Neighborhood Officer Mitchell Favor, MCPF Board Member (and MPD's first African American female officer) Pia Kinney-James, Community Policing Advisory Board Member D’Neece Hettrick, and the Madison Police Department South District joined with neighbors over the weekend to elevate and celebrate Black voices in recovery — stories of resilience, healing, and service.

The Black Community Recovery Rally was hosted by the African American Opioid Coalition Dane County, A Safe Communities Project. "It was AWESOME!," said Hettrick, who has personal connections to community members who have thankfully recovered from addiction. "I did not want to leave."

Madison Police Department’s Midtown District and their Community Policing Advisory Board joined the Summit Woods Enrichment Committee and others in hosting a picnic at Zook Park in mid-August. It was the perfect day to connect with neighbors, strengthen relationships, and commemorate a safe and enjoyable summer season.

Community Policing Advisory Board members and MCPF board members had so much fun at #NationalNightOut with community members and friends from Madison Police Department, Amigos En Azul, Black Officer Coalition, and lots of other area first responders keeping our communities safe and strong!

The Madison Police Department's South District and their Community Policing Advisory Board enjoyed meeting neighbors at the 11th Annual Unity Picnic on July 26 at the Urban League’s Black Business Hub on South Park St.). This family-friendly event with:

• Delicious Food & Refreshments

• Kids’ Corner with Fun Activities

• Live Music & Entertainment

• Community Resources

• And Much More!

Madison Police Department’s South District and their Community Policing Advisory Board joined Moms Demand Action - WI, Safe Communities, and Public Health Madison & Dane County in serving free food and offering gun safety resources to community members on the south side at the Labor Temple on South Park St.

Thanks to all the Dane County Farmers' Market attendees who stopped by to chat with us today! You came for Radiant Smiles Face Painting and balloon twisting and stayed for the conversation – just as we had hoped !

Madison Police Department Officers James Dower and Sydney Davila and the Central district's Community Policing Advisory Board (Jing, CeCe, CC, Paul, and Andrew) enjoyed hearing your experiences, questions, and ideas.

We celebrated freedom, culture, and Black resilience at Madison’s 23rd annual Juneteenth Parade to Penn Park, where Madison Police Department's South district officers and Community Policing Advisory Board members served up hot dogs with a heaping side of smiles and neighborly love.

Thanks to Advisors D'Neece and Will (repping Madison Public Library) for showing up for your community like you always do.

💙

It was the perfect day for Kona Ice 🍧, helmet fittings/giveaways (thanks, Safe Kids Wisconsin!), and practicing safe biking on the second day of summer break for students ☀️😎 -- until it wasn't ☔️⛈️😭. Silver lining? Young cyclists in two out of three neighborhoods in Madison Police Department's West district kicked off the summer in safety and style, with shaved ice in hand, precious protected noggins, and pumped up bike tires and hearts, as positive relationships among kiddos, officers, and CPAB Advisors were reinforced and celebrated. 💙

Friday nights are Family Fun Nights at Warner Park Community Recreation Center, where Marquis Sanders, a North district Madison Police Department Community Policing Advisory Board member, serves as Program Coordinator. On June 13, kids and families gathered with North MPD Officers and Advisors to get a jumpstart on Juneteenth celebrations with live jazz, games, arts and crafts, face painting, and a hearty dinner of catfish, chicken, cabbage, mac and cheese, cornbread, and summery lemon strawberry cake.

Strong. Smart. Tenacious. These three incredible women who serve as Advisors on Community Policing Advisory Boards with the Madison Police Department recently celebrated remarkable achievements. Please join us in congratulating them!

This weekend we are remembering victims of gun violence, honoring survivors, and supporting prevention efforts. Dane County loses someone to gun violence every 10 days. In Madison, a gun was fired 52 times this year, intentionally or unintentionally. It doesn't always happen in the streets, but also in our homes, as Madison Police Department Acting Chief John Patterson reminds us. It happens in the context of domestic violence and quietly in the form of suicide. We're grateful to so many community partners for their work to interrupt the cycle of gun violence and build long-term community resilience.

