Sandwich Police offered games, dogs and zombies at Halloween Bash

Decked out like the Karate Kid character from the “Cobra Kai” TV series, Sandwich Police Chief Kevin Senne greeted those attending the Sandwich Police Department’s Halloween Bash on Oct. 23 at the Sandwich Public Safety Center.

The event provided plenty of fun activities. Sandwich native Alex Burnett enjoyed hunting zombies on the department’s training simulator.

“I had a fun time,” said Burnett, who was among those waiting in line for chance to participate. Playing alongside him was Burnett’s 11-year-old cousin, Tatiana Frausto.

This was Burnett’s first time inside the police station, which fully opened its doors last year. He said the new building is much nicer than the previous police station.

“The building was smaller and the parking was terrible,” Burnett said.

Employees from Plano powered by Pure Fishing passed out candy at the event. Pure Fishing is a leader in the fishing tackle industry.

The company, which recently relocated its outlet store in Plano, donated the candy.

Those attending the event also had the chance to meet Sandwich Police Department’s new police dog, Musil, a Labrador retriever. The dog’s name is in honor of DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy Christina Musil, who was killed in March after her police vehicle was rear-ended by a truck in Waterman in rural DeKalb County. Musil, 35, was a mother of three and veteran who served in Afghanistan.

The dog was sworn in at the June 17 Sandwich City Council meeting. Musil is the department’s new police dog after having to retire its first police dog last year because of health problems.

Last year’s Halloween event also served as open house for the Sandwich Public Safety Center. The building, which had once housed a custom stair manufacturer, is located at 1251 E. Sixth St.

The city bought the building in 2016 for about $500,000. To finance the project, the city sold $3.2 million in bonds, which will be repaid over a 20-year period.

“This is more suited for what we’re trying to accomplish,” said Senne in talking about the building. He was sworn in as Sandwich’s new police chief in September 2023.

The police department will host another event at 5 p.m. Dec. 13 when the Toys for Tots organization – and Santa – gives out toys to kids in need. Toys for Tots is a program run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas.

The department also hosted the event last year.