The Sedona Police Department will be hosting its annual Community Outreach Event on Oct. 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Sedona Posse Grounds Hub at Posse Grounds Park. 

The event organized by the Sedona Police Volunteers will include face painting, hotdogs, hamburgers and chips along with demonstrations from the SPD K-9 and drone units, the Coconino and Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, the Sedona Fire District and other local organizations. 

“It bridges the gap between community and first responders, and we can even see, when we’re at events and we visit the booths, how we can partner together for things that we need in the community,” SPD Lt. Raquel Oliver said. 

SPD Detective Justin White will be doing short demonstrations with the SPD drones to show off their surveillance capabilities. 

“Our drone program’s kind of in infant stages. We’re just barely getting it off the ground,” White said. “Right now, we use it mostly for search and rescues. I’ve helped National Parks use it. We’ve used it to look for lost people. We’ve had a couple of incidents where we’ve had possible barricades, people heading in the woods, things. We’ve gone out and have looked for campsites … If we have  suspects that we know in the area … then I can search the area as well for any of the suspects.” 

The department initially acquired two drones. Five more were recently donated by the Chandler Police Department. White said that there are plans to train an additional four to five SPD officers to operate the drones. 

SPD K-9 Officer Catherine Beers and K-9 Sam will also be giving public demonstrations. 

“It’s been a lot of work because we train every day,” Beers said. “Sam’s deployed not only in Sedona, but in neighboring agencies in the Verde Valley. Being on call is different. I had never been in a position that I was on call, and I also realized that having a non-apprehension dog is rewarding, because I get to use him in so many different ways for community events that are different than your typical K-9 unit is used throughout the city.” 

“We’ll have activities with the detectives, too, when they do the impairment goggles, so people can see how much a little [alcohol] can impair you even walking,” Oliver said. 

For additional information about the event, contact Oliver at (928) 203-5008. 

The Verde Valley Fire District planned to host its first Verde Valley Regional Fire Prevention Day in Cottonwood on the same day, but the event was canceled due to the off duty death of Copper Canyon Fire and Medical District firefighter Shane Gage on Friday, Sept. 27.