Lake Jackson cops share coffee, conversation

By Maddy McCarty, The Facts
Original article HERE

Coffee with a copFrom questions about the use of deadly force to congratulations on a quick response time, Lake Jackson police gathered at Starbucks on Saturday morning to enjoy coffee and conversation with the public.

Lake Jackson Police Department’s “Coffee with a Cop” event provided residents an opportunity to meet with the men and women tasked with serving and protecting the city. The public venue makes officers more approachable than in a formal setting such as the police station, Police Chief Rick Park said.

“It makes it easier for people to relay the good and bad things,” he said.

Calvin Bedrich follows the Lake Jackson Police Department on Facebook. He was excited to attend the event when he saw the announcement posted. Bedrich thinks cops are mistreated sometimes and he wanted to let them know they are appreciated.

“I like to be one more person that they don’t have to worry about,” Bedrich said.

Although he admits he would be “too scared” to pursue a career in law enforcement, he is proud to support his local police department.

“They know that 99 out of 100 people are good people,” he said. “Not everyone is against law enforcement.”

Park considered Saturday morning a success because of the range of conversations had with community members. This was Lake Jackson Police Department’s first Coffee with a Cop. Park said he plans on doing many more and working with different coffee shops.

The law enforcement slogan “to serve and protect” is well known, Park said, adding, “We have to remember to serve as much as we protect.”

Officer Rick Wright said Coffee with a Cop also was a way to advertise the department’s Citizen Police Academy classes, which have seen decreasing attendance since they were first offered in the 1990s.

“We used to cut (the class) off around 25 people. Now we’ll be lucky to have 10 or 12,” Wright said.

According to the department’s website, the Citizen Police Academy is a 30-hour instruction block meant to give residents an understanding of the inner workings of the police department. Wright said this year’s classes, which take place from 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursday evenings, will start in March.