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Greeting the day and the community: Starkville Coffee with a Cop
By William Moore, Daily Journal
Original article HERE
Around a dozen uniformed police officers converged on the Chick-fil-A on Highway 12 Thursday morning at sunrise.
The Starkville police were not responding to a crime, but showing up for the monthly Coffee with a Cop. The events, usually held the first Thursday of each month from 7 a.m. until 8:30 a.m., are hosted by different businesses. They are designed to offer citizens and police department staff an opportunity to visit in a relaxed environment.
“This is one of the many things we do to try to bridge the gap between citizens and officers,” said Starkville Police Department public information officer Cpl. Brandon Lovelady.
Among those stopping by to talk with officers Thursday was Chris Taylor, a graduate of the citizens police academy.
“It’s a great opportunity, and more community leaders need to be involved,” Taylor said. “When you see what the officers go through every day, it’s a tough life.
“The police are reaching out to the community here, but people don’t want to always want to talk to the police. But if they would just come and sit down and talk, they would see that the officers are people and not animals, like some people think.”
For 90 minutes, Chick-fil-A provided free hot coffee and space for citizens to get to know their public servants a little better.
“We did this last year and are happy to host Coffee with a Cop once a year,” said Chick-fil-A marketing manager Brian Hawkins. “We try to support the community. The men and women of law enforcement do a lot for us. A lot of people don’t understand just how much they do.”
In addition to giving citizens a chance to meet with police, it also gives the businesses a chance to sit down and discuss issues or just shoot the breeze. The event moves around each month, giving people different opportunities to participate.
“The crowd varies from month to month,” Lovelady said. “The dreary, foggy weather had an impact on this month’s event.
“We’ve had 30 or more people show up for past events. People typically flow in and out at various times.”
The event is not always held at a restaurant. December’s event was held at the Starkville Community Theatre and hosted by the theater, Vowell’s Market Place and the Starkville chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association of Mississippi. In October, the Starkville High School PTO sponsored the event held at the high school cafeteria.
