Grilling out and serving ice cream isn’t typically in the job description for law enforcement officers, but it’s a familiar occupation for those in the Youth and Community Resource Unit of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.
On Wednesday at the Majestic Oaks apartment complex, Sgt. Paul Pardue manned a massive gas-powered grill, and Deputy Carlos McWatters served cups of vanilla and chocolate ice cream out of the window of the unit’s new and improved ice cream truck.
“We’ve been swarmed,” said Jasmine Singleton, youth and community liaison for ACSO. “It’s nothing better than to see the kids see the truck … and they come running.”
Dozens of people shuffled in and out of the complex’s recreation center as part of “Books and Burgers,” an event the resource unit hosts on a biweekly basis in different locations around the county to provide families with free meals and books to take home.
Crowds of little kids formed queues for ice cream and face painting, both first-time additions to the event’s festivities. Face-painter Shera Sherman, a representative from Gainesville’s Salvation Army, said she was painting non-stop for an hour and a half.
“Books and Burgers” began at Majestic Oaks in the spring of 2016 as a method of community healing after 16-year-old Robert Dentmond was shot and killed at the complex by law enforcement officers while holding a fake gun in a standoff situation.
At the first event, Pardue said he served 20 to 30 hamburgers using a small grill and working out of his patrol vehicle. Soon thereafter, the event began to incorporate handing out donated books to families.
The growth of “Books and Burgers” culminated Wednesday when Pardue cooked 120 burgers and 40 hot dogs and ran out of food in an hour. The grill he operated was donated to the Youth and Community Resource Unit by the Shining Light Foundation, while the face painting station was set up by the Salvation Army.
“As things have started to evolve, the community has started to see the value,” Pardue said.
Singleton said she’s seen noticeable growth in the event in the short time she’s been working with the unit.
“Our ultimate goal is so that they approach us when they see the green suit,” she said. “Every time we have one (“Books and Burgers”) it develops and grows.”
Anyone is encouraged to show up and enjoy a burger with the deputies, but Pardue, supervisor of the Youth and Community Resource Unit, stressed that the event is first and foremost for the kids in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Future “Books and Burgers” events will be announced on the Twitter account of ACSO, but the ice cream truck will be deployed around Gainesville all summer with a goal of three times a week, according to Pardue.
