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Coffee with a Cop nets positive response
By Kelly Dame, Midland Daily News
Original article HERE
It wasn’t an emergency or crime that brought Midland Police to Coffee Chaos on Thursday morning, but the chance to visit with community members.
The group, Police Chief Clifford Block, Community Relations Sgt. Chris Wenzell and Officer Jeffery Krauss, chatted with residents, answered questions and even got to play with Lego. They were on hand for the department’s first Coffee with a Cop event.
One of the first questions Krauss and Wenzell answered was from Wayne Heilman of South Dakota, who is in town visiting his grandchildren. He said he and his grandkids found what looked like a bunch of empty carbon dioxide canisters at the side of a street while walking, and asked what would such a pile mean.
Both officers identified the situation as someone using what are known as “whippets,” when the contents of the canisters are inhaled to produce a high. “That’s what it is,” Krauss said.
That led into a conversation about the local drug scene.
“Years ago, it was prescription pills,” Krauss said, adding heroin took a backseat during that time. “It’s very expensive to do prescription pills,” and now people who use are finding it’s cheaper to use heroin.
Heilman also asked how adults can steer children to the healthy choices, and help them occupy their time in positive ways. “What are we doing wrong, you and I, as parents and grandparents?” he asked.
For Krauss, part of the answer includes sports — teaching team building and responsibility — and parents focused on parenting. He suggested being in a teen’s business, as in knowing who the friends are, where they are going and what they are doing. He also said it’s worth communicating to kids that parents provide the basics — food, clothing and shelter — while cell phones, cars and the like are privileges.
“Everybody wants to be the friend,” he said. “But be the parent.”
Across the way, Wenzell was checking in with all sorts of Coffee Chaos customers, including Henry Fisher of Midland.
Fisher stopped by to chat about bicycle safety, and made the point that motorists in town need to be more cognizant of bicyclists. For him, Ashman Street, which has a bicycle lane, has proven to be a problem because he’s been yelled at by drivers while riding in the bicycle lane. The drivers tell him to ride on the sidewalk, he said.
Block visited different tables, too, meeting people and building positive relationships. He said the department plans to offer the program once a month, and visit different coffee shops around town.
The goal is to help break down barriers between residents and police, since the majority of contacts officers have with the public occur during emergencies or other emotional situations.
“I’m glad we could do it,” said Coffee Chaos owner Kim Krantz, adding it’s nice to see a show support for law enforcement. “It’s been a good response.”
Coffee with a Cop is a national initiative supported by the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Similar events are taking place across the country as local police departments strive to make lasting connections with the communities they serve.
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