March 29, 2018

Coffee with Cops Heartfields

By Denae Spiering, The Star Democrat
Original article HERE

Coffee was flowing and so was the conversation at the latest Coffee with Cops held at Heartfields Assisted Living in Easton on Wednesday, March 28.

“We had a really good turn out of residents here, and they had a lot of good questions,” said Sgt. Eric Kellner of the Easton Police Department. “We more or less were just having conversations about their background — a lot them have family with law enforcement ties. So it was good to have those discussions and share stories.”

Kellner said several of the residents were not originally from the area and had general questions about Easton.

“They were surprised of the size of our police force here,” Kellnar said. “Many residents are not from here so they had general questions about the town and the police force.”

He said the informal meet and greet with Heartfield residents and staff went very well and it provided officers the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the facility.

“It was so nice being able to have our residents get to chat with them (EPD) and even people of Londonderry, our neighbors, it was nice for them to get to sit and chat with them too,” Melissa Boudrie said. “So often when you see police officers at assisted living it’s for a worrisome cause, so it was nice having them here just to chat and talk about the developments in town and in our very own neighborhood.”

Melissa Boudrie is the sales and marketing director for Heartfields, and said it will be opening its doors to other agencies as well in order to showcase all the facility has to offer.

“It was great. It was so nice to have them here,” Boudrie said. “We are trying to invite people in the community through the building because many times you dont know about Heartfields until you have a loved one that needs Heartfields or assisted living. We want everyone to know what a warm and comforting environment we have here.”

The goal of Coffee with Cops is for the police officers to build relationships with residents, which will hopefully result in more positive interactions and a willingness to work together to prevent crime.

“Coffee with a Cop” is a national initiative supported by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Similar events are held across the country, as local police departments strive to make lasting connections with the communities they serve.

For more information, contact Kellner of the Easton Police Department at 410-822-1111 or ekellner@eastonmd.gov.

The Easton Police is seeking local businesses interested in hosting a Coffee with a Cop Event. Please contact Sgt. Kellner for details.