Police open 'Field of Friends' for kids

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) - Newport News police took dozens of kids off the street and planted them in a "field of friends" Friday.

Homicide Detective, Mark Wagner came up with the idea after making a disturbing discovery.

"One day I was downtown, 16th and Jefferson, and seen some kids playing in a dumpster and it absolutely bothered me," he said. Some, he says, had never even played baseball.

"We got a game together, got free food and we just had a good time and from then on, this is what's blossomed into right now," he said pointing to a field filled with bounce houses, inflatable slides and face painting artists.

It's called the Field of Friendship, and it opens up in August one day each in three locations around the city. Kids play, learn and take home school supplies and bond with the boys in blue.

It helps Wagner reach his goals.

"The kids have the common perception that the police is the bad guy, and I want to change that thinking around." He said he also wants to give kids a safe place to play, even if it's only for a day.

The first event happened at the Boys & Girls club near Ft. Eustis. Two more Field of Friends events are scheduled in August.

The next is Saturday, August 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at An Achievable Dream Academy on 16th Street. The other is on Saturday the 21st at The Boys And Girls Club on Adams Drive from 10 until 2.