The best prize of the evening was Madison Police Department Officers getting to spend time with youth residents in one of the West district's focus areas, laying the groundwork for continued relationship-building here throughout the summer. Thanks to CORE Officer Jon Urbina for organizing and leading such a fun event!

Previously, Tree Lane Apartments’ library was emptied as the property was sold and residents moved out. With lots of kids and families now returning to the property, or moving in for the first time, the West CPAB wanted to fill the library’s shelves with books, puzzles, and board games again, a need that was expressed by residents. West Advisor Mrunalini Kulkarni took the request to her employer’s Charitable Giving Team. Yahara Software employees generously answered the call with several loads of book-filled boxes and lots of fun games and puzzles for kids of all ages!

Tonight was bittersweet as Darbo-Worthington neighbors celebrated community over plates of yummy salad and spaghetti (thank you, Mentoring Positives, Inc.!), just one week before The Salvation Army of Dane County's Darbo Dr. Community Center program will end due to financial challenges. The Center has been an invaluable asset to the neighborhood in so many ways.

“This is what it looks like when it’s Done Right,” is what East district Captain Ed Marshall had to say about the February 25th Black History Month Celebration and Soul Food Dinner at the Meadowlands Apartments on Milwaukee St. He applauded the East District Neighborhood Team and the East CPAB for putting together “an excellent, well attended event. Looking around the room, I could see connections being made everywhere, and no one left hungry.” Neighborhood Resource Officer Laura Deloach added, “This was the best event Meadowlands has had!”

In February, schools throughout Madison participate in Read Your Heart Out in celebration of National African American Parent Involvement Day. Family members, community members, and volunteers who identify as African American or Black are invited to read to students. North Advisor Nate Savado, who also serves as East Madison Community Center's Youth Program Manager, read to students at Hawthorne Elementary School.

On January 17, JustDane hosted an important panel discussion about racial disparities, police discretion, and equity in Dane County's justice system. The Madison Police Department's South District's Community Policing Advisory Board was honored to be among the organizations represented. South Advisor and JustDane Associate Director Shar-Ron Buie did a phenomenal job as panelist moderator. Thank you to South Detective Sergeant (and panelist) Ken Mosely, Sergeant Ray Gillard, and Captain Harrison Zanders, as well as all of the panelists and guests, for your presence and participation!

Wow! What a turnout we had last Thursday at our Law Enforcement Appreciation Day Blood Drive, held at Garver Feed Mill. From open to close, a steady stream of generous donors – including current officers, retired officers, family members, neighbors, friends, community partners, and walk-ins – supplied nearly 50 units of blood to the American Red Cross. Thank you! ❤️

Look who made the Nice List! 🎅🏽 Santa made a special visit on Monday to the Heights on University Ave., where kids and officers from the Madison Police Department’s Midtown district decorated cookies together and shared in holiday cheer. Thank you to Santa's helpers (Midtown's Community Policing Advisory Board) for organizing such a fun holiday party! 🎉🎁🥳

Ho ho ho! 🎅🏽 ❄️ 🍪 The holiday spirit was poppin’ at Lake View Community School on Madison’s north side, where families selected toys, clothing, and books to be wrapped by Madison Police Department Officers Krista Luedtke and Lu Senatus, among other volunteers. Behind the event’s magic was North’s Community Policing Advisory Board member and Lake View staffer “Eve the Elf” Ropel, with help from a little elf of her own, Lieutenant Daniel Perez. Shoutout to Toys for Tots for an exciting array of toys to choose from and to Madison Reading Project for keeping students’ bookshelves stacked with books in Arabic, Hmong, English, and Spanish! What a special opportunity for MPD and the North CPAB to interact with the north side community, including its beautiful population of recent Afghan immigrants. The north side is rich with cultural and linguistic diversity, including its Hmong community as well. We’re so grateful for this time together!