“If you ever see a zombie in your house, you call me on 911,” said Chad McNett, the DeKalb Police Department’s community relations officer, to one of the children who had come to hear him talk. “But it has to be a real zombie. It has to be an emergency.”

Lexi’s Kids Corner at Feed ’em Soup, 122 S. First St., played host to a question-and-answer session between McNett and neighborhood children Wednesday. Questions ranged from what types of weapons police officers carry to when and how to dial 911.

McNett said the goal was to give children positive experiences with police officers from a young age. About a dozen members of the DeKalb police had come to Feed ’em Soup to volunteer in an effort to connect with the DeKalb community.

“I think for our community to see us as something other than enforcers of the law, and they see us as human, too,” said Police Chief Gene Lowery. “It makes us more approachable.”

One of the boys told McNett he wanted to be a soldier when he grows up. He told a story he had heard from his teacher about 12 years ago “when two airplanes crashed into buildings.”

“We’re 12 years away, and I’m sure that doesn’t lessen the pain,” said Sgt. Lisa Miller. “This is a great day for us to turn around that image of that and just give back.”

Lexi’s Kids Corner is a room at Feed ’em Soup where guests and volunteers can bring their children during the hours Feed ’em Soup is in operation.

“We’d been talking about it for a couple of weeks about getting the police and fire department to come in,” said Theresa Aubele, who is the director of Lexi’s Kids Corner. “I figured since they were already here it would be a great chance to have them come in and hang out with us and share some fun safety tips.”