‘Coffee With a Cop’ brings together Vancouver police, residents

By Andy Matarrese, The Columbian
Original article HERE

Tongues wagged and coffee flowed at an informal gathering with community members and police officers at the Andresen Road McDonald’s Tuesday afternoon.

“Glad for the cup of coffee, because it’s that time,” Officer Tyler Chavers said

“Anytime’s a good time for a cup of coffee, I think,” joked Officer McAvoy Shipp.

The Vancouver Police Department and McDonald’s teamed up to host a “Coffee With a Cop” event, and about 15 or so people stopped by to chat and listen about public safety in Vancouver.

Events like Tuesday’s aren’t uncommon. Many departments host meet-and-greets with the community, some formal, some less so.

Val Hadwin, co-owner of the franchise, said McDonald’s actually approached the Vancouver police about the event, seeing they hadn’t held one before locally. Hadwin also played a bit of emcee and moderator for the meeting.

“We heard about Coffee With a Cop with some of the other restaurants, and McDonald’s had never done it, and we really felt that it was important here, because I now how much we love our police officers,” she said.

Hadwin said she hopes to host more meet-ups in the future, possibly at one of her other franchises.

Chavers and Shipp are neighborhood police officers, so their job has them work closely with community members, neighborhood associations, businesses and others on more specific livability concerns, as opposed to a typical patrol cop.

People had questions about volunteering opportunities, how the department and city are trying to handle Vancouver’s homeless population, prescription drug take-back events, how previous special emphasis patrols for distracted driving actually work, the state of the department’s emergency for-kids teddy bear supply, and a host of other questions.

(Some answers, in order: They vary, Neighbors on Watch is a big one; it’s complicated, but the city’s camping ordinance makes it illegal to camp in a public place between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.; the next one’s Saturday; in part, the aim of such emphasis patrols is to educate and assess the problem; the teddy bear stock is healthy, although material donations are probably better sent to social service organizations; and so on.)

Even after the informal gathering, several guests broke off into their own impromptu groups for more discussion on how to solve the world’s problems, and more follow-up with the officers.

One guest, Michael Bourgo, lives in Ridgefield, but works nearby doing building maintenance.

He said he sees lots of vandalism and property damage through his job, and thought the coffee meet-up would be a good chance to learn about the area and get acquainted with the officers.

“Just trying to get a feel for the neighborhood and see what’s going on with the neighborhood,” he said.

He was glad to have made the trip, he said, and to hear the officers have some grasp on the state of the housing shortage in the county, which contributes to homelessness and a lot of what he deals with on the job.

“They really seem to have a lot of information, they know what’s going on, they know and understand the communities they’re looking at,” he said.

Chavers does a lot of these kind of meetings, and thought Tuesday’s went well.

The department tries to create opportunities where cops and the public can interact in a non-business sort of way, but staffing cuts made during the recession eliminated many positions in the department that might have been more public-facing, he said, or made it harder for cops on duty to take a moment and chat.

An officer on a meal break after filing a bunch of reports on multiple complicated crimes might not be so keen on fielding general policy questions while on break. That makes sense, he said, but it’s unfortunate.

“I think those transactions are really the grease that removes the friction between the public and the police, and it would be wonderful to be able to have more than that,” he said.

The department’s long-term staffing plan, which includes hiring more than 40 new officers, will help that, he said, but seeing businesses and private groups help facilitate those interactions is promising.

“It’s neat to see this kind of stuff being organized and put together,” he said, and that it can be informal and not inside a police station.

“It’s just kind of a free-for-all place for people to engage one another,” he said. “I look forward to seeing more.”