EASTHAMPTON – Local police and public safety personnel got a big thank you on Sunday in the form of hamburgers, hot dogs and venison.
City resident Adam Burt, 22, hosted a spontaneous cookout for police officers, firefighters and medics at his mother’s house on Holyoke Street as a way for him and about 10 of his friends to show their appreciation for those in public safety.
“Me and my buddies were hanging out on Friday and we decided to do something,” Burt said. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing.”
Burt, an avid hunter, grilled meat he had saved in his freezer, while his friends brought drinks, chips, paper goods and other food.
They flagged down police and firefighters passing by with a sign that read “cookout 3 cops/EMS,” as word of the barbeque spread quickly in Easthampton.
Among the city officers to stop by for a bite was Officer Robert Pouska, who was in the middle of an overtime shift on Sunday.
“I probably spent an hour with these gentlemen just talking in general about everything, not necessarily about police work,” Pouska said. “It was a good feeling that these young men thought enough to say thanks to the local police and EMS personnel.”
Two other Easthampton officers came to the event, as did off-duty officers from Chicopee and Holyoke, a Southampton EMT and a Westfield volunteer firefighter, Burt said.
Pouska said since the killing of five police officers in Dallas Thursday night by Micah Xavier Johnson, many Easthampton residents have offered their support to the Police Department.
“The outpouring of support from the community as whole has been overwhelming,” he said. “We have a kitchen full of baked goods.”
Burt said he and his friends decided to throw the cookout to counter negative attitudes surrounding police officers’ work.
“They’re always there when I need something,” he said. “I don’t know how the cops perceive how the public sees them, but I wanted them to know that here in Easthampton we respect and appreciate what they do.”
Burt said he and his friends aim to host another cookout toward the end of the summer and hope to get the word out so more public safety staff can come.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.