Residents meet with first responders for National Night Out event in downtown Indio

People gathered in downtown Indio for National Night Out, a fun community-building event where residents met local first responders.
The nationwide initiative promotes crime prevention by building positive relationships between neighbors and law enforcement.
Indio police say they look forward to this event every year.
"It's to reinforce the relationships that the police and public safety have with the community. These are opportunities for them to have conversations. Kind of get to know more about their police department, their fire department. And then not only that, since we have a collaborative relationship with a lot of the services that are in line with what we do," said Ben Guitron, public information officer for the Indio Police Dept.
Among the many surprises, Fuego, the Coachella Valley Firebird's mascot made a stop at city hall.
