By Yolanda Rodriguez
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MARIETTA, Ga. — Marietta police Lt. Mike Hathaway heckled the crowd.
“Oh, you better go back home,” he yelled to one man getting ready to toss an orange ball at him.
Wearing shorts and a T-shirt, Hathaway sat atop a small platform. His legs dangled in the water.
Hathaway smiled.
He was all wet, having been dumped in the water a few times already.
It was all in good fun. It was a chance for Marietta police to make further inroads in a community the city desperately wants to improve: Franklin Road.
Businesses, including Target and neighborhood restaurants, gave away about $9,000 worth of prizes, said Officer Mark Bishop, a police spokesman.
About 500 people at-tended Marietta’s National Night Out last week.
They played games and munched on hot dogs and hamburgers served up by police officers.
They petted Sonny and Kemo, two horses from the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office. They listened to Wallah — drummers from Turner Chapel. A few of them even banged some drums, too.
Mostly, they had fun.
“You can get him in the water,” said Ricardo Cardenas, 7. He held an orange ball in his hand, trying for one more chance to dunk Hathaway
Copyright 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution