The day was smiles and laughs for family and friends of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station as hundreds visited the new station on Golden Valley Road.
The SCV Sheriff’s Station opened its facilities for an invite-only event with families getting a unique glimpse of the station and its various departments.
The event aimed to show former employees and the community the new and spacious facility with all the new upgrades in comparison to the 50-year-old former station, according to Capt. Justin Diez, of the SCV Sheriff’s Station.
“This is a massive physical building with a lot of technology and upgrades within 50 years, so we’re really proud of it,” Diez said.
Entertainment included tours of the station, and multiple law enforcement vehicles for guests to explore and take pictures in the vehicles. Motorcycles, mobile jail buses and SWAT armored cars were the most interesting for the kids, according to Diez.
SCV Bounce donated a bounce house for kids to play in, SCV Search and Rescue set up a zip line for guests to enjoy and Jersey Mike’s donated food for the event.
Diez thanked the crime prevention unit and community relations unit for planning the event. Additionally, Diez thanked the SCV Sheriff’s Foundation — the nonprofit volunteer organization— for its unconditional support and leadership by foundation President Gloria Mercado-Fortine.
“The SCV Foundation put on community events and help raise money for the station that basically supply safety equipment that the department doesn’t supply,” Diez said.
For Diez, the event is the first of its kind because the space of the new facility can accommodate a large number of visitors. However, he emphasized the event was in its infancy and the station plans to produce the event annually and improve it with time.
“I don’t know what to expect, but just looking around, I will have a couple of hundred people here easily,” Diez said. “I’m excited and I think it’ll grow a little bit each year and it will evolve.”
Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Deputy Guillermo Loza was one of the event’s volunteers showing children vehicles and other gadgets on display. He said he wanted to show the community what the sheriff’s station is all about and said he’s received a positive response from families in attendance.
John Hurley was one of the friends invited to the event and brought his family to eat with the deputies and see the displays. He said his best friend and neighbor was the deputy who invited his family.
Santa Clarita needs these community outreach events to rebuild trust and faith with law enforcement, especially with the current negative image of law enforcement, according to Hurley.
“I love our deputies, I love our city and I think this is this an awesome event and I’m really thankful that they did it,” Hurley said.
