October 7, 2019

Coffee with a Cop connects communities

By Brett Friedensohn, The Progress
Original article HERE

Coffee with the Chief Police officers from Caldwell, Fairfield and West Caldwell offered free coffee to the the public Wednesday, Oct. 2 as part of the fourth annual Coffee with a Cop, a nationwide effort to encourage dialogue between police and the communities they serve.

Caldwell police officers gave out Dunkin’ Donuts coffee to customers at Gelati Caldwell by Mike on Bloomfield Avenue; adults were offered a free cup of coffee while children were offered a free ice cream cone.

Police Chief James Bongiorno said more than 100 people lined up outside the store when the event started at 3:30 p.m. By 5 p.m., close to 200 had stopped by.

“We’re kind of doing a ‘Coffee and Cones with a Cop’ to involve younger children, but it’s just really to bring the police and the community together,” he said.

The chief also thanked Gelati for hosting the event and everyone who attended.

“We all work together, and we want to make sure they’re comfortable with us, that they know us,” Bongiorno said. “And this is a great atmosphere, where they just come, they can talk to us, they can see that we’re regular people just like they are. And we’re just here to help make sure they have a nice, safe environment, and we want to become friends.”

Caldwell police Sgt. Michael Pellegrino said he loved talking to the children. Many of them remembered him from the dunk tank where he sat during the department’s National Night Out block party Tuesday, Aug. 6.

“I’ve got two kids of my own. They’re grown up, so seeing kids younger, it brings back memories,” Pellegrino said.

He wishes the Caldwell police could hold this event more often. “They see us as human beings. They see us outside of the uniform and the authoritative aspect of it. We’re just out here having a good time, talking to people and letting them see the other side of us.”

Fairfield police spent the morning at Manhattan Bagel on Hollywood Avenue, where they gave patrons cups marked with the “Coffee with a Cop” logo. Customers then brought the cup to the counter to get free coffee.

Fairfield Police Sgt. Christopher Niemic said the department has hosted this for the past four years at the bagel shop.

During the morning, officers and patrons talked about traffic, home burglar alarms and what it’s like to be a police officer.

“The benefit is actually having that human interaction that, say, somebody’s calling the Police Department; they may hear my voice through the phone, but they’ve never heard my voice before,” Niemic said. “So actually seeing a face is very important right now. We’re building that community bond because we’re all human when it comes right down to it so that we can actually be able to relate at the same level.”

James Sgambati, a barber at Parlor Barber Shop on Fairfield Road, talked to some of the officers. Since he started working there, he regularly has interacted with police getting haircuts there, he said.

“They’re just good dudes, just protecting the town, making sure there’s no riff raff,” he said.

Fairfield Police Officer John Seragusa said he enjoys Coffee with a Cop because it’s nice to interact with the community and show them how much the officers care.

“When I was younger, it was like, ‘Oh, darn, the cops, run,’ or ‘They’re coming to bust us,” he said. “That’s what a lot of young people don’t understand is that we’re trying to show them that we want to see them. We’re here for them. Especially with the stuff you see in the media, it’s always making us look bad in certain ways. We just want to show them that we care.”

West Caldwell police gave out cups of coffee in front of ShopRite on Passaic Avenue between 10 a.m. and noon.

Capt. Dennis Capriglione said about 200 people had stopped by to talk to the officers by about 11:30 a.m.

The event gives police the opportunity to build relationships with residents so they have contacts in neighborhoods to reach out to when needed.

“The partnership between the public and the Police Department – it gives us the opportunity to actually get out there and talk about the issues that are affecting the community with the people who live in it,” he said.