Coffee with a Cop sparks community connections

By John Doyle, Fosters
Original article HERE

Police officers are well known for serving the community. On Wednesday morning, they were also serving coffee.

Officer Tony DeFrancesco of the Somersworth Police Department said he got a few surprised looks as he stood at his temporary post outside the drive-through window at the Dunkin’ Donuts on Route 108, but he said he was happy to serve customers their morning coffee with a smile.

“They all liked talking to us,” said DeFrancesco. “It’s a nice way to talk to the community. It’s a better interaction.”

The event was Coffee with a Cop, an outreach program conducted by the Somersworth Police Department to give the public a chance to interact with police officers and other personnel in an informal setting.

“It shows law enforcement in a different light,” Chief David Kretschmar said. “These guys are out here every day, risking their lives. Law enforcement, that’s what we do, who we are. But this allows them to relax and interact with people they see every day.”

“We want the community to see our friendly face,” said Officer Ashley Fuller as she enjoyed a frozen coffee. “Unfortunately, some people don’t always get to see that. They don’t see that we like to be out in the community.”

Officer Alex Mulcahey said it’s important the public knows that police aren’t the “bad guys” as they can often be portrayed in the media and the marketplace.

“There’s a pretty negative view of police,” Mulcahey said. “Whether that’s on the police or the media or the individuals involved in whatever situation it is, I don’t know, but it’s up to us to reach out to the community and show them who we really are and what we’re really about.”

Mulcahey brought along his wife Cassie and 2-month-old daughter Andi. He reflected on his double duty as a police officer and a new father.

“It’s not easy,” Mulcahey said. “You don’t get a lot of time off. All of it falls to (Cassie) mostly. It’s kind of like trying to juggle. But it’s going well.”

“He comes home and he gets his time in with her,” Cassie Mulcahey said.

Sgt. Tony McKnight said the positive vibes created by community outreach programs such as Wednesday morning’s event carry over into officers’ daily interactions with the public.

“Since we starting doing the Touch-A-Truck and Coffee with Cops, and more community outreach programs, more people call us for help or ask us questions,” McKnight said, “as opposed to not calling, which is the way it used to be.”

Ryan Durrance, a former police dispatcher and current ambulance driver, dropped in to chat with his old friends and brought along his daughter Harper.

“These guys are all still my friends,” Durrance said. “It definitely gets the community involved with the police. It shows they’re not just always bad guys. They do good things, too.”