Bayside Coffee hosts ‘coffee with a cop’ event in Myrtle Point

By Amanda Linares, The World
Original article HERE

Community members packed into Bayside Coffee early Friday morning in Myrtle Point to enjoy a cup of coffee and chat one-on-one with local law enforcement officers.

The event, which was hosted by Bayside Coffee, gave community members the opportunity to meet with officers from the Myrtle Point Police Department in a casual, neutral environment to discuss a number of issues on their mind.

According to Myrtle Point Police Chief Rock Rakosi, the event served as a good way to continue on the department’s positive relationship with the community. A majority of the folks Rakosi said he talked to wanted to express their gratitude to the department and thank them for their service.

“We tend to enjoy a fairly good relationship with our community,” said Rakosi. “I didn’t expect much more than what happened to happen. Most typically if somebody wants to complain they come talk to me anyway and again fortunately that doesn’t happen all that often.”

An example of how well the Myrtle Point community supports its police department Rakosi said would be their involvement in getting its officers new body cameras.

With help from First Christian Church and the Myrtle Point Rotary Club, the department was able to purchase five new police body cameras.

The funds raised by the organizations went toward acquiring the equipment as well as covering maintenance costs for the next five years.

Myrtle Point Police Sgt. Scott Robinson said the entire department was floored by how much money and support the organizations and the community as a whole was able to produce for them.

With Bayside Coffee opening a second location in Myrtle Point, Robinson said the department was approached by its manager, Emily Caufield, to participate in the event as another way the community and the department can get to know one another.