HARTFORD--Many of Hartford Police Department's finest were "gone fish'n" Thursday, along with dozens of inner-city kids.
With help from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, police and other first responders became fishing buddies for the day with the kids.
The whole concept behind Cops & Bobbers was to help kids from urban communities bond with cops to show that police are the good guys.
HPD says it's important to develop that relationship early.
"The young kids that are going to have their opinion of police shaped for, could be their entire life," Chief James Rovella said.
"It's all about changing the attitude of what the community has with police officers and make it a good attitude," teenager Kyle Raimundi, a member of the Hartford Police Athletic League, said.
At the end of their fishing day, every kid got to take home a rod and reel thanks to Bass Pro Shops.
