For some people, interacting with a police officer can be a stressful situation.

However, Henry County Police Officer Jason Valentine said residents have been “pleasantly surprised,” this summer, to see him handing out water and juice at local parks.

The reason for this, he said, is because he wanted to do more to reach both groups in a “spontaneous” way.

“I just meet whoever I meet,” said Valentine. “In the summertime I’ve discovered, by taking my own kid to the parks, there’s a lot of parents that show up. Some of them have two or three kids with them. It’s 90-plus degrees, and they didn’t bring any water. They just don’t think about it. And I’ve discovered how happy they are when they see us.”

Valentine, in May, began handing out drinks at no charge to those who need them.

“Food Depot donated some little juice drinks for us, and there was a church in Stockbridge that donated pallets of bottled water to us,” said Valentine. “Not every day but two or three days a week, I’ll load up a cooler full of bottled water and juice drinks, and I’ll go to parks. Sometimes we cruise through neighborhoods, and we see people in the park. It’s kids and adults.”

Valentine said the endeavor acts as an “icebreaker” with both children and parents.

“There’s a little bit of a divide, sometimes, between the public and the police department,” he said. “So what we’re wanting to let them know is that we’re just reaching out and letting them see that side of the policing – that we’re not just out here doing this one thing that you might normally see. We do lots of stuff, and we want you to know that we want to be involved in what’s going on in your community.”

Valentine has worked in law enforcement in Henry County for 25 years, including as a school-resource officer for the Sheriff’s Office for four years. He returned to the police department in March of 2021, and works in the Active Community Engagement Unit of the Uniform Patrol Division.

When helping to quench residents’ thirst in the summer heat, Valentine travels in a marked police vehicle just like his fellow officers on the beat. This, he said, helps to preserve uniformity within the department.

“I don’t want [people] to see me as being something different,” he said. “My primary duty is community relations. I’m still a police officer.”

Valentine said he hopes his project will help to spread the message that police are “the good guys,” while helping to develop stronger connections with local residents.

“You can come up to us, you can talk to us,” he said. “If you need something, if you’re scared or if you’re lost, we’re there to help. So, we’re trying to build up a positive relationship with the young people. With the parents, it gives me a chance to talk to them to find out what’s going on in their community, what concerns they have.”

Valentine said reaching out to young people, in particular, helps them to be more comfortable talking with police. Many times, he said, kids can be a valuable resource for law enforcement.

“They’re a wealth of knowledge,” said Valentine. “The kids know what’s going on in the neighborhood. The adults might know, but the kids really know. If they’re comfortable with you, and if they trust you, they’ll tell you. If they’re not comfortable, and there’s a trust issue, you won’t get anything from them.”

Valentine acknowledged that recent events nationwide have contributed to a fractured relationship between police and the public. He said he and his fellow officers have a common goal to strengthen relationships with local residents.

“We want them to know that we’re listening to them,” said Valentine. “We want to know who they are, what they see, what they can tell us that will help them have a better community. We want to build a bridge because there are people who are trying to drive a wedge and create a gap, and we’re bridging that.”

“Sometimes, the only experience people have with a police officer is that they get pulled over, and they see what they see on TV or on social media,” he added. “We’re showing them a different side of that.”

Valentine said his latest project is “the most fun” he’s had in 25 years of law enforcement in Henry County.

“It’s the best job I’ve ever had in policing,” he said. “I like this better than anything else I’ve done, and I’ve done a lot of stuff. I’m seeing immediate results.”