Pueblo citizens mingle with officers at Coffee With a Cop

By Ryan Severance, The Pueblo Chieftain
Original article HERE

The smiles on the faces of 11-year-old twins Cheyenne and William Doreck as they posed for a photo with Pueblo police officers lit up the room and demonstrated the joy the two had in getting to meet the lawmen.

The two kids and their mother were three of dozens of people to trickle into the Downtown McDonald’s late Thursday afternoon for Coffee With a Cop, where citizens got the opportunity to meet a number of different officers from the Pueblo Police Department — including Chief Luis Velez and Deputy Chief Troy Davenport — and converse with them.

Much like the others who showed up for the event, the Dorecks thanked the police officers on hand for their service to the community and got to know them better through conversation.

Coffee and some items from the McDonald’s menu were provided.

“I heard about this event on the radio and I wanted to bring my kids so they could say hi to the officers and say thank you,” said Evangelina Doreck, the mother of Cheyenne and William. “I told them about it and they said they wanted to come.”

Cheyenne said she wanted to go to Coffee With a Cop specifically to take pictures with officers.

“It was cool for me to get to do that,” she said.

William, while snacking on an apple, expressed his gratitude for what police officers do to protect him and the community.

Police Sgt. Chris Flores was one of about 10 officers at McDonald’s toward the beginning of the event.

He said he and his fellow officers are appreciative of the recognition and warm messages community members provided.

“When we deal with people, a lot of times it’s something where it’s a crisis situation so it’s always nice to go interact with people in a friendly environment and interact just as normal citizens,” he said. “Because ultimately that’s what we are, we’re citizens as well.

“It’s always good to get people that come to us and say, ‘we appreciate what you’re doing and you’re truly making a difference in our community.’ It makes us feel good because ultimately that’s what we’re here for.”