Demopolis is “a close knit community,” said Demopolis Police Officer Wayne Kirk. “It’s a big family.”

Kirk hopes that family comes together Friday night to help the less fortunate in the city and county. He helped come up with the idea of a flag football game for charity.

The Demopolis Police Department will play the Demopolis Fire Department in a flag football game Friday at 7 p.m. in Demopolis Memorial Stadium.

Performing traffic duty at local schools, he had seen kids with torn shoes, and the officers knew of families that needed help during the holiday season.

Police and fire officers not on duty will compete or help out at the event. There will be alternate players to help augment the two teams including local teachers and staff from local industries.

Proceeds will go to needy families in Demopolis and Marengo County and will be administered by the local Harriet’s House shelter.

“They have a lot of contacts,” Kirk said. “They know who needs the money.”

There will be concessions with the money also going to charity.

The flag football game is another example of local law enforcement reaching out to the community, he said. Like the “National Night Out” program held earlier in the year, Kirk hopes the game will be another chance for citizens to get to know their local officers.

“Without the community behind you, you’re going to fail,” he said. Part of the investigative process to solve crime is the help of local citizens.

Like fans that pull for a football team, the police could not do their job without community support, Kirk said.

“We’re not just here to arrest and give people tickets all the time,” he said. “…We do our job and uphold the law, but yet we’re here to serve the community.”

Admission for Friday’s game is $1.

For more information, call 289-3072 or 289-3073.