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If you’re wondering why several streets in Lexington were blocked off last Wednesday and Thursday, it’s because the Lexington Police Department was filming a video that will serve as a recruitment film, not just for the police department, but for the city of Lexington as well.
“[It will be] kind of marketing for the city, highlighting the great aspects of coming to Lexington, not just to visit, but to come here and live and work, to make this your permanent residence,” said Lexington Police Chief Angela Greene.
The filming for the video was not without some controversy. A road block at the intersection of North Main Street and the U.S. 11 bypass on Wednesday morning caused traffic backups on the bypass exit ramp, which resulted in some people being late for school or work.
Both Greene and Lexington City Manager Jim Halasz offered an apology for the delays at the Lexington City Council meeting last Thursday.
“That was due to my lack of thorough overview of that event, and I would like to say to those who suffered some delays going to school or to work that it was unintended and I will do my best to make sure that similar issues do not happen again,” Halasz said. “I’m very sorry for that occurrence.”
Greene noted that, other than the delays caused by filming on North Main Street, the video seemed to be well received, especially among business owners downtown. Filming was also done in Jordans Point Park, and in the area around Richardson Park and Lylburn Downing Middle School. None of the other street closures caused any significant delays to drivers.
With filming complete, Greene said that the video would be edited and finished in about two weeks, at which point it would be shared with Halasz for presentation to Council. Mayor Frank Friedman inquired whether the video would be made available to other local organizations to share, such as the chamber of commerce and Main Street Lexington, and Greene confirmed that it would be.
“When it’s done, we want it to be shared everywhere, to go out worldwide,” she said. “We’re waiting for our SAG awards, Grammy awards, all of that, so we will share it as much as possible when we get that back.”
During his report to Council at the meeting, Halasz noted that there are currently two vacancies at the city’s police department, with two trainees currently attending the academy and a third set to start in July.
“This is about as close to becoming fully staffed as the department has been since June of 2021 when Chief Greene arrived,” he said.
