On Tuesday in Los Gatos’ Town Plaza Park, the annual National Night Out event was held. The best attraction—in addition to the therapy dog, batting game, mini motorcycles, ice cream, coffee and SWAT officer—was the dunk tank. Yep, attendees stood in line to throw the ball and submerge those brave enough to take the plunge.
This event was created in 1984 by Matt Peskin in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, Penn. Philadelphia is known as the “City of Brotherly Love,” and is famous for its role in American independence. The goal of the founder was to bring communities together, enhancing the relationships between neighbors and law enforcement.
Dunk the officials
Mayor Moore was sent into the tank first. He was a good sport, giving a smile and a wave. The crowd did not show him any mercy, dunking him several times.
Police Chief Jamie Field was next. Her mother, Janet Bryant, who is visiting from Idaho, even dunked her on her first throw. “It has always been important for my daughter to unify people,” Bryant said of her daughter. “All the way through school and beyond she does this.” And we can agree, bringing our communities together is happening.
In addition to Mayor Moore and Chief Field, many others were dunked. Vice Mayor Maria Ristow volunteered to be dunked next year—so we have that to look forward to. Additional dunkees were: Capt. Greg Borromeo, Officers Heather Murphy and Nathan Delia, and Parking Control Officer Joe Di Micel (yes, he writes those parking tickets we all love to get). In addition to the Department dunkees, Chris Todd our new Town emergency manager was dunked—several times. I hope he is preparing for this year’s fire season. Quite a nice cool-off for the participants as the temperature was high. The children’s fountain had been turned off, so those children who brought their towels were unable to play in it.
SWAT
Every year the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department displays military or SWAT-type uniformed officers to the public. Seeing a SWAT officer in full uniform on the street, doing their job, can be startling. Meeting one in a community setting allowed all to notice the gear. Public awareness and transparency is important to the Department’s community model. I must admit Officer Anthony Gotelli looked pretty fierce in his SWAT gear. It was good to see him posing—explaining his equipment and talking calmly to the children (and not running-down a criminal).
Jackie Rose, the Department’s community outreach coordinator, said that this year’s crowd was the largest yet, and that it was impressive that so many Los Gatans came down for Los Gatos’ National Night Out gathering. Next year, see you there—on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2027.
