Elmwood Park residents are showing their support for police officers with a blue ribbon initiative.
The idea to show solidarity with local police with blue ribbons came to Dean Pritt, an Elmwood Park youth commissioner, during this year’s “National Night Out” on Aug. 2. By the time Aug. 20 arrived, village officials, residents and others had covered trees near schools, houses, and businesses in Elmwood Park with blue ribbons.
“I wanted to keep this about a general support of our officers and have it not be political,” Pritt said. “Our police deserve much more respect than they’re getting, and I thought this is something we should do for them.”
Pritt’s brother is a police officer, and he said he understands the unsettling feeling of not knowing if a family member who works in law enforcement is going to come home safely after working a shift.
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“I don’t know if the blue ribbon initiative is going to be a yearly thing yet,” he said. “If there’s interest, we may do it again next year.”
Those who participated on Aug. 20 included Girls and Boys Scouts from the village, the Elmwood Park Neighborhood Civic Organization, and Elmwood Park High School National Honor Society students, Elmwood Park youth commissioner Mary Howard said. She said there are about 600 blue ribbons scattered throughout the village now.
“It’s a very humbling experience, to get such recognition from the community,” Elmwood Par Police Chief Frank Fagiano said. “It was great to see the community take the lead to support our law enforcement community.”
Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.