Coffee with a Cop at the Top

By Sergeant Karla Place, myPolice Far North
Original article HERE

This week, Thursday Island Police launched ‘Coffee with a Cop’ at Ma:Kai Café on the waterfront.

‘Coffee with a Cop’ is as simple as it sounds: come along and share a coffee and a chat.

We hope that barriers can be broken down, relationships fostered and stronger ties formed within the community.

The initiative started many years ago and police from not only all over Australia, but different parts of the world take part.

We weren’t quite sure how the program would be received on the island as this was the first of its kind there.

To my surprise, we had the absolute pleasure of catching up with former New South Wales Leading Senior Constable Mick Wharton who just happened to notice the sign and hang around for a coffee.

Mick was travelling the Far North and enjoying everything the Torres Strait has on offer.

Mick shared his stories with us after serving 20 distinguished years within the NSW Police Force as a highway motorcyclist.

He was a team leader in a trained riot squad, conducted Search and Rescues and was even involved in the infamous arrest of Ivan Milat and backpacker murders.

Even after 15 years of retirement it was obvious that his passion for police work remains strong.

Those who came out to share a coffee with us therefore enjoyed even more of a range of policing stories.

Thursday Island Station will aim to continue this project fortnightly, in an attempt to meet as many community members as possible.

Keep an eye out for our next event, we hope to see you there!