48.0°,
Light Rain Fog/Mist Forging better relations between police and school community
Spirited hoops game at Lawrence High School fosters goodwill
The bleachers were packed at Lawrence High School for a community basketball game between the school’s football team and the officers of Nassau County’s 4th Precinct. Both sides are hopeful that these type of events help to forge better relations between the community and the police that serve the Five Towns.
District Athletic Coordinator Joe Martillotti reached out to the precinct after being approached with the idea by Superintendent Gary Schall and Heshy Blachorsky, a Board of Education trustee.
“I thought it was a great idea,” said Martillotti, who is also the varsity football coach. “There was some talk about playing the basketball team and I said you know, our football team has a huge following … they’re kind of the in a way like the face of the school, so I said lets get some football guys in there.”
With tensions between law enforcement and the public rising across the country in recent years both sides felt some good could come from some positive interactions between the community and the police.
Martillotti explained, “It was just something to highlight really how great the police officers of the fourth precinct are, and to really get our kids, who are really good kids just to get out there and mingle a little bit.”
Between quarters officer Gregory O’Neill expressed a similar sentiment. “I think it’s a great opportunity to show us out of the uniform, that just like them we like sports, we like community driven events and we want to be a part of that,” he said.
There was excitement radiating from both sides, junior wide receiver Carlos Duran said, “It’s a nice experience you know, for the community to come together and to get to watch the boys against the guys.”
Officer John Zanni, who helped organize the event, said the whole precinct was eager to get involved. “I couldn’t get enough guys, I mean they all really stepped up,” he said.
The game also featured a halftime show by Lawrence’s color guard, and the marching band provided music throughout the contest.
At the end of four eight-minute quarters the teams were tied at 44, a brief discussion then took place and the two sides concluded they weren’t leaving without a winner. After a tightly contested three-minute overtime period the football team captured a narrow 52-51 win.
The score may soon be forgotten, but hopefully the bonds formed between the community and the fourth precinct will not be. This was the first time the 4th Precinct had participated in event such as this, but O’Neill hopes it isn’t the last.
“We’d like for this to be something that propels us to future opportunities with other school districts, but hopefully we can at least turn this into an annual event,” he said.
