The annual Unity in the Community Block Party took place over the weekend in Sioux City.
“Just a lot of incredible experiences; all the officers enjoyed it. We had firefighters, deputies, deputies, police officers, Sioux City, and South Sioux City. We had a lot of people join together with Unity and the Community to have this event.”
That’s Sioux City Police Chief Rex Mueller, who attended the event at Cook Park on Saturday that combined food and fun.
Hundreds also had a chance to check out other community partners and nonprofit organizations at the gathering that started six years ago.
Police Mueller says his department works to increase interaction between law enforcement and the public, and this is just one of the events highlighting this collaboration.
“This is not the way it is everywhere. And, I think there are a lot of other communities that could benefit by doing things the way we do here in Sioux City.”
Chief Mueller does admit the COVID-19 Pandemic did impact the outreach of officers.
“For a couple of years there, we were severely limited in doing community events where we could get people together. We did some virtual things but lost that connection. Protests and the passing of George Floyd kind of fractured relationships, and we saw it as our duty to build those relationships. We are well on our way to building those relationships and building new ones.
Unity in the Community works with local law enforcement, including Chief Mueller, to promote safety, peace, and hope.
“It’s something we’re always working on. You never want to say we got it figured out. We have everybody at the table. We are lucky to have this in the community, and we are lucky to be supported by the citizens. And we are lucky to have the officer we do that enjoy the interaction with the citizens.”
The next community event planned with the Sioux City Police Department is National Night Out on August 2nd.
