Residents get chance to talk to Port Allen police officers through ‘Coffee With a Cop’

By Tommy Comeaux, The West Side Journal
Original article HERE

Freshman City Council member Carey Williams says his “Coffee With a Cop” gatherings have been highly successful so far.

The events are designed to provide one-on-one conversations between residents and members of the Port Allen Police Department in an organized fashion.

Two have been held so far. The first was attended by Chief Esdron Brown and all of the city’s officers and there were 11 at the second one. Both had about 20 residents in attendance.

“These are going very well,” Brown said. “We’ve gotten a great response and a lot of people—a good mix of young and old—are showing up with some good questions.”

“They give police officers a good opportunity to explain to them why things are done the way they are,” he continued. “One of the best things that come of these is that people get to see that we’re just regular people and they can approach us any time they have a question or a need.”

“The first two Coffee With a Cop events went very well,” Williams said. “The officers talked with the citizens and they were very engaged.”

“They talked one-on-one, so I’m not sure what they talked about,” he said.

“I came up with the idea to break down whatever barriers there may be between our police officers and the residents of the community,” Williams said.

“We have more in common than we really know but we don’t know that until we get to talk to that other person,” he continued. “Our police officers are just like me and you.”

“They get up every morning to go to work to make an honest living,” Williams said. “The only difference is they’re going out to protect and serve you and me.”

“Their main goal is to come back home the same way they left,” he said. “They came home alive and they want to go back home alive.”

These get-togethers give residents the chance to see they share that same value with police officers.

“Much like a police officer’s goal, parents want to come home the same way they left, they want their children to come back home the same way they left and they want their homes to be the same way they were when they left them,” Williams said.

“We must have police to accomplish this,” he continued. “We have to rely on our police, put confidence in them and not put them down.”

“We have good police officers in this city and they do a good job of protecting us,” Williams said.