Police Fair in Ventura Attracts Big Crowd : Public safety: About 8,000 attend annual block party. Hundreds of youngsters crawl into emergency vehicles and act out fantasies.

Matthew Lasserre was in a world of his own.

The 3-year-old Oxnard boy sat behind the wheel of a patrol car, jabbering on the hand radio. He fiddled with the flashing lights, played with the hand-held spotlight and swiveled his head, looking for bad guys.

His mother, Elissa Lasserre, watched her son fondly as he played police officer.

“He’s a typical boy,” Lasserre said. “He loves fire engines and police cars.”

A second later, Lasserre broke into the tyke’s daydreams when she saw him patting the locked shotgun attached to the dashboard. “Matthew, don’t touch anything but the wheel!”

Matthew frowned at his mom for blowing his macho image but took his pudgy fingers off the gun.

Of the numerous exhibits on display at the Ventura Police Department’s block party Saturday, the patrol cars, motorcycles and fire engines were the biggest hits. Hundreds of youngsters such as Matthew crawled into the emergency vehicles and acted out fantasies while their parents looked on.

The annual event, which is geared toward educating residents on public safety issues, drew about 8,000 people, police said. With dozens of community groups and commercial businesses represented in nearly 200 booths, the event turned into a five-block street fair near police headquarters, laced with dozens of uniformed officers who mingled with residents.

“It’s our one chance to really show off,” said Lt. Steve Bowman, who helped organize the festival.

The annual blowout, first held three years ago, has evolved into a major public relations event for the 120-member department. This year’s attendance was the highest ever, Bowman said.

Neighboring law enforcement agencies and fire departments also turned out to promote their agencies. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department was there with its search and rescue helicopter, the Ventura Fire Department showed up with fire engines and the California Highway Patrol arrived with motorcycles.

Private alarm companies, martial arts schools and other safety-oriented businesses also came to the daylong block party to drum up customers. About 200 people signed up for classes on using pepper spray, officials said.

“This is a fantastic avenue for us,” said Curt Waite, an instructor at the Reseda-based Evans Training Institute, which teaches civilians how to use pepper spray.

Zandy Prosser, who lives in the Ventura Avenue area, complained that her neighborhood is chock-full of crime and eagerly signed up for the $39 pepper spray classes.

“It’s rough there, and it doesn’t hurt to be prepared,” Prosser said.

Police officers spent the day explaining their jobs to people, and in some instances giving demonstrations. They gave tips to residents on how to better secure their homes and businesses, and police dogs put on several shows to demonstrate how a trained canine can detect drugs.

Bowman got into the spirit of things by volunteering to be sprayed with pepper. With a huge crowd looking on, he received a faceful of the burning pepper.

Temporarily blinded, he had to be led off the stage, and afterward immersed his face in wet towels.

Lt. Mike Tracy, a 27-year police veteran, nearly lost his handcuffs while he was chatting with some children.

Tracy gave his handcuffs to a young boy who asked to see them, but the boy disappeared when Tracy turned to talk to other children.

A moment later, Tracy realized that child and cuffs were both gone. “What did he do with my handcuffs?” he asked in dismay.

After frantically searching the front seat of the patrol car where the boy was playing, Tracy heaved a sigh of relief when he found the silvery bracelets.

Despite forecasts of rain, the weather cooperated by being sunny and warm, much to the relief of police.

“Instead of a staff meeting yesterday, we had a prayer meeting,” joked Police Chief Richard Thomas.

Police said there were minor glitches throughout the day (the public address system broke down during the opening ceremonies), but nothing major arose to dampen the party. Patrol operations elsewhere in Ventura were not affected by the event, police said.

“Things like this are great to put them at ease with police officers,” said Robert Ramirez, who brought his 2- and 3-year-old sons to the event. “Now they’ll know if they see a police officer, he’s there to help.”