized that some of the girls did not have fathers who were present in their lives, officers volunteered to escort them to the party.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing because some people don’t really associate with their fathers,” said 13-year-old Brejay Payne. “So once you come out, dressed up, and dance, eat, and play with your father, it’s kind of a nice day.”

According to the CAP website, the organization is devoted to forging healthy relationships between the community and the city’s police force.

“They actually get to see us to find out that that the police are nothing but people. We just happen to have uniforms on,” said Cmdr. Larry Watson.

Both organizations say that they hope to make the dance an annual event. With so much negativity in the new relating to our nation’s police departments, it’s refreshing to hear stories like this one.

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