Coffee connects Weymouth Police, community

By Jessica Trufant, The Patriot Ledger
Original article HERE

Community Outreach Officer Jen Pompeo is used to giving presentations to senior citizens, visiting school children or hosting neighborhood meetings about specific concerns.

But on Thursday she got to spend her morning chitchatting with Weymouth residents who wandered into Dunkin’ Donuts on Bridge Street to get their morning cups of Joe.

“This is more of an open forum where people can simply come over and say ‘hi.’ It’s good, positive community policing,” Pompeo said. “Police officers are all humans. We all have families.”

Dunkin’ Donuts and the Weymouth Police Department joined forces for the open coffee with a cop event at 645 Bridge St. Officers didn’t have an agenda or talking points, but simply made small talk in a casual atmosphere.

“Some residents have questions or concerns about crime or certain programs, but we’re mostly just engaging with people.” Pompeo said.

Dunkin’ Donuts owners Victor and Octavio Carvalho said they’ve wanted to host coffee with cops events for a while, so they tried the idea out earlier this month at their Quincy location.

“Most interaction people have with police is negative, whether it’s a car crash, or a speeding ticket, or having to call 911 in an emergency,” Victor Carvalho said. “This helps people see police officers as human beings.”

The brothers, who live in Weymouth, said it’s also an opportunity for residents to discuss issues with police in a less formal setting.

“It may be something that they don’t feel they want to call or visit the police station about,” Octavio Carvalho said.

Octavio Carvalho said there’s been more public interest in showing appreciation and support for the police department following the killing of Sgt. Michael Chesna on July 15.

Pompeo agreed, and said the community has been extremely supportive and positive.

“The love and support hasn’t stopped,” she said. “Kids, adults and senior citizens — they all want to help us as we heal.”