“Coffee With A Cop” connects community

By MNT News
Original, article HERE

The Great Falls Police Department is wrapping up a successful year of “Coffee With A Cop.”

The initiative is intended to give the community a chance to interact with police officers in a relaxed setting and to ask questions, learn about what officers do, and chat.

GFPD first started “Coffee With A Cop” at the end of 2015, and four events were held in 2016.

The first was at Schulte’s Coffee House in March. Adrienne Ehrke with the GFPD said it was a successful event, despite a woman showing up intoxicated and being arrested for a DUI.

During the summer, police officers met with the public at the Farmer’s Market.

“Coffee With A Cop” on September 9th included all first responders in commemoration of September 11th at Electric City Coffee.

The final event of 2016 was at the downtown Christmas Stroll in December with more than 1,400 people stopping by their booth. It also served as a fundraiser for “Shop with a Cop.”

“Coffee With A Cop” is all about communication and building relationships.

“Police officers are parents, children of senior, their kids go the same schools, we go to the same stores. A lot of people got that when they got to have one on one communication that wasn’t during a crisis, or getting pulled over for speeding or during a violent incident. It was just a positive, relaxed environment,” said Ehrke.