Police, Community to Come Together for a United La Porte County

Police, Community to Come Together for a United La Porte County

In a time where tragedy seems to divide us, it takes strength for a community to come together and set aside their differences to talk about their fears, worries, and concerns in order to heal.

On August 4 at the Michigan City Elston YMCA, Michigan City Police Department members, along with other members of La Porte County police departments, and organizations like the United Way of La Porte County are inviting the community to come together for a day of food, fun, and most importantly open dialogue.

In a heartfelt open letter to community partners, Marty Corley of the Michigan City Police Department, along with Julius Ellis, Cory Saunders, and Josh Crosby, proposed the event, called the Unified Community Cookout, to give law enforcement and the citizens of La Porte County an opportunity to talk, listen, and work on ways to work together for a better community.

“The evil that lurks around seems to find its way into separating all good people at different times,” the letter read. “We want to make sure the protectors (law enforcement) and the protected (citizens) continue to work together in this country.”

In holding the event, Corley and others hope that the dialogue leads to not only a better understanding of police and citizens concerns and wishes, but also in building and strengthening relationships that will help unify La Porte County long after the embers of the grill burn out that day.

“We want to bring all of our law enforcement and community throughout La Porte County together in one location to fellowship together,” the letter continued. “We are hoping this event will open up new relationships and strengthen pre-existing ones.”

And it’s these relationships that lead to unity through understanding, and a community working towards a common goal: peace.

Corley and other organizers are asking for helping in donations and sponsorships for the event. If interested, please contact Corley at 219-229-9691, or via email at mcorley20@gmail.com.